Behind Closed Doors: Candid Lessons from Women Who Founded Design Firms - 1.25 PDH (LA CES/non-HSW)

Meredith Wenskoski is President and Founder of Livable Cities Studio and an urban designer, planner, and landscape architect advancing equity and resilience through the public realm. Her work spans parks and open space, streetscapes, urban design, affordable housing, and district-scale planning, with a focus on the intersection of housing, public space, and climate resilience. Meredith is recognized for her strategic leadership, interdisciplinary collaboration, and ability to translate vision into implementation across complex civic partnerships, bringing rigor, accountability, and a human-centered approach to planning and design.

Magdalena Aravena is a passionate Landscape Architect, and an engaged volunteer and leader in the ASLA. Driven by her background, she passionately works to enrich disadvantaged communities through education, advocacy, and collaborative design. She founded Studio Siembra in 2021, embracing a multi-disciplinary approach to impact communities with thoughtful engagement and design, in pursuit of a more just and inclusive practice of Landscape Architecture. She is focused and motivated to passionately execute community engagement strategies and design approaches to effectively and successfully serve communities of various backgrounds throughout the country.

Rebecca Leonard, FAICP, FASLA, CNU-A, is the Founder and CEO of Lionheart Places, which she launched after stepping away from her role as President of a 10-office international design firm. With more than 25 years of experience, she has led nationally recognized projects including the Lafitte Greenway and the Houston Arboretum Master Plan. A Fellow of both AICP and ASLA, Rebecca speaks and writes nationally on leadership and professional practice. She is known for candidly addressing the realities of growth, risk, and reinvention—and for building firms grounded in courage, clarity, and long-term impact.