Amy Syverson-Shaffer is passionate about connecting people to nature and to each other. Her past work as a landscape architect and in business development frames her collaborative approach to taking on big challenges. Today, she is lending her design acumen and contextual understanding to leading sustainability for the modern craft manufacturer, Landscape Forms. Since 2023, she’s served on the ASLA Biodiversity and Climate Action Committee, working to bridge between key efforts by Landscape Architects and their industry partner community. On any given day, you'll most likely find her working in the garden.

Meg Calkins, FASLA, SITES AP, is a Professor of Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning at North Carolina State University. Meg’s scholarship focuses on the environmental and human health impacts of site construction details and materials. She is the author of the book "Materials for Sustainable Sites" and editor of the "Sustainable Sites Handbook". She is currently writing a book with the working title of "Details and Material for Resilient Sites: A Carbon Positive Approach" (Routledge 2025). Meg has taken an active leadership role in development and implementation of the Sustainable Sites Initiative (SITES) since 2003.

Pamela Conrad is an internationally recognized landscape architect and climate advocate. She is a senior fellow with Architecture 2030, and a 2023 Loeb Fellow and Faculty Lecturer at the Harvard Graduate School of Design. She founded Climate Positive Design to enable climate action by providing guidance and an app to support design teams in drawing down carbon while creating environmental, social, cultural, and economic co-benefits. She is a farm girl from Missouri, inspired by the richness and ingenuity of nature.

Sarah's research and design work reflects her conviction that public space design plays an indispensable role in advancing environmental justice. She is passionate about leveraging firm work to better address the climate crisis, and advocates for the necessity of landscape architects’ voices in shaping environmental policies. Sarah joined SWA Group in 2020 after earning a Master of Landscape Architecture degree from the University of California Berkeley.

Bryce Carnehl has been in the landscape industry for over 20 years working in construction, landscape architecture, sales, corporate social responsibility, and marketing. Throughout these years he has dedicated himself to promoting the value of green spaces.

Every project begins with a plan, and better planning leads to project success. Bryce now works to create business opportunity for landscape stakeholders through design, planning, and specification efforts. He believes that together we can build business prosperity, increase the value of landscapes, and ensure healthy communities in which we all live, work, and play.      

Chris focuses on the integration of ecology and culture, with a commitment to craft in the built environment. Chris led Sasaki’s CarbonConscience research project team from 2019 to the present and serves as a current co-chair of the ASLA CAC Carbon Drawdown & Biodiversity subcommittee. Through these efforts, Chris has been translating literature reviews and decarbonizing design strategies into tools and educational resources for designers and planners. Chris is actively applying these tools and research to projects in the USA and EU. Chris believes that every project is not only a design opportunity but an opportunity to experiment and learn.

As Sustainability Specialist within LPA’s Sustainability + Applied Research (S+AR) Team, Alejandra is focused on process and progress. LPA Design Studios is a multidisciplinary firm that prioritizes an integrated approach to sustainability which allows Alejandra a unique window of opportunity effect change at a project, discipline, and firm-wide level. Her passion for environmentalism fuels her capacity to advocate for solutions that drive decarbonization and consider the triple bottom line: people, planet, prosperity. She serves on ASLA’s National Climate Action Committee and has been collaborating with her committee members to publish educational material focused on decarbonizing design and construction specifications.

As Sustainability Specialist within LPA’s Sustainability + Applied Research (S+AR) Team, Alejandra is focused on process and progress. LPA Design Studios is a multidisciplinary firm that prioritizes an integrated approach to sustainability which allows Alejandra a unique window of opportunity effect change at a project, discipline, and firm-wide level. Her passion for environmentalism fuels her capacity to advocate for solutions that drive decarbonization and consider the triple bottom line: people, planet, prosperity. She serves on ASLA’s National Climate Action Committee and has been collaborating with her committee members to publish educational material focused on decarbonizing design and construction specifications.

Mariana Ricker is passionate about California landscapes and emphasizes the importance of site-specific, sustainable landscape design. She enjoys working in urban settings that engage diverse user groups and activate spaces essential to civic life.

In her work as a landscape architect, Mariana seeks to create memorable experiences, connect people to the environment, and provide elegant solutions to accomplish the project vision. At SWA, she works on a wide range of projects, from community parks to large-scale urban development and planning around the Bay Area and beyond. Mariana is committed to climate action within her project work and professionally. She is a member of the national ULI Sustainable Development Product Council, and currently sits on both national and local ASLA Biodiversity & Climate Action Committees. 

Andrew Wickham is a Project Leader at LPA, a national integrated design firm.  Andrew leads designs at the intersection of built, cultural, and natural systems and is a champion of metric-driven design.  His interest lies in how the blending of built and natural environments can enhance a user’s experience and reinforce values of equity, ecology, and curiosity.  Andrew is a proven thinker and strategist, speaking at numerous conferences about the value of performative landscapes and human experience. He is currently Trustee for California Sierra Chapter of ASLA and co-chair of the Leadership and Communication sub-committee of the national Biodiversity and Climate Action Committee.

Erin Kelly, ASLA, AICP, PLA, is a collaborative leader with expertise prototyping inclusive and cross-sector solutions to urban revitalization. She currently serves as the Director of Sustainability & Innovation for Wayne County (MI).

Erin’s mission is to lead and spur collaborative innovation in planning and design for impact. She seeks to prototype and launch beautiful, data-driven, participatory, and narrative-rich solutions to deep urban challenges that improve the quality of life for people in the cities of today and tomorrow.

Erin lives with her family and too many bicycles on Detroit’s east side.

Mark Kenber is Executive Director of VCMI and has worked for nearly three decades on market-based instruments for environmental protection, with a particular focus on carbon markets. 

His previous roles include positions at Fundación Natura in Ecuador, WWF’s International Climate Change Program, The Climate Group, Mongoose Energy Ltd, and Climate Advisers. He has also served as Climate Change Advisor to the Ecuadorian Government. Mark is a board member of ICVCM, C:C Brighton and Brighton and Hove Energy Services Cooperative.

Stephen Taglieri is the Marketing Director at the National Indian Carbon Coalition (NICC). Working in the carbon and climate space for more than half a decade, Stephen focusses on telling stories of conservation success and creating impact through the empowerment of underrepresented voices.

Outside of NICC, Stephen is the CEO and Creative Director of Kingdom Multimedia, a creative marketing agency that specializes in the development of communications strategy. Through end-to-end content development, collaborating from the design phase to marketing implementation, Stephen has crafted unique climate messaging meeting his clients’ goals. Previously, he has produced documentaries, written articles, and been the lead photographer for organizations such as the Smithsonian Institute, the International Union for Conservation of Nature, and the American Forest Foundation.

Amy Syverson-Shaffer is passionate about connecting people to nature and to each other. Her past work as a landscape architect and in business development frames her collaborative approach to taking on big challenges. Today, she is lending her design acumen and contextual understanding to leading sustainability for the modern craft manufacturer, Landscape Forms. Since 2023, she’s served on the ASLA Biodiversity and Climate Action Committee, working to bridge between key efforts by Landscape Architects and their industry partner community. On any given day, you'll most likely find her working in the garden.