Meg Calkins, FASLA, FCELA, is a Professor of Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning at NC State University. She has taught and written about resilient site design and construction for 27 years. Her current book is Details and Materials for Resilient Sites: A Climate Positive Approach (Routledge 2025). She is the author of Materials for Sustainable Sites (2008) and editor of the Sustainable Sites Handbook (2012). Meg has taken an active leadership role in development and implementation of SITES since 2003, and has served on the ASLA Climate and Biodiversity Committee since 2023. She currently serves on the LAF Board.

Andrew is a Project Leader at LPA, a national integrated design firm. He 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 Trustee for Sierra Chapter and co-chair of the Leadership and Communication sub-committee of the Biodiversity and Climate Action Committee.

Diane Jones Allen, D. Eng., PLA, FASLA, is Director/Professor of Landscape Architecture, University of Texas at Arlington, and Principal Landscape Architect with DesignJones LLC, which received the 2016 American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) Community Service Award. Diane is part of one of a cross disciplinary team, that won the 2020 Skidmore Owens and Merrill (SOM Foundation Research Prize, which examined social justice in urban contexts. She was a 2021-2022 fellow for Garden and Landscape Studies at Dumbarton Oaks, where she researched Maroons in coastal Louisiana. She currently serves on the 2025 ASLA’s Climate Task Force.

Mariana emphasizes the importance of place-based, sustainable design. She enjoys working in urban settings that engage diverse user groups and activate spaces essential to civic life. In her work as a licensed landscape architect, Mariana seeks to create a vibrant public realm, connect people to the environment, and develop strategies to accomplish the project vision. At SWA, she leads a wide range of projects, from community parks to district-scale urban development and planning around the Bay Area and beyond. Mariana is committed to climate action and advancing sustainability efforts within her project work, at a firm-wide level, and professionally.

For over 20 years Jennifer has worked at the interface of ecology, landscape architecture, & conservation planning, leading projects ranging from regional greenways to state and national parks, institutional and educational campuses, and citywide ecological networks merging landscape ecology, climate resilience, and equity strategies with regenerative design. Her practice engages principles of systems-ecology, resilience, biodiversity, and environmental justice, facilitating dialogue and socio-ecological narratives that engage nature in design. Jennifer has published pieces in Landscape Architecture Magazine, PLACES Journal, theEarthIssue#4, The Nature of Cities, and contributed to the book, The Landscape Approach: From Local Communities to Territorial Systems.

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.