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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Dr. Cheng is the Director of Stuckeman School and Professor of Landscape Architecture at Penn State University. Previously, Dr. Cheng directed the Hydro-GI Lab and applies a Climate Justicescape framework to identify spatial and systemic injustice associated with climate change impacts in vulnerable communities and to evaluate social-ecological outcomes of green infrastructure design. Dr. Cheng’s work on Climate Justice Design informs planning and design with community-centered natural-based solutions for climate actions and urban resilience. Dr. Cheng serves on the ASLA Environmental Justice PPN as past Co-Chair, Member of Climate Actions Committee and Climate Action Plan Advisory Group, and CELA President. 

José de Jesús Leal Loera is a truth teller, landscape architect, and bridge-builder who believes laughter is good medicine. A lifelong student of land and culture, his work is grounded in humility and spiritual awareness. As Co-Founder and Director of the Native Nation Building Studio at MIG, he advances Indigenous self-determination through sovereignty-forward planning and culturally responsive design. José partners with Native Nations to support community capacity, climate resilience, and cultural resurgence. Through his presentations and practice, he positions landscape architecture as a vehicle for healing, restoration, and collective transformation rooted in truth and relationships.

Deb is a landscape architect and partner at Mithun in Seattle, an integrated design firm with additional offices in San Francisco and Los Angeles. She designs high performance landscapes and works on climate resilience with Environmental Justice communities to support their self-determination. Passionate about co-design, she applies what she learned exploring “Design in Kinship” during the Landscape Architecture Foundation’s 2021-22 Innovation and Leadership Fellowship. She will share research done with Catherine De Almeida, ASLA, associate professor of landscape architecture at the University of Washington College of the Built Environment, regarding the range of interpretations of trust, power, and kinships among designers, academics, community leaders, public agencies, and nonprofits and how that can be considered to advance relational work. Current projects include the Commencement Bay Resilience and Restoration Plan in Tacoma, WA; co-design with the South Park neighborhood in Seattle for a water quality facility and shoreline park on the Duwamish River; and resilience and equity-based model codes for jurisdictions for new light rail station areas in the Seattle region. 

Catherine De Almeida is an Associate Professor of Landscape Architecture at the University of Washington. Since 2014, she has developed her design research, landscape lifecycles, in which she applies a material lifecycles lens to the inventory, analysis, and design of waste landscapes. Through her community-engaged activities, she emphasizes waste relations by illuminating the performance, visibility, citizenships, emotions, perceptions, attitudes, and injustices of waste materials and landscapes. Her work has been supported by numerous grants, recognized in national and international publications and media outlets, and was awarded the 2022 CELA Faculty Award of Excellence in Research and/or Creative Activities.

Laura Marett, ASLA, RLA, LEED AP, is Director of Landscape Planning at SCAPE. Her practice includes landscape design and systems planning with an emphasis on resiliency. Laura’s work encompasses a range of scales and project types, from the design of public parks, streetscapes and waterfronts to large-scale landscape planning and campus master planning. Laura has particular interest in the design of vibrant urban public spaces through an engaged public process and resilience planning with communities. Laura holds a Master’s in Landscape Architecture from the Harvard Graduate School of Design and a Bachelor’s in literature from Harvard College.

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.

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.

Grant Thompson, ASLA, PhD, PLA, LEED AP, is a landscape architect, horticulturist, and urban soil ecologist with over 15 years of experience. His practice career includes planning and built work in parks and open space, urban design, and college and university markets. His research includes peer-reviewed publications about tree biodiversity, soil microbiomes, and biodiversity-ecosystem function in the built environment. He co-organized the 4th International Urban Tree Diversity Conference in 2022, is the chair-elect of the Board of Directors for Trees Forever (IA, IL, WI), and Iowa Urban Tree Council advisor, and a member of the ASLA Biodiversity and Climate Change Committee.

Christian was the lead designer for the Louisiana Children’s Museum, working with museum staff and local horticulturists and biologists to design the experiential and ecological landscape. Christian is passionate about designing at the intersection of nature, culture and human health in the public realm. He has worked on parks, education and ecological design projects across the country, from the Mariposa Grove Restoration at Yosemite National Park, to Blakely Elementary School on Bainbridge Island, and the Issaquah Anchor Parks Master Plans. He is currently designing several inclusive and nature-based playgrounds in park and educational landscapes in the Pacific Northwest. 

Kyle Verseman currently serves as Regional Sales Manager for Landscape Forms where he leads a team of business development representatives across the Southeast Region. In this role, Kyle works closely with landscape architects, designers, and planners to turn conceptual needs into built realities. Having spent two decades as a landscape architect and project manager for SmithGroup, Kyle is well versed in building meaningful relationships through listening, understanding client aspirations, and providing technical expertise to ensure design intent is met while optimizing project outcomes. A Past President of the Michigan Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects, he currently serves as President of the Michigan Chapter ASLA Foundation, a non-profit committed to providing educational and financial resources to improve diversity within the profession of landscape architecture.

Emily is a Senior Associate and licensed landscape architect at Dana Brown and Associates in New Orleans, Louisiana, with over five years of professional experience. She currently serves as co-chair of the Advocacy Subcommittee of the National ASLA Climate & Biodiversity Action Committee, where she helps develop resources for members and expand the nationwide Climate & Biodiversity Action Network. Emily also serves as Climate Action Chair for the Louisiana Chapter of ASLA, advancing climate and biodiversity initiatives by highlighting how firms across the state are implementing the plan and connecting practitioners with national resources. Driven by a deep commitment to preserving Louisiana’s cultural landscapes and heritage, Emily designs spaces that are both resilient and community centered. 

Aida Curtis has over 35 of experience as a landscape architect, arborist, certified landscape inspector and leader of her firm Curtis + Rogers Design Studio. Leading the Hispanic/Woman-owned landscape architecture firm in South Florida has allowed her to create sustainable spaces that are economically and socially inclusive. Aida’s portfolio includes award-winning transportation, recreational, institutional and civic projects. She serves on the American Society of Landscape Architects National Climate Action Committee and lectures on landscape architecture’s ability to address climate change. Her commitment to environmental stewardship, sustainable development and resilient landscapes has benefitted hundreds of municipal, transportation and other civic projects.

Chelsea is an Associate, AICP-certified planner, and landscape designer at Livable Cities Studio, where she focuses on community-driven, climate-resilient planning and design. She is active in external organizations, serving as the Deputy Director of Marketing & Communications for the WxLA organization and serving as President on the executive board for the ASLA Colorado/Wyoming Chapter. She brings strong communication skills and a collaborative approach to advancing resilient outcomes for communities. Chelsea earned dual master degrees in Landscape Architecture and Urban and Regional Planning from the University of Colorado Denver in 2021.

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.

José Juan Terrasa-Soler is a partner and landscape architect at Marvel, based in Santurce, Puerto Rico. He is also an environmental scientist and university professor. He is a practicing Buddhist and enjoys hiking, nature exploration, amateur astronomy, photography, and fountain pens. 

Originally from Arecibo, Puerto Rico, he holds degrees from Mount Saint Mary’s College (Maryland), The University of Michigan, Yale University, and Harvard University. He has led teams in corporate, governmental, and nonprofit sectors. His work focuses on the intersection of ecology and design, including green infrastructure and sustainable urban design. José Juan is also a founding faculty member at Polytechnic University of Puerto Rico's Master of Landscape Architecture program.

Dr. Crystal Cavalier-Keck is the co-founder of Seven Directions of Service, an indigenous grassroots environmental nonprofit, with her husband. She is a citizen of the Occaneechi Band of the Saponi Nation in Burlington, North Carolina. She is also an Adjunct Professor in the Social Sciences department at Salem College in Winston Salem, North Carolina. 

Crystal has dedicated the past five-plus years to defending her homelands against the Mountain Valley Pipeline/Southgate Extension. Crystal received the 2022 FracTracker Community Sentinel Award for Environmental Stewardship. She is leading a campaign to bring Rights of Nature laws to North Carolina to protect the waterways and communities in the pipeline's path. Crystal co-authored NC House Bills 795 and 923, the Rights of Nature/Rights of the Haw River, prioritizing environmentally impacted communities around the watershed. 

Crystal serves on the boards of Movement Rights, the Haw River Assembly, and the Women’s Resource Center and Benevolence Farm. Crystal is a Sequoyah Fellow with the American Indian Science and Engineering Society and a lifetime member of the National Congress for American Indians.

Pamela Martin is a Professor of Political Science and the HTC Distinguished Honors Fellow at Coastal Carolina University in Conway, South Carolina, where she teaches courses in International Relations, Environmental Politics, Sustainability and Coastal Resilience. Martin is also the Executive Director of the RISE Center, a United Nations University Regional Centre of Expertise on Education for Sustainable Development. 

She has published numerous articles and books on global environmental policy, energy, and sustainable development. Her book co-authored with Craig Kauffman by MIT Press entitled, The Politics of Rights of Nature: Strategies for Building a More Sustainable Future, examines new policies and tools for sustainable development based on Rights of Nature approaches within communities. 

Aaron Hernandez is a registered landscape architect and Assistant Professor at the University of Guelph’s School of Environmental Design and Rural Development. His research investigates how landscapes inform relationships between cultural values, socioecological systems, and public policy, with a focus on regional urbanization and climate adaptation.

Aaron’s work has been featured in Landscape Architecture Magazine, exhibited at the Toronto Biennial of Art, and has been awarded by the Council of Educators in Landscape Architecture and the Landscape Architecture Canada Foundation. Aaron was awarded the 2024-2025 Landscape Architecture Foundation Fellowship for Innovation and Leadership.

MaFe Gonzalez is a landscape designer and botanist with a strong interest in ecology, taxonomy, and conservation of plants. Her journey into landscape architecture was inspired by her studies in botany where she saw a need to participate in world-making—especially to create spaces that re-establish reciprocal relationships between people and the environment.

MaFe is a passionate and purposeful practitioner that initiates and supports a variety of projects and visions. Her practice framework is “Nature as Client”, which includes nature’s needs and rights as part of the design process. She is also a lecturer in the United States and Colombia, and is a leader and researcher of academic and pro-bono initiatives.

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.