Embracing Change: Transitioning from an Established Firm to Launch a Small Practice - 1.25 PDH (LA CES/non-HSW)

Recorded On: 10/10/2025

Navigating the challenges of starting your own small practice can seem daunting and insurmountable. Three designers, who all started their careers at recognized, established design firms, share practical insight into how they successfully launched their own studios, each with a distinct focus and identity.

Learning objectives:

Learn the importance of articulating your personal mission statement and identifying your motivations for starting a design practice.
Evaluate your readiness to launch your own firm, including assessing your skills, desires, and available resources.
Learn about the practical, financial, and legal requirements associated with launching a new design business and how to manage these with an organized strategy.
Explore circumstances that can impact the success of your new practice and learn strategies for instituting resilience against those factors outside of your control.

Justin Winters, ASLA, PLA, LEED AP

Principal + Co-Founder

Wintergreen Landscape Studio

Justin is in his third decade of creating designs that connect people with nature, each other, and a culture of health, recreation, and sustainability. Seeking a tactile approach to landscape design, Justin co-founded Wintergreen Landscape Studio in 2020 with his wife, Amity. Wintergreen is a rural studio, situated on an historic farm and apple orchard. The farm’s gardens serve as Wintergreen’s laboratory, where concepts are formulated and tested in real-time; everything from color composition, soil health, plant cultivation and site maintenance. Prior to forming Wintergreen, Justin was a principal at SWA Group San Francisco and SWA/Balsley in New York City.

Ashley Langworthy, ASLA, PLA

Principal + Founder

Miasto

Ashley is the founder and principal of Miasto, a consultancy dedicated to enhancing civic life through thriving public realms and parks. Ashley has been in practice for more than 20 years and draws from her diverse experience in planning, economics, park management, placemaking, real estate, and design. She works with cities, non-profits, and developers on park and public realm projects, creating plans and strategies for activation, management, maintenance, operations, governance, and ongoing revenue development. Prior to forming Miasto, Ashley was the Vice President of park management firm, BRV, and a designer at firms SWA Group and Hart Howerton.

Christopher Torres, ASLA, PLA

Founding Principal

Agency Artifact

Chris is an award-winning landscape architect and urban designer passionate about creating more equitable, resilient and vibrant cities. He founded Agency Artifact (MBE) as a civic design studio, creating ambitious placemaking experiences. He was a visiting researcher of Urban Design at the Queensland University of Technology, lecturer in Landscape Architecture and Urbanism at USC, Vice President of the LA Forum for Architecture and Urban Design, and served on the Board of Directors of the Landscape Architecture Foundation. He was appointed to serve as Planning Commissioner for the City of Los Angeles.