Youth-Led Community Resilience: Trauma-Informed Practices Fostering Equitable Development - 1.25 PDH (LA CES/non-HSW)

Includes a Live Web Event on 04/16/2025 at 10:00 AM (EDT)

Youth-led community development can be a critical component to addressing systemic inequities, including the risks and traumas associated with climate change. This session will present the impacts of a unique partnership between community, practice, and academia to provide equitable design strategies for resilience in East Kinston, NC.

Learning Outcomes:

Understand how landscape architects can partner with community-based organizations in initiating, visioning, and moving responsive equity-centered projects forward.
Develop awareness of the importance of trauma-informed design and planning in advancing resilience solutions.
Identify specific outcomes of capacity building and equitable development processes where landscape architects and allied professionals can add value.
Describe the relationship between traditional practice and nontraditional practice models, and how leveraging academic partnerships can support communities with limited access to resources.

Note: This webinar was originally presented as part of ASLA’s 2024 conference. Please check your LA CES PDH record (under the "Professional Development" tab in your ASLA member account on asla.org) if you are not sure whether you've already earned PDH for this presentation.

Kofi Boone, FASLA

Professor

NC State University

Kofi Boone, FASLA is a professor of landscape architecture and environmental planning at NC State University. His work is in the overlap between landscape architecture and environmental justice with specializations in democratic design and interpreting cultural landscapes. He leads the Just Communities Lab. Along with M. Elen Deming, Kofi is co-editor of Empty Pedestals: Countering Confederate Narratives Through Public Design, forthcoming from LSU Press.

Sarah W. Konradi, ASLA, PLA

Executive Director

Design Workshop Foundation

Sarah Konradi, PLA, ASLA, is Executive Director of Design Workshop Foundation in Denver, CO. Sarah has dedicated her career to developing and scaling evidence-based initiatives that advance equitable access to nature. In 2018, Sarah delivered a TEDxMileHigh talk, “Designing playgrounds for happier, healthier kids”, to draw attention to the need for innovation in parks and playgrounds.

Sarah holds a BFA from Savannah College of Art and Design and an MLA from NC State University. Prior to joining Design Workshop in 2022, she was Director of Design and Engagement at National Wildlife Federation.

Chris J. Suggs

Executive Director

Kinston Teens, Inc.

Chris J. Suggs, Founder & CEO of Kinston Teens, empowers youth and fosters community development in Kinston, NC. His organization revitalizes neighborhoods, engages youth in government, and operates Kinston's first resilience hub. Born and raised in East Kinston, Chris is dedicated to creating positive change. At 23, he manages a real estate portfolio of over 20 properties, focusing on equitable economic advancement. Chris testified before Congress on climate change's impact on his flood-prone community and was elected to the Kinston City Council in 2021, currently serving as the youngest elected official in North Carolina.