Scholarship | Olmsted Scholars Program
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Showing 46 Results for 2012
Jack Ohly is completing his final year of the three year Master of Landscape Architecture at the University of Pennsylvania. After graduating magna cum laude from Brown University with a BA in visual art, he worked for years on a sustainable agriculture and cultural revitalization initiative in the dry-lands of Northeastern Brazil. The profound, evolving outcomes of these mutually-reinforcing projects convinced him of the value of addressing social needs, ecology and culture in concert. After working for years as a climbing arborist while pursuing his own artistic and musical path, he turned to landscape architecture as a synthesis of his passions and skills. Having developed a range of integrated social and ecological strategies in his student work, Jack plans to pursue a professional, academic and activist career devoted to creating resilient and imaginative public space.
2012 National Olmsted Scholar
Jack Ohly
University of Pennsylvania
MLA CandidateMarin is in her final year of a Masterʼs of Landscape Architecture program at the State University of New York - College of Environmental Science and Forestry. As an undergraduate, she studied art history where she became interested in the field of environmental art. Upon graduation in 2008, she served as an AmeriCorps volunteer working on a coal mine reclamation project with environmental artist Patricia Johanson in Scranton, Pennsylvania. Three years later she returned to the AmeriCorps program for her capstone project, living and working directly with a community in northeastern Ohio to develop a master plan which aims to convert an abandoned iron works into a park. During her time in graduate school, she has been nationally recognized for her work, receiving a 2011 ASLA Student Award in Analysis and Planning. Her interests and future goals include working in cities dealing with issues of vacancy and disinvestment, using design strategies to return a sense of place and encourage sustainable development.
2012 National Olmsted Scholar Finalist
Marin Braco
State University of New York
MLA CandidateTina Chee is an architect and LEED AP currently in the Master of Landscape Architecture program at the USC. She has worked with some of the most influential architects of our time, on three continents. Through this unique experience, Tina has developed a rigorous design process and acquired the critical precision needed for project realization at the highest level. She has worked with Frank Gehry, Norman Foster, and Renzo Piano on a number of important projects; most recently as the Project Architect for an iconic 510-foot tall office tower, part of Gehry’s 8M sf master plan for Brooklyn Atlantic Yards. She was also architect in residence at the Académie d’Architecture de France in Paris and was awarded the top prize in an international housing competition in Japan. Tina’s interests stem from the visual and tactile arts, have grown through the practice of architecture, and have evolved towards the beauty in the performative expressed through the synergy of environmental systems and social programming that effectuate change. Her current educational pursuits focus on the juncture of landscape, urbanism, infrastructure, and architecture that integrate ecological processes and urban programming. She is deeply interested in landscapes that are transformative, that repurpose and regenerate existing infrastructure systems which reconnect and heal communities. Upon graduation, Tina would like to work in the public realm as well as continue to research contemporary design issues as an educator.
2012 National Olmsted Scholar Finalist
Tina Chee
University of Southern California
MLA CandidateTera is a graduate student of Landscape Architecture and Urban Design at the University of Washington. She is a recipient of the Finrow Endowed Rome Fellowship and the Copeland Endowed Fellowship in Urban Design to study infrastructure anchored to the Tiber River. She is interested in collaborative work on post-industrial landscapes and urban green infrastructure design that engages experimental research/representational methods while serving as public educational outreach. Building on her belief in the powerful combination of communication, writing and design, Tera’s work seeks to challenge the contemporary divide between academic and public knowledge on important issues such as climate change. Prior to attending design school, she was a writer and graphic designer in New York City. She received her B.A in English from Vassar College. In her spare time, Tera enjoys racing through the city canyons on her bicycle and reading anything she can get her hands on.
2012 National Olmsted Scholar Finalist
Tera Hatfield
University of Washington
MLA CandidateFadi Masoud holds degrees in Planning and in Landscape Architecture from the Universities of Waterloo, Toronto, and Harvard University. Over the past ten years he has worked at a roster of landscape, research, and planning practices that helped enrich his professional and academic development. Fadi is interested in the intersection of large scale planning and environmental systems that inform multi-scalar landscape interventions within the public realm. Most of his projects find themselves in hydrological extremes; sites of severe flooding or aridity. The demands of these contexts allowed him to test the medium of landscape to help inform and redirect urbanization patterns. He has been selected as a finalist in over 12 international design competitions and his work has been highly published and exhibited. Fadi aspires to start a research practice where he can deploy his findings on landscape systems and engage them in the design of territorial and public realms.
2012 National Olmsted Scholar Finalist
Fadi Masoud
Harvard University
MLA CandidateKjirsten Alexander grew up in the northern Adirondacks and earned her B.S. in Human Development with honors from Cornell’s College of Human Ecology. This May she will graduate with her Masters of Landscape Architecture from the City College of New York. As an undergraduate researching the impacts of monoculture forest plantations in southern Chile she discovered that her passion lies where human and environmental issues intersect, particularly landscapes of resource extraction and the people who inhabit them. She sees Landscape Architecture as a tool to engage environmental justice issues. Currently she is working to design new approaches for reclaiming mountaintop coal mines in Appalachia. Upon graduation she will pursue a career in the public sector working on large-scale land management and recovery projects.
2012 University Olmsted Scholar
Kjirsten Alexander
The City College of New York
MLA CandidateRyan Ball is completing his final semester in the M.L.A. Program at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. After receiving his B.S. degree in Plant Sciences with a concentration in landscape design from the University of Tennessee, he worked for the East Tennessee Community Design Center. There, he engaged in a range of community designs including the Knoxville Urban Wilderness, a 1,000 acre network of greenways, trails, and historic amenities adjacent to downtown Knoxville. Ryan practiced with Hedstrom Design, but returned to school to pursue landscape architecture. His graduate research has stretched across cultural divides developing innovative methods to increase a community’s livability, resiliency, and identity. For his thesis project, Ryan is creating a restorative landscape for a medical facility located in Taloqan, Afghanistan and using this to develop a sustainable framework for future applications. His future goals revolve around creating resilient water centric communities that embody societal and ecological health.
2012 University Olmsted Scholar
Ryan Ball
University of Massachusetts, Amherst
MLA CandidateJim envisions a future in which cities are reflections of living ecosystems, intersected by networks of ecologically symbiotic, economically productive, and innovative public spaces. These spaces will promote social equality, bridge cultural barriers and create civic opportunities to reconnect humans to each other as well as to natural systems we depend on for identify and sustenance. Jim’s eclectic background spans a variety of cultures and geographies; working with Baltimore City school students to create natural habitats and rainwater treatment on their own public school environments to designing tree nurseries and avocado orchards with his Tanzanian counterparts as a US Peace Corps Volunteer. His academic work includes assessment of retrofitted urban storm water treatment, historic waterfront redevelopment, temporal urban form through arts and agriculture, and urban greenway development. After graduation Jim looks forward to establishing a system where cites such as Baltimore are urban models of cultural, economic, and ecological sustainability in which people and environment grow as one, and ideas of sustainability are shared around the world from one culture to the next.
2012 University Olmsted Scholar
Jim Brown
Morgan State University
MLA CandidateChristopher Cabezas is a graduate student at Florida International University seeking a Masters in Landscape Architecture. He received a Bachelor’s of Science in Business Administration and Management from the University of Central Florida. Christopher holds the position of Treasurer for the Student Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects, is a graduate assistant for the School of Architecture at FIU and is a leading officer for the student run Landscape Architecture Conference LAbash 2012. His research interests include the emerging field of landscape urbanism, which supports landscape as the primary medium of future sustainable and functional urban growth. Other focuses include the use of greenways as urban corridors and transit alternatives.
2012 University Olmsted Scholar
Christopher Cabezas
Florida International University
MLA CandidateCulver was raised on a farm in Oregon, growing up among cherry trees, lavender fields and nursery stock. From an early age, she felt a deep appreciation for the rural landscape. At the University of Oregon, Culver was introduced to the idea of conservation subdivisions and the notion of leveraging restoration with development. Given her background, she has become interested in applying her design degree to preserving and restoring land. She believes that large-scale landscape challenges will guide her future career, which will likely involve professional and academic work. It is Culver’s goal to become well informed about conservation design and its applications to the land-use challenges of the future.
2012 University Olmsted Scholar
Laura Culver
University of Oregon
BLA CandidateBrian Curry is completing his undergraduate degree in landscape architecture at Rutgers University. Raised in Central New Jersey, in the most densely populated region in the nation, Brian recognized the lack of communication between people and the environment caused by technological fascination. He has identified recent developments in web-based mobile technologies as one solution to this problem—using a common interest to augment outdoor experiences. In 2010, Brian’s passion led him to design a curriculum for a local environmental education program focused on using mobile technology as a thread to reconnect children with nature. Pursuing this idea, Brian is designing a mobile application, Pioneer, aimed at establishing a network of outdoor built and natural spaces. He will collaborate with students and professors of various fields of research to build the application, seeking to reconnect people to the built and natural environment while embracing a culture of technological innovation.
2012 University Olmsted Scholar
Brian Curry
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
BSLA CandidateSeth Denizen is a current Master of Landscape Architecture candidate at the University of Virginia. He graduated in 2007 from McGill University where he studied evolutionary ecology, completing his thesis work in Panama at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute. While studying biology Seth worked simultaneously as a journalist, filing reports from the streets of Montreal and New York City, as well as Latin America and the Middle East. His work in art and architecture has engaged with the aesthetics of scientific representation, madness and public parks, legal geomorphology, and the political economy of construction waste. He currently lives in a dome digitally fabricated from discarded foam insulation panels, and works on his landscape architecture thesis building a new urban soil taxonomy for the anthropocene.
2012 University Olmsted Scholar
Seth Denizen
University of Virginia
MLA CandidateLu Ding received his B.A. in Environmental Design from Jiangsu University in his hometown Zhenjiang, China. He anticipates receiving his M.L.A from the University of Idaho in the Spring of 2012 with a focus on how green infrastructure can impact the sustainability of the urban landscape. He has also studied further abroad at the University of Copenhagen and in Cremolino, Italy. These programs have helped him to appreciate and value urban site design. Ding is the President of the UI Chinese students and Scholars Association. He has served as a graduate teaching assistant and won the Student Honor Award for the ASLA Idaho/Montana Chapter. His recent role as a member of UI RRDT has helped him to value the role of landscape architecture in fostering public pioneers and promoting international goodwill while improving the quality of life through design. “A bridge across the Pacific Ocean” is his dream.
2012 University Olmsted Scholar
Lu Ding
University of Idaho
MLA Candidate
Jeff Dzikowski is an MLA student at Utah State University where he specializes in the study of sustainable landscapes. As part of his focus on sustainable landscapes Jeff has been working with a local civil engineering firm and the Utah Transit Authority to develop applications to the Sustainable Sites Initiative (SITES). This experience has allowed Jeff to work on one of the SITES pilot projects, the Orem Intermodal Center. Jeff is currently developing a thesis will provide feedback to the Sustainable Sites Initiative based on his experience with the SITES pilot program. Jeff is looking forward to working on additional sustainability-related projects in the future, and he plans to build upon his MLA education by pursuing an MRED degree following his graduation in May 2012. Jeff expects that this diverse educational background will provide him with the ability design, develop and promote sustainable approaches to urban infill development.
2012 University Olmsted Scholar
Jeffrey Dzikowski
Utah State University
MLA CandidateAfter receiving an undergraduate degree in sociology and pursuing graduate studies in history, Eilers decided instead of just studying people and their past, he wanted to help shape their future. So, he shifted directions to pursue a bachelor of landscape architecture and take courses toward a graduate degree in environmental science simultaneously. His innate interests in culture, history, and nature coalesced within the complex, dynamic field of landscape architecture. During his studies at Oklahoma State University, Eilers has worked on researching and documenting historic cultural landscapes to help leave a public legacy of measured, interpretive drawings and historic descriptions of landscapes of local, regional, and national importance. By respecting the history of a place or region’s landscapes and understanding how people used and perceived these landscapes, he is better equipped to face the design challenges ahead, especially as the issues of sustainability, stewardship, and preservation increase in necessity and urgency.
2012 University Olmsted Scholar
Steven Eilers
Oklahoma State University
BLA CandidatePeter Ellery is completing a Master of Landscape Architecture degree at Ball State University. He previously earned a Doctorate in Health and Movement Education from The Ohio State University and currently focuses his research on Salutogenic Theory and the development of healthy communities in emerging nations. He has developed concept proposals for fostering community through the landscaping of a housing development in La Prusia, Nicaragua and presented papers like Building Trust, Building Partnerships and Building Better Communities at conferences such as the IUHPE World Conference on Health Promotion. Peter has also published papers related to Community Partnership Development and has a book chapter highlighting Salutogenesis as a catalyst for effective healthcare delivery. Upon graduation, Peter will return to academe and continue his career studying how landscape and environmental design can help displaced populations reestablish healthy communities; especially in regions of the world that have experienced civil conflict or natural disasters.
2012 University Olmsted Scholar
Peter Ellery
Ball State University
MLA CandidateJennifer Engelke, a MLA candidate at Kansas State University, will graduate in May 2012. She believes place-making through natural setting design is critical to inspiring people and promoting their physical and psychological well-being. Her appreciation of the land has been enhanced through projects in natural systems, mountain wildlife design, wetland habitat restoration, natural golf course design and studying in England and Scotland at the Prince of Wales Foundation for Built Environment. Her master’s project focuses on wetlands within the Wildcat Creek watershed in Riley County Kansas to diminish flooding and increase wildlife habitat. Jennifer has demonstrated leadership abilities in campus and community activities including participation in college and departmental committees at K-State, the KSU chapter of Mortar Board, and the First Tee program. Jennifer aspires to work with large-scale projects that promote sustainability, whether through bringing natural elements into design or by encouraging people to explore natural areas.
2012 University Olmsted Scholar
Jennifer Engelke
Kansas State University
MLA CandidateHeather Faivre is graduating this May with her Bachelors in Landscape Architecture from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Her interests in brownfield redevelopment and community-focused design were fostered by her experience as an intern in the division of Environment, Culture and Conservation at the Field Museum in Chicago, where she worked with urban anthropologists, urban planners and community leaders to create neighborhood specific sustainability projects in line with the Chicago Climate Action Plan. After graduation she will be traveling for the Ryerson Fellowship, visiting post-industrial cities and sites in Europe that have been transformed into active cultural and social resources. Heather’s dedication to designing within the framework of social sustainability will persist into her career as a designer and advocate of public spaces that communities can embrace.
2012 University Olmsted Scholar
Heather Faivre
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
BLA CandidateColby Fangman will earn the Bachelor of Landscape Architecture degree from Iowa State University in May 2012. While serving in the Iowa National Guard and attending school, Colby became an overseas veteran and non-commissioned officer. He has proven himself as a leader of his class receiving multiple scholarship selections for his success. Continuing his pragmatic approach and focus on ecosystem services, Colby is currently seeking scholarship funding to start a small business in cost-effective biodegradation services. During the summer of 2011, Colby interned with a non-profit land trust organization where he was the lead writer of multiple grants, including two public land acquisitions selected for funding by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. Following graduation, Colby will seek summer work with a professional practice before pursuing his master’s degree in Interdisciplinary Graduate Studies at Iowa State. His declared graduate focuses are rhetoric, landscape architecture, and integrated visual arts.
2012 University Olmsted Scholar
Colby Fangman
Iowa State University
BLA CandidateMatthew graduated this January with two master’s degrees from the Departments of Landscape Architecture (MLA) and City & Regional Planning (MRP). His bachelor’s degree, also from Cornell University, is in natural resources ecology and management. Before graduate school he worked as a planner for a municipality on Long Island, NY. During graduate school he gained experience in the non-profit and research extension fields, working at the Nashville Civic Design Center, in Nashville, TN; on an action research initiative concerned with cultivating sustainability and resilience in New York rustbelt cities (Rust to Green NY); and most recently, as a sustainable coastal development intern with the University of Hawai’i Sea Grant College Program, working closely with the Director of the Center for Smart Building and Community Design. In March he will begin new employment with the UH Sea Grant College Program as an Extension Agent, Community Planning and Design.
2012 University Olmsted Scholar
Matthew Gonser
Cornell University
MLA, MRPWally Graeber will receive his Bachelor of Science Degree in Landscape Architecture from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in the summer of 2012. His year-long senior capstone project aims to design implementable solutions using a network of community gardens, walkable environments, visible stormwater amenities, and renewable energy elements. During the final months of his undergraduate career, Wally is traveling to Kochi, India under the direction of the Sweet Water Foundation. Together, Wally and an interdisciplinary team of students will work alongside residents to implement aquaponic systems which will introduce a needed protein source in their diet, reduce the chance of organic or fecal pollution into groundwater, and spur economic development in dense urban areas. Wally’s vision for his career include applying his passions of teaching, designing and constructing food systems on a local level with school age children, and at an international level with families in developing countries similar to India.
2012 University Olmsted Scholar
Walter Graeber
University of Wisconsin, Madison
BSLA CandidateRaised in Alaska, Ms. Green spent summers on her Grandfather’s farm in west Texas and in the remote Alaskan bush, where she developed a seminal relationship with land, seasons, growing and hunting food and the people participating in these land-based practices. Speaking English, French and Spanish, Ms. Green works collaboratively with diverse populations, and has raised funds for land restoration affecting underserved populations. She writes educational articles, serves on public agency committees and teaches local workshops on sustainable landscape design. Ms. Green’s studies investigate large- and small-scale regenerative landscapes utilizing edible and native plants and water harvesting, resulting in multi-functional spaces that serve diverse populations and transform “waste.” Upon completion of the MLA, Ms. Green intends to further develop wastewater reuse and passive and active water harvesting to support landscapes of sustenance and beauty in areas of scarce ecological and social resources. Ms. Green would also like to teach Landscape Architecture.
2012 University Olmsted Scholar
Christie Green
University of New Mexico
MLA CandidateSean Haviland is a fourth year undergraduate currently studying to receive a Bachelors Degree of Landscape Architecture at Clemson University. She is greatly concerned about the environment in which we live. Haviland wants to put an end to unhealthy development and inspire people to grow in a way that is beneficial to plants and animals, as well as the human race. She plans to become educated and to educate others on the importance of ecological sustainability and the importance of protecting what natural environment we have left. Before she begins her career as a Landscape Architect, she plans on continuing her education by researching the relationship of cultural diversity and biodiversity on sustainable development. There is a strong correlation between the natural environment and the human cultures that shape it. Without addressing and understanding this connection we cannot appropriately develop the environment.
2012 University Olmsted Scholar
Sean Haviland
Clemson University
BLA CandidateCaitlin Jackson is receiving her Bachelor of Landscape Architecture degree from Michigan State University in May 2012. In her final year, Caitlin worked on a capstone project focusing on revitalizing a site along the Woodward corridor in Detroit as well as a study focusing on the design of school gardens in Michigan. She developed a passion for sustainable campus landscape architecture and place making while working as an intern for Michigan State University’s Department of Engineering and Architectural Services. There, she assisted with major campus renovations that included sustainable features such as porous pavement and a greenhouse that will contribute food to the University cafeterias. She aspires to work as a campus planner, designing landscapes that combine the radiance of modern art, the inherent beauty of sustainable design, and the timeless character of the university that would educate and inspire students for generations to come.
2012 University Olmsted Scholar
Caitlin Jackson
Michigan State University
BLA CandidateBrenna Jones is a fourth-year student completing her Bachelor of Science in Landscape Architecture at the University of California, Davis. She began her studies working toward a degree in design but discovered along the way that landscape architecture better encompasses her love for nature and the environment. Inspired by her time spent visiting sustainable landscapes in Europe, she is passionate about urban design that respects the environment while also providing a high quality of life for residents. A major focus of her studies has been on the role design and planning play in the creation of communities that support the needs of older adults. Brenna hopes to bring more awareness to the importance of designing for people of all ages and abilities and plans to continue exploring solutions throughout her career and future education.
2012 University Olmsted Scholar
Brenna Jones
University of California, Davis
BSLA CandidateBrett Kordenbrock is a Master of Landscape Architecture candidate and The Ohio State University Knowlton School of Architecture focusing on Landscape Infrastructure and Urbanism. His current interests draw from a range of sources. Kordenbrock’s degree in Urban Planning from the University of Cincinnati, volunteer work at a not‐for‐profit, and community engagement with under‐represented stakeholders at the Niehoff Urban Design Center has led to a belief that design can be a critical cultural response to complex problems. While at the Knowlton School, courses in ecological planning and landscape ecology have added an additional wrinkle to his interests. Landscape’s capacity to be productive both environmentally and socially has guided his current research into infrastructural opportunism. In “Augmenting Systems,” his winning entry into the ACSA’s “Being Resourceful” competition, he looked at coal infrastructure and economy in Ohio and proposed a simple reorganization of outputs to augment existing site processes. In the future, Kordenbrock hopes to pursue education in Geography and Architecture through both professional practice, collaboration with USGBC Chapters, and teaching at the collegiate level.
2012 University Olmsted Scholar
Brett Kordenbrock
Ohio State University
MLA CandidateElaine Kramer is a student in Chatham University’s Master of Landscape Architecture program. Her research interest is the relationship between the built environment, microclimates, and climate change in sub—‐Saharan West Africa, a focus that sprang from her work as volunteer with the Peace Corps in Sierra Leone earlier in her professional life. Ms. Kramer embraced landscape architecture following a career in journalism. She was a top editor at the Orlando Sentinel and The Morning Call (Allentown, PA) and also held significant positions at The Hartford Courant in Connecticut. After leaving daily journalism, she ran the training arm of a national professional journalism organization, Associated Press Media Editors, and worked nationally as a newsroom leadership trainer and consultant. Ms. Kramer’s interests include baking pies, camping and hiking, visiting historic sites, and working with her husband, social worker Joel Shaul, to create teaching aids to help children with autism learn social skills. Mr. Shaul and Ms. Kramer have two adult children.
2012 University Olmsted Scholar
Elaine Kramer
Chatham University
MLA CandidateTaylor Ladd’s interests in the environment and in social service drive her endeavors in the realm of food security and green space access in Athens, Georgia. While in the M.L.A. program at The University of Georgia, her research has been analysis of existing local food and park systems in an effort to advocate municipal support for community gardens. In May 2012, Taylor will share her research in presentation at the Environmental Design and Research Association conference, and is co-authoring an article for peer-reviewed publication with her major professor and a horticulture associate professor. Her work with communities in Costa Rica and Ecuador informs a global perspective integral to local environmental and economic issues. Underpinning her work is a B.S. degree in geology, a B.L.A., and three years employment with the Department of Horticulture. Taylor plans to use this education and passion for the environment to make a difference for people.
2012 University Olmsted Scholar
Taylor Ladd
University of Georgia
MLA CandidateThomas Mahone will graduate in May 2012 with a Bachelor of Landscape Architecture degree from Philadelphia University. He grew up in New Oxford, Pennsylvania and was compelled toward landscape architecture after witnessing suburban sprawl around his rural hometown. In his five years at Philadelphia University, he has focused on revitalizing communities with sustainable solutions that increase social capital. While studying for a semester in Copenhagen, Denmark, he explored the dynamic between urban communities and alternative transportation. Thomas enjoys working with community groups and would like to continue exploring urban design as a professional and later as a graduate student. In his spare time he enjoys making music, golfing and volunteering at community gardens.
2012 University Olmsted Scholar
Thomas Mahone
Philadelphia University
BLA CandidateManandhar is pursuing her final year of the Master of Landscape Architecture degree at University of Texas at Arlington. She has an undergraduate professional degree in Architecture and currently holds an internship at Design Center in the City of Arlington, Texas. As a graduate assistant, Manandhar has helped her professor with his research paper on landscape architecture trends and on Vision North Texas. She has also worked as an architect in a firm with inclinations towards LEED accredited designs. She is interested in research based on stream restoration projects, environmental planning and bringing awareness in underdeveloped communities regarding low impact development design implications. Manandhar would like to work in a landscape architecture firm and later in Nepal under forestry community projects. She has received the Myric Landscape scholarship for year 2010-2011 and 2011-2012 and the outstanding academic achievement merit award 2011. Her team has received Texas ASLA 2012 in the category of analysis and planning. She enjoys trekking, painting and travelling.
2012 University Olmsted Scholar
Nhasala Manandhar
University or Texas at Arlington
MLA CandidateBenjamin is completing his second year in the Master of Landscape Architecture program at the University of Toronto, and had previously received a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Dalhousie University. He has been awarded the John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design Fellowship in Landscape Architecture, and is currently acting as research assistant with the Green Roof Innovation Testing Laboratory (GRIT LAB) at the University of Toronto, testing and evaluating the construction specifications of green roofs against their environmental and performative goals. Benjamin’s interests lie in functional design, and he hopes to study and enable communities in the developing world to procure and incorporate green technologies.
2012 University Olmsted Scholar
Benjamin Matthews
University of Toronto
MLA CandidateMatthew McCreary is a 2nd year Master of Landscape Architecture student at Texas A & M University. He received a master’s degree in environmental science from Louisiana State University, and a bachelor’s degree in social psychology from the University of Toledo. While at Louisiana State University, Matthew’s education focused on storm water management, and aquatic pollution, with the intent to apply this education to the field of landscape architecture. As a Master of Landscape Architecture student, his research interests include storm water management and water quality analysis, as well as creating a Regenerative Development Model of vacant land using GIS, which may be used to advise planning departments of redevelopment possibilities within U.S cities. Matthew is originally from Ohio, but has lived and worked in various locations in the United States and Australia. He has work experience in academia, the corporate world, the military, and the music industry.
2012 University Olmsted Scholar
Matthew McCreary
Texas A&M University
MLA CandidatePatsy McEntee-Shaffer is completing her final semester in the MLA Program at the University of Colorado Denver, where she has been fortunate to work on many inspiring studio projects. Working with teammates, McEntee-Shaffer won first place in the Policy category of the 2011 ACSA/USAID Haiti Ideas Competition for creating a set of river restoration and enhancement typologies. Patsy received the Eugene D. Sternberg scholarship for her work with Living City Block, a nationally recognized initiative dedicated to creating replicable frameworks for resource-efficient cities. Patsy’s contribution developed sustainable street design strategies for semi-arid climates, employing multimodal opportunities while mitigating for storm water. Her broader concept used design to reclaim histories of local neighborhoods that had been lost to redevelopment. Her current role at the National Park Service enables her to design and plan for open space programs with underserved communities in rural and urban Colorado and Oklahoma. Patsy’s thesis, Deconstructing the High Line: the Representation & Reception of Nature, examines the cultural constructs that transform the reception of nature in urban settings.
2012 University Olmsted Scholar
Patsy McEntee-Shaffer
University of Colorado Denver
MLA CandidatePreston Montague is an artist and educator whose preferred medium is the landscape. He has a passion for the artistic expression of natural systems to educate and inspire a sense of agency in people to alter their own environments. Preston is currently pursuing a graduate degree in landscape architecture at North Carolina State University where he focuses his attention on teaching, and communications based projects which include teaching his own course in graphic communication strategies, co-authoring a new communications platform for the University’s College of Design, and collaborating with an interdisciplinary design team to create the University’s first scholarly journal for landscape architecture. His new passion is the development of multi-media civics and natural science curriculums based upon sustainable design and planning principles. Preston is on a mission to boost a sense of earth stewardship in the general public to increase the efficacy of sustainable design and planning efforts.
2012 University Olmsted Scholar
Preston Montague
North Carolina State University
MLA CandidateKristen Murray believes that everyone deserves access to the tools to grow as individuals and communities, and that sustainable design grows out of the assets and knowledge in a place. After eight years developing technology and engineering-based educational programs, she returned to graduate school to study Landscape Architecture and the intersection of design, environment, and learning. Her master’s project focuses on listening and making collaborative, on-site installations to program and design public space in a neighborhood with a high population of youth and a history of public disinvestment. Beyond her coursework, Kristen co-founded a volunteer, student-led effort to fill vacant storefronts with “meanwhile” uses during a disruptive period of LRT construction. She is also a Community GIS research assistant and a frequent educator and artist-in-residence with local museums and youth programs. Kristen plans to continue developing a practice for community-based design that engages youth, adults, and design professionals alike.
2012 University Olmsted Scholar
Kristen Murray
University of Minnesota
MLA CandidateChris Murton is a second-year Master of Landscape Architecture candidate at The University of Texas at Austin.
Prior to his graduate studies, Chris received a Bachelor of Arts from Middlebury College, where he majored in
Sociology and Anthropology and received his degree with highest honors. In the years between his academic
pursuits, he served as an Americorps volunteer in Texas, worked to improve public health resources nationally,
and coordinated a large-scale, public-private park design initiative in Boston. Chris is a graduate research assistant
for the Dallas Urban Lab, an urban design project undertaken by The University of Texas School of Architecture,
and imagines a career that explores the intersection of public interest work, urban design, and creative production.
He is particularly interested in the growing phenomenon of informal settlements, and hopes to improve ecosystem
services and public health conditions in these areas of rapid urbanization in the coming years.2012 University Olmsted Scholar
Christopher Murton
University of Texas at Austin
MLA CandidateSandra Nam graduated with a B.A. from the University of Chicago, ultimately landing a career in the fragrance industry. She learned the art of perfumery and became fascinated with essential oils, man-made materials, and natural resources. Her interest in the built environment stems from this experience and fond memories helping her immigrant parents build the landscape around their dream-home. While consulting for The Nature Conservancy and advocating for passage of the Forest Landscape Restoration Act, she entered Virginia Tech’s M.L.A. program with a curiosity for natural systems and an eagerness to make the world more enjoyable through design. Sandra’s thesis focused on how a designer can find a deeper meaning in a site’s sense of place that can be re-told through sustainability of history, culture, and ecology. She is exploring ways to harness social media for the purpose of reconnecting the mass market with its impact on nature.
2012 University Olmsted Scholar
Sandra Nam
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
MLAJana Perser is completing the Master of Landscape Architecture program at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona. After graduating with a B.A. in Anthropology from Trinity University, Jana broadened her perspective through a variety of experiences, including volunteering at a Paraguayan forest reserve and working as a community organizer in Houston. She turned to landscape architecture because of its direct potential for improving quality of life and the environment. Through several landscape architecture internships, Jana has contributed to sustainable design research, post-occupancy evaluations, and public park development in disadvantaged communities. Her master’s project team is collaborating with a non-profit organization to develop a master plan that will guide future green alley projects in South Los Angeles, and serve as a model for other communities. After graduation she intends to effect positive change in human settlements through urban design and green infrastructure, public space planning and design, and remediation of natural systems.
2012 University Olmsted Scholar
Jana Perser
California State Polytechnic University, Pomona
MLA CandidateBen Roush is completing his final semester of a Bachelor of Landscape Architecture Degree from North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University. Prior to enrolling in the program, he obtained an Associates Degree in Horticulture Technology from Alamance Community College. While pursuing his undergraduate studies, his academic foundation in the profession was strongly reinforced by internships at Swanson and Associates in Carrboro, NC, and Elsewhere Artist Collaborative in Greensboro, NC. After graduation, Ben is planning to pursue a Master’s Degree in Landscape Architecture. Recognizing that brownfield sites are often emblematic representations of environmental and social injustice, he hopes to explore opportunities to influence social and environmental welfare through the design and redevelopment of underutilized urban sites.
2012 University Olmsted Scholar
Benjamin Roush
North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University
BLA CandidateCaitlin graduated from Mount Holyoke College with a degree in environmental studies and French. Upon graduation, she studied climate-ecosystem dynamics in Quebec, Canada as a Fulbright Fellow. Increasingly concerned with the degree to which humans are changing environmental systems, Caitlin pursued an MLA at the Pennsylvania State University, with the goal of investigating design responses to climate change. Caitlin’s graduate studies have culminated in a focus on designing wildlife-crossing structures to facilitate species migration across man-made barriers. Caitlin has worked at the National Park Service as a climate change and cultural resources intern and, as part of her MLA thesis project, is traveling to China to work with students and faculty on the design of a new Chinese National Park. She looks forward to a career promoting large scale connections between protected places in order to safeguard global biodiversity and foster human understanding of a rapidly changing world.
2012 University Olmsted Scholar
Caitlin Smith
Pennsylvania State University
MLA CandidateShawn’s career has focused on the synthesis of current building practices with dramatic design that features and promotes the conservation of natural resources. This is reflected in his initial university studies in civil engineering followed by an undergraduate degree in environmental design and latterly, graduate studies in landscape architecture. Equally, Shawn’s thesis title “Fostering Ecological Literacy Through Design” reflects this focus. In terms of future plans, he would like to work as part of a multi-disciplinary design team investigating the relationship between public space and the mitigation of environmental impacts. In addition to his studies, Shawn has worked extensively as a Teaching and Research Assistant, and as a student technician in the Faculty’s computing laboratories. His most telling external contribution has been his role as an Adviser to students as his alma mater, Swann Valley Regional Secondary School, for the North American Envirothon Championships, which they won in 2011.
2012 University Olmsted Scholar
Shawn Stankewich
University of Manitoba
MLA CandidateLee Streitz came to the design world from a diverse background. After graduating with a degree in political science, Lee spent several years in law enforcement, serving as a Special Agent in charge of investigating white-collar and gambling related crimes. Later in life, Lee’s creative side called and he is now in his third year of the Master’s of Landscape Architecture program at the University of Arizona. Lee has stood out as a leader, both at his university and internationally as the Student Director for CELA. In his work, Lee has concentrated on finding ways to link the research needs of professional practice to the large body of academic talent in our universities. Lee’s personal design work explores the transformative potential of merging industrial adaptive reuse projects with the traditional outdoor Bavarian biergarten. In his work, he aims to create landscapes with high social interaction, sustainability and cultural significance.
2012 University Olmsted Scholar
Lee Streitz
University of Arizona
MLA CandidateChristopher Torres is in his final year of the Master of Landscape Architecture program at UC Berkeley. Prior to graduate school, he studied Sociology and Urban Studies at Loyola Marymount University and Columbia University. At Berkeley, Torres was a graduate student instructor for graduate and undergraduate courses in Architecture, Landscape Architecture, Environmental Design and Geography. During academic breaks, he traveled as visiting researcher of urbanism and landscape architecture at University of Technology, Queensland, Australia. Torres is the co-founder and creative director of the UC Berkeley departmental landscape architecture and environmental planning journal, GROUND UP, a web and print publication. Previously he interned through the Getty Museum at LA METRO and currently work at the San Francisco office of Skidmore Owings & Merrill in the Urban Design studio. It is his goal to advocate for vibrant, performative, and dynamic landscapes through practice, research and teaching.
2012 University Olmsted Scholar
Christopher Torres
University of California, Berkeley
MLA CandidateLucy Wang began her study of landscape architecture at the University of Maryland in 2009. Since then, she has demonstrated not only her capacity for leadership as vice president of the student landscape architecture chapter and as a studio teaching assistant, but her passion for interdisciplinary collaboration is also reflected in her diverse range of professional experiences. With strong interests in media, transit, and landscape architecture, Lucy’s experiences include: working with NYCDOT to transform and create pedestrian plazas, organizing cycling initiatives at the University of Maryland, writing and assembling resources for various landscape architecture publications, and collaborating on sustainable community design in an interdisciplinary 10-week course in Monteverde, Costa Rica. Currently residing in Baltimore City, she is involved in a number of sustainability efforts in the city as well as an internship with EDSA. She plans to pursue a master’s degree in landscape architecture and communications as well as a travel and media project promoting landscape architecture awareness.
2012 University Olmsted Scholar
Lucy Wang
University of Maryland
MLAYifei “Wendy” Wang is from a beautiful lake town in China called Hangzhou. She will receive a professional Bachelor of Landscape Architecture degree from Purdue University in May, 2012. Being influenced by the east and the west, Wendy is interested in merging both cultures through her designs. After two internships with world-renown firms – Turenscape and Sasaki Associates, Wendy has developed a strong interest towards the urban design aspect of landscape architecture. She is committed to the practice of landscape urbanism. She dedicates herself into creating powerful urban landscape designs that help societies thrive. She thinks a successful urban open/green space can be the cure for certain critical social problems. Her capstone project involves developing a master plan to revitalize the Detroit Riverfront. Wendy will be pursuing a master’s degree with a concentration in urban design. To date, she has been accepted into both GSD and UC Berkeley.
2012 University Olmsted Scholar
Wendy Wang
Purdue University
BLA CandidateWoodacre is a senior at the University of Rhode Island. She will be receiving a Bachelor degree in Landscape Architecture with a minor in Community Planning, summa cum laude. Growing up in Wellesley, Massachusetts, Woodacre cherished the diverse New England landscape. URI provided the opportunity of a lifetime, allowing her to pursue her passions: landscape architecture and Division I Rowing. As an intern this past summer at Sudbury Design Group, Woodacre was able to use design and technical skills while working on residential and commercial projects. The experience taught her to closely examine the impact designs may have on the landscape. Ultimately, she envisions working in land preservation and environmental protection while creating places for people to maintain a healthy lifestyle. As a captain of the URI Women’s Varsity Rowing Team, she has personally learned and encouraged others how to effectively balance their academic and athletic demands.
2012 University Olmsted Scholar
Kelly Woodacre
University of Rhode Island
BLA Candidate
LAF Blog Feature: Guest posts from the 2012 Olmsted Scholars
