2026 LAF Medal & Founders Award
Mia Lehrer and Green Roofs for Healthy Cities have been named as this year's honorees.
Launched in 2016 in conjunction with LAF’s 50th anniversary, the LAF Medal and Founders’ Award are annual awards that honor those who have made significant and sustained contributions to LAF’s mission to support the preservation, improvement, and enhancement of the environment. The LAF Medal is awarded to an impactful individual while the Founders’ Award honors a firm, agency, or organization. The 2026 Medal recipient will be recognized at the LAF Gala Dinner on September 16 in Los Angeles, CA, and the Founders' Award winner will be highlighted during an LAF webinar later this year.
LAF Medal: Mia Lehrer
The LAF Medal is conveyed to a landscape architect for distinguished work over a career in applying the principles of sustainability to landscapes. Honorees come from private practice, academia, nonprofit and public sectors, exemplify the values of LAF, and have made a significant contribution to the advancement of the landscape architecture discipline. The 2026 LAF Medal goes to Mia Lehrer, FASLA.
Mia is the Founder and President of Studio-MLA based in Los Angeles, CA, where she leads the design and implementation of transformative public and private urban redevelopment projects. Recognized internationally as a visionary leader in progressive landscape architecture, she has advanced a design practice that is rooted in advocacy and sustainability. Mia is known for innovative and exceptional work that puts people at the center of public space, integrates social and community infrastructures, and promotes climate-resilient futures.
Mia stands out for her paradigm-changing vision and work upstream in decision-making processes to influence policy, planning, and development from a landscape perspective. Her continual service on local and national boards, and her collaborative approach with non-profit organizations and agencies have made people and agencies see infrastructure in a new way which has broken down barriers and created new opportunities for landscape architects and all the communities they serve.
Throughout her career, Mia has championed many prominent projects that creatively and collaboratively connect people, habitat, and place while advancing environmental justice and equity. Her notable work includes the vision and revitalization of urban waterway projects such as the Los Angeles River and Silver Lake Reservoir, the redevelopment of the Hollywood Park, the concept and landscape design for SoFi Stadium, and the creation of Vista Hermosa Park, LA’s first new downtown park in more than a century.
Mia’s leadership and influence extend beyond practice. In 2014, she was appointed by President Barack Obama to serve on the United States Commission of Fine Arts where she helped guide significant national civic and cultural design decisions. From 2020 to 2025, Mia served as a Commissioner of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. Over the years, she has lent her expertise to a number of civic and advocacy groups, including the Los Angeles Mayor’s Design Advisory Panel, Cultural Affairs Commission, Zoning Advisory Committee, and design advisory committees for two National Mall memorials. Currently, Mia serves on the boards of the Los Angeles Parks Foundation and the Los Angeles Business Council, advises the Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator, and contributes to the ASLA Climate Action Initiative. Mia also lectures at the University of Southern California’s School of Architecture and teaches around the world to enhance the global impact of landscape architecture.
"I am deeply grateful to the Landscape Architecture Foundation, and to Barbara Deutsch, whose leadership has made LAF the conscience of our profession. Recognition from this community means the world. It arrives at a moment when cities are asking landscape architects big questions about fire, water, and where people gather and belong. I am honored and impatient. The work is only getting more important, and we will keep advocating for ecology, people, and culture. I came to this country as a young woman, and this profession game me a life I could not have imagined. The best way I know to honor this medal is to keep opening doors for others."
-Mia Lehrer, FASLA
LAF Founders' award: green roofs for healthy cities
This award is conveyed to a firm, agency, or organization that demonstrates a significant commitment to preserving, improving, or enhancing landscapes over a sustained period of time. The 2026 LAF Founders’ Award goes to Green Roofs for Healthy Cities.
Green Roofs for Healthy Cities (GRHC) is a non-profit working to grow the green roof and wall industry across North America, while increasing awareness of the economic, social, and environmental benefits of green roofs, walls, and other forms of living architecture. Since 1999, GRHC has been a tireless advocate for implementing green roofs and living architecture in North America, working with landscape architects to create the billion-dollar industries which are responsible for millions of square feet of designed, built, and maintained green infrastructure. Its vision started in partnership with Mayor Daley and the green roof demonstration project on Chicago City Hall in response to the 1995 heat wave that killed over 700 people. Since then, GRHC’s influence and impact have resulted in making cities more vibrant and livable; cooling cities, creating habitat, growing food, improving human health and well-being, and creating value for building owners and users alike.
With a powerful vision to green our cities for all the benefits therein, supported by performance-based research, policy, marketing, education, and professional training, GRHC has made green roofs standard operating procedure in major North American cities and a common practice for landscape architects to help achieve sustainability goals.
Working with governments and stakeholders, GRHC has advanced public policies that include incentives, standards, and regulations supporting green infrastructure. The organization has developed various professional training programs and created the Green Roof Professional (GRP) accreditation, helping to establish industry standards and improve the quality of design, installation, and maintenance practices. Through its CitiesAlive conferences, regional events, publications, and awards programs, GRHC has connected stakeholders across the burgeoning living architecture sector, accelerating innovation and knowledge sharing. Over more than 25 years, GRHC has helped to transform green roofs and green walls from niche amenities into widely recognized components of sustainable urban development, all while establishing local and national policies to support implementation.
"Thank you for this honor. The importance of LAF and landscape architect leaders in evolving the profession from a primarily aesthetic basis to a multifunctional and measurable, performance basis remains essential, not only for the profession, but also to strengthen the business case for much greater investment and implementation in green infrastructure."
-Steven Peck, Honorary ASLA, Founder and President, Green Roofs Healthy Cities
