Board of Directors

Stephanie Rolley, FASLA, AICP, is Professor and Head of Landscape Architecture and Regional & Community Planning at Kansas State University. Visualizing possibilities, whether in community designs, scholarship, or organizational change has shaped Stephanie career in academic and private practice.  A dedicated educator, she has been named to the DesignIntelligence list of 25 Most Admired Educators twice.

LAF’s support of new knowledge and leadership in landscape architecture inspires Stephanie to serve on the Board. Stephanie has led development of the first non-baccalaureate MLA degree in the U.S. and she is a Fellow of the American Society of Landscape Architects and the Council of Educators in Landscape Architecture.

Lisa Switkin is a Senior Principal at James Corner Field Operations where she leads many of the practice’s complex and transformative projects. With a background in urban planning and landscape architecture, Lisa is committed to improving cities through the innovative, holistic and resilient design of the public realm, informed by the ecologies of place, people and nature. Lisa’s 20 years of professional experience includes the design and delivery of the High Line in New York, Tongva Park in Santa Monica, Domino Park in Brooklyn, and the Race Street Pier in Philadelphia, as well as the master plans for Staten Island’s Freshkills Park, Seattle’s Central Waterfront and The Underline in Miami.

Lisa is on the LAF Board because she believes in the urgency of smart, deep, and responsible design that engages citizens, reconnects people to nature in the city, builds value, and supports ecological, social, and economic resilience. Lisa was a Fellow at the American Academy in Rome in 2007-2008 and has taught graduate level design studios and lectured at universities, symposiums, foundations, and institutions around the world.

Adam Greenspan, ASLA is a design partner at PWP, and has been the lead designer on a wide range of projects including estates, public parks, campuses and competitions. Adam’s background in art and sociology, combined with years of horticultural practice allow him to conceive of and develop projects from many angles. One of his main objectives at PWP has been the integration of regenerative and sustainable principles within each project design. Adam has collaborated extensively with architects, artists, community groups and city staff, as well as sub-consultant experts, in the process of realizing exceptional built work.  Adam’s recent projects include: Marina Bay Sands Integrated Resort, Transbay Transit Center Park in downtown San Francisco, Glenstone in Potomac, MD, and the Newport Beach City Hall and Park in Newport Beach California. Adam received a Bachelor of Arts, with honors in Sociology and Studio Arts from Wesleyan University and a Master in Landscape Architecture from the University of Pennsylvania.

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Kofi Boone is a University Faculty Scholar and Associate Professor of Landscape Architecture at NC State University in the College of Design. His work is in landscape architecture and environmental justice with a focus on democratic design and cultural landscapes. Kofi has worked professionally and academically for over 20 years. Kofi is on the LAF board because he wants to play an active role in implementing The New Landscape Declaration with an emphasis on advancing social equity through landscape architecture.

Kofi is engaged in many multidisciplinary efforts including Homeplace: Conversation Guides for Six Communities Rebuilding from Hurricane Matthew, 2018 ASLA Professional Honor Award Winner in Communications.

Elen Deming, D. Des, FASLA, FCELA, PLA, is Professor of Landscape Architecture and Director of the Doctor of Design program at the College of Design, North Carolina State University. Prior to her 25-year academic career (including positions at the University of Illinois and SUNY ESF), Elen practiced landscape architecture at Sasaki Associates from 1985-1992. She is licensed in three states.

As LAF's Vice President of Research, Elen seeks to extend the organization's capacity for co-constructing expertise from practice-based research in landscape architecture.

Past editor of Landscape Journal (2002-2009), Elen co-authored Landscape Architecture Research (2011), edited two other books on landscape design and meaning, and has published numerous articles and book chapters. Her research examines cultural history, values, and meaning(s) of landscape representation.

Brian Jencek is the Global Director of HOK’s Planning practice, leading 75 city planners, urban designers, landscape architects and environmental scientists in studios located around the world.  His experience spans numerous award-winning projects nationally and abroad, including the 2012 London Olympics, Stanford University’s School of Medicine campus, 2020 Dubai World Expo, and planning for new cities in Panama, Brazil, China, and India. Brian’s work with communities around the world, on issues of environmental justice, equity, and climate change, draws inspiration from the LAF New Landscape Declaration (NLD) call-to-action. Leveraging HOK’s global reach, Brian actively incorporates the NLD externally to inform project missions and success indicators as well as internally to mentor and onboard the next generation of landscape architects. 

Educated in Landscape Architecture and Planning at Cornell University, Brian is active professionally and academically with the ASLA, ULI, SPUR, and the Clinton Climate Initiative, is a Landscape Architecture Foundation Board Member, and teaches graduate-level design studios on topics of climate change resiliency and environmental planning at the UC Berkeley College of Environmental Design.

Richard Heriford is President of Landscape Forms, the global premium brand of site furniture and lighting. Richard has a passion for design, company culture, and American craft. At Landscape Forms, he has helped fine-tune the company’s go-to-market strategy, strengthen brand awareness, and expand new product development.

Richard joined the LAF board with a mission to assist the organization with Leadership Development and to increase LAF’s recognition among design professionals. Mr. Heriford graduated from Kansas State University, College of Architecture and Design and studied Brand Management at Southern Methodist University. Mr. Heriford spent his early career in Architecture.

Monte Wilson is the Director of Jacobs’ Advance Planning Group and global leader of the firm’s Cities and Places practice. The Advance Planning Group is a specialized unit within the firm’s global Buildings and Infrastructure business that provides Portfolio Planning, Strategic Sustainability, Real Estate Advisory, Master Planning, Urban Design, and Landscape Architecture services.

In addition to his leadership role in defining the strategic direction for the practice, Monte serves as a Project Principal and Senior Designer on a range of project types including new towns, mixed-use development, transit-oriented development, revitalization studies, as well as university, research, and corporate campus master plans.

Much of his career has focused on issues associated with community building, urban redevelopment, and sustainability. Since 2008, Monte has worked to integrate Biomimicry into the practice of community planning and city building. Along with a number of current and former colleagues, he is engaged in educating clients and informing design through a bio-inspired planning framework and a systems approach based on life’s principles.

Monte is passionate about city-scale sustainability and is focused on applying systems thinking to a range of urban and regional projects. He has worked on projects throughout the world, including China, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Australia, Columbia, Panama, Israel, North Africa, Canada, and Mexico. Monte is a graduate of the Landscape Architecture program at Texas A&M. He is an active member of the Urban Land Institute (ULI) and a charter member of the Congress for New Urbanism (CNU). He speaks globally on planning and design issues affecting our cities and communities.

Jim serves as President of TBG Partners, a purpose based landscape architectural practice delivering services across the country and abroad from five offices in Texas. For the past 5 years, he has led TBG’s effort to integrate a research into a performance-based design process in all work, with a focus on improving sustainable outcomes.  

Jim’s interest in LAF emanated from his passion to increase the defensibility of TBG’s work to the private sector development community, learning from the performance-based focus of the organization. His career experience spans 38 years, with the past 20 as a Principal and President with TBG. 

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Rebecca Bradley is one of the founding Principals of Cadence, a Landscape Architecture firm based in Fort Lauderdale, FL. Rebecca leads strategic development for the firm, directs day to day operations, and performs as project design lead for a variety of project types. Rebecca has practiced Landscape Architecture since 2001 after graduating from LSU Robert Reich School of Landscape Architecture. Rebecca is passionate about mentoring youth to join our profession and in daily practice works toward the triple bottom line success of the projects Cadence encounters.

Rebecca is on the LAF board because she wishes to further influence how our profession communicates our unique skill set to solve environmental and social issues in tandem. Locally, Rebecca serves as the Technical Advisory Director for Mockingbird Trail, a Cadence led urban cultural trail initiative that is advocating to transform the way citizens of Fort Lauderdale traverse downtown. 

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Alma Du Solier is a Landscape Architect and Studio Director at Hood Design Studio, a cultural practice in Oakland, CA which merges landscape architecture, public art, and urban design. She is also a registered architect in her native country of Mexico. Alma’s design approach builds on her dual design background and her interest in the meaningful integration of design with site and culture. Alma is a recurrent guest lecturer at UC Berkeley’s Department of Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning.

Alma joined the LAF Board because of her admiration for LAF’s mission which, recognizes the transformative effect and power of influence landscape has in our cities and beyond. This is all so much more relevant today, and she strongly believes the only way to steer our future towards the right direction is to be proactive as general citizens, but more specifically as landscape architects.

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Dorothy Faris, Principal at multi-disciplinary design firm, Mithun, is one of the design leaders of the landscape architecture practice. Her ability to think across scales — from master planning large sites to specifics of construction details — and collaborative approach makes her a valuable team member. With a background in ceramics and art history, Dorothy was attracted to landscape architecture as an art form that enhances our built environments. With over 14 years’ experience, her conceptually driven design approach and interest in ecological process have led to the creation of many successful and unique civic spaces.

Dorothy was inspired by the 2016 Summit and LAF’s focus on diversifying the landscape architecture profession to join the LAF board. She holds a Master of Landscape Architecture from the University of Washington and is a member of ASLA and a graduate of the ULI Center for Sustainable Leadership.

As Partner and Director of Research at OLIN, Skip Graffam, RLA, FASLA, LEED AP leads design and planning projects as well as research initiatives that support the studio’s contribution to the practice of landscape architecture, urban design, and planning. OLIN’s research initiative is historically grounded in academia and explores how landscape architecture can positively enhance life and the environment in the 21st century.

Skip serves on the LAF Board to collaborate with some of the most innovative thinkers in landscape architecture to address global challenges in the built environment and advance the knowledge of the profession. In addition to his award-winning project work, Skip is a frequent critic and lecturer at the University of Virginia, the University of Pennsylvania, and Temple University.

Stephanie Grigsby is a Principal and Board Member of Design Workshop. Design Workshop’s Legacy Design^® methodology is aligned with the mission of LAF as it seeks to imbue every project with a balance between environmental sensitivity, community connection, artistic beauty, and economic viability. This commitment facilitates comprehensive, measurable, and innovative results. As evidence of the methodology’s value, Stephanie has led a number of award-winning community, parks and recreation, and transportation-related projects over the past two decades and has participated in LAF case studies to document project results. Her work with the Nevada Department of Transportation set the national standard for context-sensitive design and addressing both aesthetics and the environment along highway corridors. Her recent work focuses on to promoting active transportation and addressing issues associated with tourism-related impacts along the nation’s most sensitive and scenic roadways and has led to over $50 million dollars in funding for communities.

Michael is the Chair of Landscape Architecture, Civil Engineering, and Ecology and sits on the Board of Directors at Sasaki, a global design firm with offices in Boston and Shanghai. Leading much of the firm’s work in Asia, he offers unique insight into the unprecedented transformation and urbanization of the region. Michael is a fierce advocate for the vital role that landscape architects play in shaping contemporary cities. Informed by a rigorous inquiry of economic, ecological, and cultural influences, he believes that the role of the designer is to make cities more livable, equitable, resilient, and just.

His work has been recognized with numerous awards from the American Planning Association, the Urban Land Institute, Fast Company, and other professional organizations. Michael is on the board of the Landscape Architecture Foundation because he is interested in spreading the mission of LAF to a global audience.  

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Michael Johnson is the Co-Director of Urban Design at SmithGroup. Michael’s ability to understand and distill complex urban challenges spans catalytic landscape architecture and urban design projects in major American cities, innovative campus plans for top urban research universities and Fortune 500 companies, and international large-scale mixed-use development efforts.

Michael is proud to continue legacy involvement of SmithGroup (and JJR) in LAF as a member of the research committee where he is advancing the measurable role that placemaking and urban design can play in fostering healthy cities and supporting landscape and streetscape performance. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Landscape Architecture from Ball State University, and a Master’s in Urban Design from the University of Michigan.

Diane Jones Allen is currently the Program Director for Landscape Architecture, in the College of Architecture Planning, and Public Affairs, at the University of Texas at Arlington. She is Principal Landscape Architect with DesignJones LLC in New Orleans, Louisiana which received the 2016 American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) Community Service Award. In Baltimore, Maryland, during the period from 2006-2014, Diane was a member of the Urban Design Architecture Review Panel, providing design guidance on major development projects in the City, and a tenured professor in Landscape Architecture, at the School of Architecture and Planning at Morgan State University. In 2017, she participated as a member of the ASLA Blue Ribbon Panel on Climate Change and Resiliency. Diane also serves on the Board of the Landscape Architecture Foundation (LAF), contributing to the diversity and climate change sub-committees, and believing strongly in LAF’s efforts to create a healthier, equitable and sustainable world.

Diane received the 2017 Distinguished Alumni Award from the College of Environmental Design, University of California at Berkeley. Her research and practice are guided by the intersection of environmental justice, identity, and sustainability in cultural landscapes, including “Nomadic” responses to “Transit Deserts,” places of increasing transportation demand and limited access, as discuss in her book “Transit Deserts; Race, Transit Access, and Suburban Form”. Diane, recently co-edited “Design for Democracy: Techniques for Collective Creativity”, published by Island Press, which provides tools for trans-active engagement and design.

Daniel Martin is Director of Marketing at Permaloc Corporation, the world’s premium manufacturer of edging and restraint solutions for landscape and green build applications.  During his time at Permaloc, Daniel has increased the company’s brand recognition, as well as gained a passion for serving the landscape architecture community, with an emphasis on students and emerging professionals. Daniel is also a Partner in Land8 Media, one of the profession’s leading destinations for information and collaboration.

Daniel enjoys his work on the LAF board, helping the organization with its support of students and emerging professionals through scholarship and fellowship opportunities, as well as raising awareness of the importance of landscape architecture in today’s world.

As Executive Director of New York Restoration Project (NYRP), Deborah oversees NYRP’s work transforming and managing open space in underserved communities to create a greener, more sustainable New York City. Since joining NYRP in 2011, she evolved the organization’s “cleaning and greening” mission to encompass actively using NYRP sites to support the social fabric within communities of need, empowering a local sense of ownership. She lectures widely on various topics, including green space and public health, open space management structures, and urban equity.

Deborah received a Master of Landscape Architecture from the Harvard Graduate School of Design and a J.D. from New York University School of Law. As an LAF board member, she hopes to encourage landscape architects to be effective leaders and to bring their broad perspective on environmental and social resilience to all spheres of power.  

Steve McCarter, PLA, ASLA serves as the Vice President of Sales for Landscape Products, Inc. the manufacturing division of Ewing Irrigation & Landscape Supply.  Steve is delighted to have the privilege of serving on the LAF board of directors and to foster the development of the next generation of Landscape Architects.  Bringing more than 30 years of experience as a Landscape Architect and Sales Manager in the irrigation and building materials industry, he is dedicated to the conservation of precious water resources. With a commitment to education, Steve continues to provide water efficiency product training expertise to a wide spectrum of design professionals, university students, contractors, and distributor personnel.

He holds a Bachelor of Landscape Architecture degree from Kansas State University. Steve is a registered Landscape Architect in Texas & Oklahoma, a member of the American Society of Landscape Architects and an Irrigation Association Certified Landscape Irrigation Auditor.

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Roberto Rovira is principal of Studio Roberto Rovira, Associate Professor, and former chair of Landscape Architecture + Environmental and Urban Design at FIU.  His research interests include ecological system visualization, landscape ecology as an element of contemporary urban environments, and art in landscape architecture.  Roberto has been recognized nationally and internationally for his work as an educator and profes­sional.

He is on the LAF board because of its leading role in shaping the dialogue in landscape architecture and for its steadfast commitment to cultivating and supporting research and scholarship in higher education and beyond. Roberto has completed over 30 exhibits and presentations of research, creative and professional work and exhibited his work in over 20 cities and 15 universities worldwide. Fast Company magazine recently selected his EcoAtlas ecosystem visualization project as a 2018 World Changing Ideas finalist, and he earned the Emerging Voice award from the Architectural League, one of the most coveted awards in North American Architecture, which spotlights individuals and firms based in the U. S., Canada, and Mexico with distinct design voices and the potential to influence the disciplines of architecture, landscape architecture, and urbanism. 

Jim Stickley, ASLA, LEED AP is a design Principal with WRT in their San Francisco office. Jim’s practice approaches urban placemaking at a range of scales striving to create places that deeply embody their cultural and ecological context and help create more socially-functional and resilient communities.  Jim’s career has spanned the globe over 37 years of practice, working with two other industry-leading firms before joining WRT in 1998.  Jim’s work has always moved back and forth across scales from planning to urban design and master planning, to site design and the implementation of landscapes, reinforcing his ethos that the interaction of problem-solving at these different scales amplifies sustainable outcomes of the work.  Jim’s contributions over the years have led to numerous awards, speaking engagements, and published works.

Jim was drawn to LAF through the shared legacy and values of LAF’s and his firm’s founder, Ian McHarg. During his time on the Board, Jim has been deeply engaged in the Foundation’s work on the New Landscape Declaration and with the Climate Change Task Force; both initiatives working towards setting the profession’s imperatives for the next 50 years.

Stan Wall is a Partner in the Washington, DC office of HR&A Advisors where he focuses on advising public-sector and private-sector in all aspects of economic development, real estate development, and urban revitalization.  Stan joined the LAF Board to advance his interest in the role of parks and public space as a means of creating value and catalyzing economic development, particularly in communities that have suffered from disinvestment or lack of access to opportunity.

Stan is a registered Professional Engineer, a member of the ULI Transit-Oriented Development Council, and he also serves on the board of directors of Greater Greater Washington.

Andrew Zientek is a landscape architect, artist, and dry-laid stone waller. His work spans in scale from held object to inhabitable place and oscillates between art, craft, science and design. In all endeavors, the focus of work is the connection and displacement between people and their local environments. Local environment is meant to include natural systems, urban spaces, cultural history, and interpersonal interactions. Andrew leads the landscape architecture effort at Weiss/Manfredi, a multidisciplinary firm at the forefront of design practices that are redefining the relationship between architecture, landscape, and urban design. He is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin, Madison and Harvard’s GSD. Andrew has served as Associate Professor at CCNY and Columbia GSAPP as well as lecturer at Harvard’s GSD.

Andrew is on the LAF board because he believes we, as a profession, need to prepare for an increasingly complex and uncertain future and wants landscape architects to shape this potential new frontier before it shapes us.

Nancy C. Somerville, Hon. ASLA is the Executive Vice President and CEO of the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA). Since joining the Society in August 2000, Somerville has expanded ASLA’s public relations programs, increased ASLA’s presence on Capitol Hill, and enabled the Society to become a more effective advocate on sustainability, community planning, transportation, and land use issues. Somerville directs the Society’s ongoing green roof education and advocacy programs, as well as ASLA’s participation as a Founding Partner in the Sustainable Sites Initiative.

Somerville joined ASLA after 18 years with the American Institute of Architects, where she served as managing director and vice president of program areas including membership, government affairs, chapter relations, community development, and continuing education. A native of the Washington, D.C., area, she holds a B.A. from Princeton University and an M.A. from Stanford University.

Gregory A. Miller, FASLA was President of the American Society of Landscape Architects in 2017-2018.

Galen Newman, Ph.D., currently serves as the CELA Vice President for Research and Creative Scholarship.