Texas ASLA

ASLA Diversity Summit: Call for Letters of Interest

In 2019, ASLA will host the Diversity Summit May 17- 19 at the ASLA Center for Landscape Architecture in Washington D.C.

The Summit aims to create a welcome space for landscape architects from diverse backgrounds to engage in critical, thoughtful, and challenging dialogue to inform how the society and its members can create an inclusive and equitable community of landscape architecture professionals.

Selected participants will be invited to bring their full selves into the space in order to think in deeper and more complex ways about diversity and inclusion in the profession. Strategies for ASLA to advance its diversity and inclusion efforts while tackling some of the most pressing issues facing diverse communities will be explored throughout the Summit. Read More

What's Out There San Antonio

The Cultural Landscape Foundation (TCLF) held a What’s Out There weekend of free, expert-led tours in San Antonio on November 10th and 11th. There were more than 20 tours held throughout the City with expert guides to enlighten attendees on the meaning and value of San Antonio’s unique cultural landscape legacy. The sold out event had strong attendance despite cold and intermittent rain. The feedback from attendees was overwhelmingly positive.

An important component of the weekend was TCLF's production of a What’s Out There San Antonio guidebook that provides photographs and written summaries of 36 significant cultural landscapes in SA. TCLF has also produced an online San Antonio What’s Out There Cultural Landscapes Guide with extensive information about SA's cultural landscape legacy, nearly 60 illustrated site descriptions (which will increase), and designer profiles. All of this is nested within TCLF’s exhaustive What’s Out There database of North America's cultural landscapes.

Charles Birnbaum, President and CEO of TCLF and his team provided effective leadership to put tours and City Guide together along with the support of The City of San Antonio Parks and Recreation Department and The Brackenridge Park Conservancy (BPC). Texas ASLA was a friend to the event helping to provide support to the work lead by SA Co-Chairs Lynn Bobbit, Executive Director of BPC and John Troy, Landscape Architect, ASLA.

https://www.tclf.org/san-antonio

Announcing the 2018-2019 Texas ASLA Officers and Section Chairs

President - Lara Moffat
Past-President - Clifton Hall
Presiden-Elect - Jonathan Wagner
Secretary - Spencer Freeman
Treasurer - Tim Bargainer
Trustee - Tim May

Central Texas
Chair Olivia - Pitt-Perez
Chair-Elect - Megan Lowry
Secretary/Treasurer - Marissa McKinney

DFW
Chair - Lauren Patterson
Chair-Elect - Lauren Fasic
Secretary/Treasurer - Vacant

Houston/Gulf Coast
Chair - Allison Pate
Chair-Elect - Sarah Delcambre
Secretary/Treasurer - Stephen Parsons

South Texas
Chair - Jake Aalfs
Chair-Elect - Tania Hernandez
Secretary/Treasurer - Sarah Tucker

West Texas
Chair - Timothy Hair
Chair-Elect - Chad Dietz
Secretary/Treasurer - Megan Abernathy

Ask Me Anything

The next ‘Ask Me Anything’ features Diane Jones Allen, ASLA of DesignJones on August 14 at 3pm EDT LIVE, from ASLA’s Facebook page. Please share this information with the emerging professionals in your chapter. This program is a great opportunity to get to know an experienced professional that may be able to share successes, failures, ethos, work/life balance and what they have to bring to the profession of landscape architecture.

Career Discovery

ASLA Activity Books now available! The ASLA Discover Landscape Architecture Activity Books for kids, teens, and adults were designed by ASLA members to inspire and teach anyone interested in landscape architecture and the built environment. Use the activity books to learn or teach about the tools and skills needed to become a landscape architect; the many ways landscape architects shape our environment; how landscape architects use hand drawing to formulate ideas and solve complex problems and; make beautiful places for people to live, work, and play. Discover more at asla.org/activitybooks. Help ASLA spread the word and inspire the next generation by sharing with family, friends, classmates, neighbors, other professionals, and community members. Post your drawings with #ASLAactivitybooks to show the world your creative talents! Stay tuned for future initiatives at ASLA including available copies for distribution and Spanish translated editions.

Texas MemberS assuming roles with National

Lisa Horne, PLA, ASLA, in Dallas, Texas, assumed leadership as the national ASLA Professional Practice Network Council Chair for 2017-2018. She has volunteered with PPN since 2010 through early involvement in activating the Children’s Outdoor Environments PPN, one of the most prolific and active PPNs within ASLA. ASLA has approximately 15,000 members and each ASLA membership offers a free membership for one PPN. There are a total of just over 13,000 member counts within the PPNs with some potential overlap for individuals in more than one PPN. These 20 networks provide opportunities to connect with like-minded experts and delve deeper on specific topics from Digital Technology to Water Conservation to Campus Planning and Design and more. In 2017, the PPNs collectively published 82 posts to The Field, the PPN blog, with an average of 258 views per day and hosted over 10 online learning presentations. As Chair, Lisa advises ASLA staff on quarterly conference calls and the PPN Council Meeting at the Annual Meeting. Her emphasis for 2018 is to mentor incoming PPN chairs and activate PPNs to develop more robust leadership teams and further increase content and discussion. If you are interested in further involvement or leadership within one of the many PPNs, please contact her at lhorne@studiooutside.us.

Lara Moffat, ASLA, in Dallas, assumed leadership as the National Public Awareness Coalition Co-Chair representing large Chapters. Her previous responsibilities over the last three years serving as the Texas PR Chair and two terms on the National Public Relations and Communications Advisory Committee placed her as a qualified selection to fulfill this role. The National Public Relations and Communications Advisory Committee was sunset this past October, the National Public Awareness Coalition formalized the 49 Public Awareness/Public Relation chapter representatives as an advisory group to ASLA on all public awareness initiatives. Convening January in Austin, the coalition continued the annual ASLA Public Awareness Summit that was founded in 2011. The summit continued to bring together representatives from all chapters to plan the coming year’s public awareness initiatives; discuss the latest trends and techniques in social media and public relations to utilize on a chapter level; participate in group discussions to determine public awareness strategies and tactics ASLA will implement nationally and locally; and present case studies to share successful chapter-level public awareness campaigns. This year Lara presented on how Texas ASLA showcases and publishes the work of its members. In addition to the summit, she will advise the ASLA Public Relations and Communications’ team as needed and on quarterly conference calls with the coalition.

If you are interested in learning more about the Public Awareness Summit in Austin, please visit: https://www.asla.org/land/LandArticle.aspx?id=52484 or the previous summits: https://www.asla.org/publicawarenesssummit.aspx.

Melissa Henao-Robledo, ASLA, and Past Chair for the Central Section, is currently serving on the ASLA National Committee on Education (COE) and has also recently assumed the role as Chair for the Texas Chapter Committee on Student Organizations. The ASLA COE supports ASLA education programs; provides input on matters relating to education policy, growth and maintenance of landscape architecture programs, and education and employment trends; and promotes collaboration within those programs and faculty in support of ASLA strategic objectives. Melissa’s focus, while serving in this Committee position, is promoting diversity within the profession and has attended the ASLA Diversity Summit in Washington D.C. from 2015-2017. The ASLA Diversity Summit convened in 2013 with the goal of developing a deeper understanding of why landscape architecture is failing to attract a more diverse profile. Each summit has brought together a group of experienced and emerging landscape architects who identify as African American or Latinx to develop strategies that address diversity issues in the field. Her commitment to diversity inspired her to spearhead the Designing for Diversity / Diversity in Design panel at the 2017 Texas Chapter State Conference in Austin. If you would like to learn more about the ASLA Diversity Summit including applying for 2018 visit https://www.asla.org/diversitysummit.aspx