Announcements President Obama has appointed Elizabeth K. Meyer, FASLA, as a member of the Commission of Fine Arts in Washington, D.C. Meyer is associate professor of Landscape Architecture at the University of Virginia School of Architecture, where she has served as the department chair and director of the Graduate Landscape Architecture Program. She previously taught at the Harvard Graduate School of Design and Cornell University. |
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In addition to ASLA, Meyer is a Fellow of the Council of Educators in Landscape Architecture. In 2011 and 2012, DesignIntelligence named her one of the 25 Most Admired Educators. From 2011 to 2012, she served on the jury for the National Mall Design Competition sponsored by the Trust for the National Mall, and in 2010, she was a member of the winning team of the City+Arch+River design competition for the St. Louis Gateway Arch Grounds.
Meyer received a B.S.L.A. and M.L.A. from the University of Virginia and an M.A. from Cornell University.
Based on ASLA’s nomination, Frederick R. Steiner, FASLA, has been awarded the 2012 Sustained Achievement Award from the Renewable Natural Resources Foundation. The honor recognizes a long-term contribution and commitment by an individual to the protection and conservation of natural resources. Steiner is dean of the School of Architecture, the University of Texas at Austin, and a member of the Sustainable Sites Initiative™ executive committee.  | |  | | David Gal, ASLA | | Chih-Wei Lin |
SWA Group, a leading landscape architecture, planning, and urban design firm, named two people as principals of the firm: David Gal, ASLA, in SWA’s Laguna Beach, California, office, and Chih-Wei Lin in Sausalito, California. Three new Associates include Michael Hee and Natalie Sandoval in Los Angeles and Jessica Bacorn in Houston.
Gal is a registered landscape architect with more than 25 years of professional experience in design, project management, and site observation. He joined SWA in 2005, and specializes in construction administration for the firm throughout the Middle East, China, and the U.S. He received his Master of Landscape Architecture from Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design, and BSLA degree from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. Recent notable projects include work on the Tower Park at the base of the Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building, in Dubai; and Main Street at Sony Pictures Entertainment in Culver City, California.
Lin, who joined SWA in 2003, is a licensed landscape architect in California active in landscape design throughout the U.S and internationally. She received a Master of Landscape Architecture degree from the Harvard School of Design and has worked on recent projects including the Stanford University Campus Center and the Palo Alto Medical Foundation.
Hee joined SWA in 2008, and specializes in construction administration and project management. He received a Bachelor of Landscape Architecture degree and Sustainable Environments minor from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo. His projects/professional interests include innovative materials and detailing, implementation, and natural systems represented by work in Southern California and China.
Sandoval joined SWA in 2008, with an interest in landscape architecture. She received her Bachelor’s degree from Bard College in New York and later took landscape architecture classes at UCLA extension in Los Angeles. Her professional interests include public projects in Los Angeles, the Complete Streets Initiative, and parklets that use tiny spaces for park respites.
Bacorn joined SWA in 2007 and specializes in landscape architecture. A graduate of Louisiana State University, she has projects and interests including large scale design work in the Middle East represented by her work in Dubai, Cairo, Saudi Arabia, and most recently the Lusail community in Doha, Qatar.
 | Kimberly Douglas-
Naughtin, ASLA |
Mundus Bishop, a Denver-based landscape architecture and planning firm, has added Kimberly Douglas-Naughtin, ASLA, as an associate to its staff. Douglas-Naughtin is a licensed landscape architect with more than 14 years of experience in the public and private sectors. Douglas-Naughtin’s expertise is focused in the areas of urban streetscape design, campus planning and development, and park and recreation projects.
Also in Denver, studioINSITE LLC has added new staff to expand its campus planning, facilities programming, landscape architecture, and marketing capabilities.
 | | Yvonne Thibodeau |
Senior Campus Planner Yvonne Thibodeau spent more than 20 years in the education field prior to 15 years of higher education facilities programming and space planning. She is a graduate of the University of Phoenix with a Master of Business Administration, and of San Diego State University, where her Bachelor of Arts degree is in Social Science.
 | | Chris Brueckner, ASLA |
Project Manager Chris Brueckner, ASLA, is a landscape architect and urban designer. His expertise is in landscape architecture and planning for multi-family housing, with additional experience in streetscape design and master planning. He holds a Bachelor of Landscape Architecture from the University of Georgia.
 | | Eric Taylor |
Senior Landscape Architect Eric Taylor brings 13 years’ experience in developing landscape environments to studioINSITE. Taylor has worked on a variety of project types including healthcare, commercial, mixed-use, and resort projects across the United States and in South America and the Caribbean. He holds a Bachelor of Landscape Architecture from Kansas State University and serves on the Highlands Ranch Development Review Committee.
 | | Joye Divine |
Marketing Coordinator Joye Divine has eight years’ experience in marketing and graphic and web design for the architectural, urban planning, and landscape architecture fields. Her previous experience was in advertising and in college-level teaching and administration. Divine holds Master and Bachelor of Studio Art degrees from the University of Arkansas.
Mike Pecen, ASLA, an associate at Dixie Watkins III & Associates, San Antonio, recently earned registration as a landscape architect. Pecen joined the firm full-time in June, producing landscape designs for campuses, planned communities and other projects, with an emphasis on preserving natural and cultural resources. He is also an Accredited Professional in Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, with a specialty in Building Design & Construction (LEED-AP BD+C).
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