Gretchen Wilson Installed as ASLA President

ASLA has installed Gretchen Wilson, FASLA, PLA, as its president for the 2026–2027 term. Wilson was sworn in as the 82nd president on the final evening of the ASLA 2026 Conference on Landscape Architecture in Los Angeles, California. She succeeds Bradley McCauley, FASLA.

Wilson opened her remarks with the place where her path began: school field trips to the Audubon Zoo and City Park near her childhood home outside New Orleans. She remembered them as "not quite natural, but brimming with wonder, life, and green."

"That was my first understanding of the power of landscape architecture," she said. "We create places that connect people to something bigger than themselves."

She drew on her own practice to show what that power looks like on the ground. At Heron Pond in Denver, Dig Studio expected the community to want a traditional park. Instead, residents loved the habitat that had grown up on the former industrial site, "an oasis for birds and pollinators, and proof of their own activism to clean it up."

"So we didn't erase that story. We built upon it," Wilson said. The team remediated the soil, created cleansing wetlands, and planted native habitat. "Healthy urban ecologies don't happen by accident. They result from understanding relationships. … It is through listening—and noticing—that we begin to design."

Wilson credited ASLA with shaping her into that kind of practitioner. Her first national conference was in 2007, where she heard Martha Schwartz and Lawrence Halprin speak. Over time, she said, the Society went from a place to learn about her profession to "a community I felt responsible for contributing to."

"ASLA gave me a voice. And just as importantly, a community," she said. "Our profession is built by people investing in one another."

She laid out a clear goal for her term: "During my year as President, I want to make that confidence more accessible to every landscape architect: to help us understand the living systems we design within, listen more deeply to the people we serve, advocate more confidently for our work, and share what we know so the next generation can keep growing."

She closed where she began. "I still believe in the magic I felt as a child in New Orleans. But now I understand it isn't magic at all. It's what happens when we understand a place, listen to the people who belong to it, learn from the living systems around us, and have the courage to imagine what that place can become."

Image by: Nobile/Morris Photography

About Gretchen Wilson

As a practitioner, Gretchen is dedicated to using the practice of landscape architecture to connect diverse communities, improve health, restore ecosystems, and build resilience. As co-founder of Dig Studio, she helped the firm grow from four to forty-four employees in 12 years, fostering a culture of creativity, collaboration, and innovation. Her work primarily focuses on public sector projects, often benefiting under-invested communities and combining recreational spaces with public infrastructure investments.

Gretchen advises the CU Denver Master of Urban Design program and co-teaches design studios, fostering a passion for cross-disciplinary education and research in landscape architecture, health, engineering, ecology, and water systems. She has contributed to pro bono community food system initiatives with Denver Urban Gardens, Clayton Early Learning Center, and The GrowHaus.

An LSU Robert Reich School of Landscape Architecture alum, she completed a Master of Science in Environmental Science (Water Systems and Ecosystems Specializations) in 2025.

2026–2027 Officers

Also sworn in during the ceremony were Taylor Keegan, ASLA, as Vice President of Membership, and Andrew Wickham, FASLA, as Vice President of Professional Practice. Each will serve a three-year term. Jennifer Nitzky, FASLA, was sworn in as President-Elect and will serve as president in 2027–2028.

They join continuing officers Om Khurjekar, FASLA, Vice President of Government Affairs; Ashley Steffens, ASLA; Vice President of Education; Kene Okigbo, ASLA, Vice President of Communications; Bill Odle, ASLA, Vice President of Finance; and Bradley McCauley, FASLA, who continues as Immediate Past President.

Image by: Nobile/Morris Photography