Voices of Women in Landscape Architecture, Part 21

Left to right: Yixin Jiang / image: Jess Wu, TBG Partners. Ann Weiland, ASLA / image: Scott Shigley. Jieya Yu / image: Yu Xiao

ASLA's Women in Landscape Architecture Professional Practice Network (WILA PPN) is sharing the next set of profiles of women in the profession (see the previous installment right here). If you'd like to be featured, the PPN's call for submissions remains open, with profiles being shared on an ongoing basis.

Submit a WILA profile!

These profiles will appear on the PPN's LinkedIn group, Facebook group, and here on The Field. This post includes: Yixin Jiang, Ann Weiland, ASLA, and Jieya Yu.

Yixin Jiang

What inspired you to pursue a career in landscape architecture?

Growing up, I often traveled with my family—visiting my grandparents’ village and exploring outer provinces during summer. These trips sparked my curiosity about how landscapes are shaped and designed into tourist destinations—like mountain trails, waterfall pavilions, and scenic town routes. In high school, this curiosity turned into a passion for geography, a subject that combines science, data, history, analysis, and strategic thinking.

Yixin Jiang / image: Jess Wu, TBG Partners

My love for natural outdoor spaces naturally led me to pursue environmental design and geographic planning. Along the way, I also developed a strong interest in hand drawing and model making, which became an important part of my personal and professional toolkit.

Who are the female role models who have influenced your career?

Kotchakorn Voraakhom:

Kotchakorn led our Global Urbanism Studio during my time at Washington University in St. Louis. She was an incredibly energetic and enthusiastic professor who encouraged us to speak up and ask meaningful questions, even during the challenges of COVID. She showed empathy and care for each student’s perspective and fostered a culture of mutual respect and encouragement even through an online environment. I also admire her professional work in Bangkok, Thailand, where she and her team integrated beautiful and functional curves in the landscape to guide water flow.

Samantha Whitney:

Samantha was the first urban design principal I worked with professionally. I truly enjoyed collaborating with her on projects. She had a remarkable ability to communicate and bring people together, creating a supportive team environment. Her care, respect, and encouragement helped each of us contribute our strengths and enjoy the design process. She was also patient and attentive when reviewing our work, making it easy to share sketches and ideas without fear of criticism.

Elaine Kearney, ASLA:

As the only foreign colleague in the firm at the time, I especially appreciated Elaine’s encouragement to ask questions and be brave in sharing ideas. She always made herself available and encouraged me to sketch and present—even to small public groups—as an entry level designer. I still remember how she emphasized the value of good ideas instead of focusing on faults, which helped build my confidence early in my career. Her thoughtful approach to community engagement also taught me how to understand and incorporate users' perspectives into design.

What advice do you have for other women pursuing a career in landscape architecture?

Please don’t be afraid to sketch, speak up, and present your ideas—even in front of more experienced professionals. Keep refining your drawing and design skills; make sure to let your passion and personality shine through your work. If you believe in a project or idea, stay committed to it—even when you face challenges throughout the whole development process, keep believing in your design priorities; convincing the clients is something women cannot forget about.

Understand your career priorities and strive to make the most efficient use of your time.

Can you share with us a project you are particularly proud of and why?

One project I’m especially proud of is the Pearl Master Plan—my first urban design project which reflects San Antonio's local identity, where I had the honor of working alongside both Samantha and Elaine. Samantha gave me an incredible opportunity to create my own diagrams based on my interpretation of the historic Pearl District.

Although we went through several rounds of redlines, I was able to advocate for and preserve key ideas—especially the integration of the San Antonio River as a central element and showcasing different typologies of open spaces throughout the site. This experience made me more familiar with working alongside two great principals, regarding their logic presenting our ideas, and also taught me the value of persistence, collaboration, trusting my voice, and refining my work as a designer.

What advice would you give your younger self?

Learn to manage your time wisely and take the initiative to enter design competitions—they're a great way to showcase your creativity, skills, and passion for improving built environments.

Be braver in presenting your ideas and practicing within office environments. Give yourself more chances to sketch and truly connect with a project, rather than playing the role of a design editor.

Sketch every place that leaves an impression on you when you travel. Then ask yourself: What attracted me here? Consider what might be behind the design—the cultural, environmental, or spatial context—because understanding that is essential to becoming a thoughtful designer.

Ann Weiland, ASLA

What inspired you to pursue a career in landscape architecture?

I had rejected the idea of pursuing a career in a design field early on in my undergrad years. During my first two years of college, I had been studying art in western PA but decided a career in art was not my path. Horticulture, though, was a perfect fit. I loved plants, the science, working outdoors, and the practice of getting my hands dirty. My intent was to build a career in horticultural science. It wasn’t until I took a landscape design elective course during my last semester that I admitted I also loved design. After graduating, I took a job working as head gardener on a private estate where the owner’s hobby was building gardens. Most mornings during the work week, I would get the maintenance crews set up for the day and then lead the construction crew in plant layouts. I didn’t know what I was doing, but I knew it was what I wanted to be doing. That experience confirmed I should go back to school to study landscape architecture.

Who are the female role models who have influenced your career?

Those that have been supportive, respectful, encouraging, patient, thoughtful, kind, and uplifting. Those that lead by example showing passion, drive, pride in their work, strength, confidence, a sense of humor, and compassion. These women are my family, coworkers, and friends and I’m grateful for their influence.

What advice do you have for other women pursuing a career in landscape architecture?

Get your hands dirty and gain some practical experience in constructing landscapes. Physical knowledge of how something is made will make every line you draw in the office that much more meaningful and will answer the “why” something is done the way it is.

Can you share with us a project you are particularly proud of and why?

I find the most satisfaction in the public gardens I’ve worked on while at Hoerr Schaudt including POST Houston, The Meadow @ Old Chicago Post Office, Hermann Park’s McGovern Centennial Gardens, and National Landing Water Park. Seeing people enjoy and use these spaces we create is very rewarding. Those that had nothing to do with the development of a project provide the most honest feedback on a design.

My focus at Hoerr Schaudt is on planting design; I’m proud of any garden that attracts wildlife. Animals using a landscape is the marker of success for me.

What advice would you give your younger self?

Wallow in discontent. Don’t subscribe to the club everyone told you to join.

Jieya Yu

What inspired you to pursue a career in landscape architecture?

My sensitivity and sensibility allow me to deeply connect with nature. I find immense inspiration in simple moments—lying on a lawn, feeling the earth beneath me, or tracing the path of leaf veins as they tell the life story of a 300-year-old tree. Landscape is where I feel most present, yet most connected to a broader world.

In this digital age, I’m drawn to creating physical spaces beyond the screen—places that can be touched, smelled, and felt. I want to build environments where people can fully experience the present and create lasting memories.

Who are the female role models who have influenced your career?

Beth Meyer, FASLA, my professor at UVA and lifelong mentor, introduced me to the world of cultural landscapes. She helped me discover my own design philosophy: to design with empathy and compassion. Through her guidance, I began to see the landscape as a multilayered medium, interweaving function, form, ecology, social responsibility, memory, and emotion. She encouraged me to explore the relationship between the tangible and intangible elements of place—how they come together to tell a story. Beata Boodell Corcoran, ASLA, is my principal at Michael Vergason Landscape Architects (MVLA). I respect and appreciate her ability to balance all aspects of leading a landscape firm—focusing on the big picture and story while fully understanding the details, being proactive and inspiring to clients, and at the same time, caring and loving to those around her. She gives space for autonomy while offering sharp insight and just the right amount of guidance.

There are also many women whose work continually guides and motivates me: Sara Zewde’s community-centered design process; Kathryn Gustafson’s expressive, sculptural landscapes; Kate Orff, FASLA’s powerful big-picture planning and storytelling. And I want to give a heartfelt shoutout to my brilliant colleagues: Lan Hogue, Jessica Fegley, ASLA, Yu Xiao, Associate ASLA, and Ana Quintana Zazurca, International ASLA.

What advice do you have for other women pursuing a career in landscape architecture?

There will be challenging times, but there will also be moments of great fulfillment. Stay grounded in your values and trust the power of your perspective.

Can you share with us a project you are particularly proud of and why?

I’m especially proud of our work on the newly opened Fifth Third Park in Spartanburg, South Carolina. As part of the city’s downtown revitalization, the park sits in the middle of new development comprised of a baseball stadium, a parking garage, and planned future additions like offices and apartments. Our design focuses on creating a welcoming, active gathering space in the heart of town.

Bird’s eye from the parking garage during construction administration (CA) / image: Robin Lollar

On what was once a post-industrial empty lot, we sculpted a sloped lawn that faces the ballpark, anchored by a granite seat wall that invites people to linger. The shaded plaza, supported by a soil cell system, offers a cooling threshold between the building and the lawn. With only a fence separating the park from the stadium seating, the space feels open and shared—connecting game-day excitement with everyday urban life.

Bird’s eye from the parking garage on opening day / image: Thomas Baker

This park offers a new type of public space for Spartanburg. Families are now making downtown their weekend destination. My favorite element is the cheap berm seating beside the fence—informal, simple, and full of life. Thanks to the Spartanburg fans who fill this space with their energy and spirit.