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Education & Practice Working Group

 

Panelists Ebru Özer, Ph.D., FASLA, CELA, Emily M. O’Mahoney, FASLA, PLA, LEED AP, and Paul D. Kissinger, FASLA, PLA at the Education & Practice Meeting during the ASLA 2025 Conference on Landscape Architecture

Alexandra Hay

The Education & Practice (E&P) Working Group promotes collaboration and the exchange of ideas, issues, and emerging trends that advance the profession of landscape architecture while informing undergraduate and graduate education.

Building upon ongoing research, innovation, and challenges occurring across academic, public, and private practice, the E&P Working Group fosters a two-way dialogue between educators, students, and practitioners to identify shared needs and opportunities within both education and professional practice.

Mission

E&P aims to strengthen both the discipline and the practice of landscape architecture through identifying resources, supporting collaboration among practitioners, educators, and students, and exploring opportunities to identify and bridge the gaps between academia and practice.

Through structured discussions and knowledge-sharing initiatives, this working group facilitates the exchange of research insights, best practices, professional trends, and pedagogical innovations between academic and professional communities. The goals include:  

  • Promote inclusiveness by remaining open to all members interested in post-secondary landscape architecture education
  • Support collaboration between educators and practitioners
  • Connect academic, public, and private sectors to better prepare students for professional success
  • Create space for dialogue on shared experiences and challenges within the profession
  • Foster connections across all practice areas

The E&P Working Group provides a forum to:

  • Share ideas and challenges related to education and practice
  • Address issues such as recruitment and retention of students
  • Facilitating collaborative research between academia and professional practice
  • Identify potential case studies and topics for exploration
  • Developing a mutual understanding of the needs and expectations of practice for emerging professionals’ skills  
  • Generate and respond to research questions
  • Share innovative professional and academic work
  • Foster collaborations for projects and publications
  • Examine evolving needs and expectations across academic programs and professional practice

This forum supports members—including educators, students, and public and private practitioners in connecting with colleagues and generating interdisciplinary responses to contemporary educational and professional challenges within landscape architecture.

E&P Leadership Team:

  • Arthur Adeya, International ASLA  
  • Sadik Artunc, FASLA  
  • Bill Estes, ASLA
  • Sara Hadavi, ASLA
  • Luis Perez, ASLA
  • Zahra Salehi, Student ASLA

Interested in Getting More Involved?

E&P leaders meet monthly. If you would like to volunteer to join the E&P Working Group, please email [email protected].

Bridging Academia and Practice

Education & Practice Interview Series

The Education & Practice Professional Practice Working Group is committed to supporting landscape architecture education that better aligns with the needs of the profession. To this end, this interview series is intended to provide firsthand insights for practitioners interested in teaching. Collectively, these interviews aim to offer a clearer picture of the nuts and bolts of academia-practice integration and to help guide practitioners who are considering a role in landscape architecture education.

Interview Series: Bridging Academia and Practice

An Interview with Jessica Henson, ASLA

Interview Series: Bridging Academia and Practice

An Interview with Michelle Delk, FASLA, PLA