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Dear Friends,
Hope all of you are doing well and enjoying the summer. Wish you all a Happy Parks and Recreation Month! I hope you take the time to enjoy some outdoor time in parks near you and celebrate. There are many ways to celebrate, and if you would like more information, please visit the NRPA website by clicking this link P&R CELEBRATION and find out. On this occasion, I would also like to thank and congratulate all the landscape architects who work in the Parks and Recreation sector and have dedicated their careers to public service. Your contribution is huge!
If I have not shared this with you all, I have been serving on the Public Practice Advisory at ASLA for the past couple years, and currently serve as the Co-Chair of the Public Practice Advisory Committee. An important initiative and focus of this committee is to highlight the stories of Landscape Architects in Public Practice, by featuring their stories in the “Common Space” series in ASLA LAND. If you work in the Public Sector and wish to share your story and inspire the next generation about public practice, please email us, and I will be happy to help!
Things have been busy at ASLA, both at the regional and national level. MDASLA President Joe Ignatius, ASLA has been great about sharing events and news at the Chapter level and therefore, as always, I will focus my quarterly report on happenings at the National ASLA.
Earlier this year I attended the Board of Trustees virtual spring meeting from April 28-30. Among the items on the agenda, the board swore in new trustees, held discussions about ASLA’s membership structure, learned about developing a communications plan, approved the Community and Stakeholder Engagement Policy, and approved the new IFLA Global Impact Award. The new award is a joint effort between ASLA and IFLA to acknowledge and recognize excellence in landscape architecture by addressing climate impacts. The new award will be included in the 2023 call for entries.
As soon as the travel restrictions eased, National ASLA leaders had an extensive travel schedule. They have visited various chapters and universities over the last few months and will continue to do so in the coming months. President Eugenia Martin, FASLA, Immediate Past President Tom Mroz, FASLA, and CEO Torey Carter-Conneen, and the entire staff at National have been working hard, traveling, and promoting our profession.
The Government Affairs team at ASLA launched the biennial Federal & State Legislative Priorities Survey on May 4. As the national voice for the landscape architecture profession, ASLA always wants to hear from members on what they think are the most important policy issues. I am sure many of you participated and completed the survey and we thank you for that! Your voice needs to be heard!
The ASLA media team worked with The New Yorker, Forbes, Bloomberg CityLab, and South Carolina Public Radio on stories over the past few weeks. The ASLA media team actively continues to promote the work of Landscape Architects through various social media platforms. We hope that you follow ASLA on these platforms. It's a great way to stay up to date!
ASLA’s release of the first class of Women of Color Licensure Advancement Program earned coverage in both The Architect’s Newspaper and Archinect.
Landscape Architecture Magazine (LAM) received two Jesse H. Neal Awards for Best Art Direction for a Single Article: “Worlds Away” and Best Cover: May (Silver Lake) at the Neal Awards Ceremony on Tuesday, April 26, 2022, at the New York Marriott Marquis. What a great honor! The magazine is really a great resource and a coffee table piece. It is a great way to educate the public and create awareness about our profession. As you are aware this is one great member benefit, included in your membership. I encourage you to use this great publication with your family or friends who may want to know what you do!
ASLA’s Mentorship Program has 188 active relationships, in addition to 56 that have already been completed. Additional mentors are needed for the mentorship program. To register, please enroll here. Emerging professionals are also eligible to enroll in the program as an added member benefit.
Recently ASLA HQ Earned Health and Wellness “WELL Certified Gold” Label for its D.C. Center for Landscape Architecture, to learn more click ASLA DIRT
Last week ASLA elected 27 members to the prestigious Council of Fellows. Heartiest Congratulations to MDASLA member, Joan Floura, ASLA, Floura Teeter Landscape Architects for her election to the Council. ASLA Fellows will be elevated during a special investiture ceremony at the 2022 Conference on Landscape Architecture, which will be held in San Francisco Nov. 11-14, 2022.
On that happy note, as you know, the Conference on Landscape Architecture will be held in San Francisco, CA, from November 11-14. This is the second year after the Pandemic that the Conference will be held in person, which is always very exciting! Early Bird Registration ends on July 27th! I urge you to register, if you haven’t already, and take advantage of the special pricing. Myself and our President Joe Ignatius will be attending, and we look forward to seeing you there! Please click to REGISTER
I would like to thank you all for the continued membership and your support to your chapter. We cannot do this without you, and we strive hard to live up to your expectations and serve you all. An important note and reminder that you can now sign up for auto renewal of your membership and avoid membership lapse. If you want to be part of our team and contribute to the profession, please feel free to reach out to us at contact@marylandasla.org. We always need volunteers and welcome everyone to join our team and contribute in your own unique ways.
Last but not the least, I am very grateful for the opportunity to continue to serve you in my role as Trustee of MDASLA. I really enjoy and appreciate being your representative at the Board of Trustees. My best wishes to you all for the coming months. I look forward to sharing more news in late fall.
Sincerely,
Om Khurjekar, PLA, ASLA, LEED AP BD+C
Trustee MDASLA
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