ASLA UTAH JUNE/JULY 2024 NEWSLETTER

UPCOMING EVENTS

**————-—SAVE THE DATE ————-——ASLA Utah 2025 Annual Conference Dixie Convention Center, St. George, Utah! Friday, April 11th, 2025**

**ASLA National Conference 2024 October 6-9, Washington DC.** **MORE INFO HERE**

Leadership Express

Paul Stead, ASLA Utah President

2024 ASLA UTAH EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE ELECTION CANDIDATES

PRESIDENT ELECT CANDIDATE ———-JESSE ALLEN

I’m honored to be running for the position of President Elect for the Utah Chapter of ASLA. In the past, I’ve served on the board of the Utah Chapter of American Institute of Architects and Urban Land Institute and am familiar with the opportunities and challenges facing our profession and broader AEC industry.

My goal is to build upon the hard work of ASLA Utah’s Executive Committee over the last several years by:

continuing to implement the chapter’s strategic planning document
promoting cross-disciplinary collaboration efforts
advocating for increased public understanding and value of the profession.

One of my specific goals is to advocate for landscape architecture services to be acknowledged and added to our State’s standard fee structure for public projects. This fee structure is often referred to as the standard for many local municipalities and government agencies and currently doesn’t include landscape architecture as part of the core services.

I’ve been with GSBS Architects since 2007 and a principal with the firm since 2016. After graduating with my bachelor’s degree in Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning from Utah State University in 2004, I went to the dark side and got my Master of Architecture from University of Utah. My time at GSBS has allowed me to work on several significant Salt Lake City landmark projects, such as the redesign of the SLC Main Library Roof, Regent Street Improvement Project, Natural History Museum of Utah, Japantown Concept Design, 20-year plaza plan for the Gallivan Center, and currently the Price Computing and Engineering Building at the University of Utah. Outside of the office, I love to backcountry ski, trail run, and mountain bike. My wife and 3 children love to travel and take cooking classes wherever we go.

**TRUSTEE CANDIDATE - BRYCE WARD**
It has been my honor to serve as a trustee for our chapter, and I am excited to announce my candidacy for reelection. Over the past term, I have dedicated myself to advancing our profession and fostering a collaborative community that thrives on inclusivity and innovation

During my tenure on the board, one of our first achievements was establishing a shared space with AIA. This partnership enhanced opportunities for cross-disciplinary collaboration, amplifying our collective impact. It has also strengthened our professional network and fostered new growth and design advocacy avenues.

Additionally, thanks to our strategic planning committee, we spearheaded developing and implementing a strategic planning document that has guided our chapter’s growth with clarity and purpose. Looking ahead, my goal is to build upon this foundation by further integrating diversity and inclusion practices. Specifically, I aim to expand opportunities and support systems for women and BIPOC professionals within our field, ensuring that our chapter reflects and embraces the rich diversity of our community.

Furthermore, our advocacy efforts have yielded tangible results, including hiring a lobbyist whose work has been instrumental in keeping part of our licensing advisory board intact and expanding the role of landscape architects in leading state landscape capital improvement projects. This achievement underscores our chapter’s influence and positions us as leaders in shaping the future of our profession statewide. As we continue to navigate the challenges and opportunities, I am committed to leveraging my experience and leadership to elevate our chapter further. Together, we can strengthen our profession, advocate for meaningful change, and cultivate an inclusive, innovative, and resilient community.

I humbly request your support and the opportunity to continue serving you on the Board of Trustees. Together, let’s build upon our achievements and create a future where landscape architects in Utah thrive.

**SECRETARY CANDIDATE — LADD SCHIESS**
Our profession’s value and licensure have faced challenges in recent years, which has been a wake-up call. Serving as ASLA chapter secretary for the past two years, I have witnessed the importanceof ASLA to our field.

The tireless efforts of our volunteer-run chapter have safeguarded our profession. They prevented us from potentially losing licensure or, at the very least, landscape architect representation on the licensing board. (Let me emphasize that this is all being done byvolunteers and we could use more volunteers.)

I’'m grateful for the hard work and successful outcomes achieved by our chapter. On the Executive Committee, I hope to continue advocating for our profession. I kindly ask for your vote to serve another term as secretary.

For those unfamiliar with me, I’m a landscape architect at G Brown Design, residing in Bountiful. After graduating from USU’s Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning program in 2005, I pursued a Master’s degree in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign two years later. My career has been rewarding, encompassing projects from community design to construction details.

Voting closes 6pm, Friday, August 23, 2024

VOTE HERE

Q & A with Critter Coughlin - He is the newest member of the ASLA UT Membership Sub-Committee!

Where did you grow up? I grew up in Cleveland, Ohio. I then went to college at Penn State University studying Landscape Architecture. So I have spent a majority of my time in the Midwest. However my family moved out here to SLC when I was a freshman in college.

What led you to landscape architecture? I was drawn to Landscape Architecture through my love of design and nature. I’ve always loved art and design as well as spending time outdoors taking advantage of the beauty of nature and when I started looking at majors at Penn State, it really seemed like a great fit.

What is your favorite part of your practice? I think my favorite part of the practice is the wide range of projects that Landscape Architecture encompasses. Everyday seems to bring new and exciting projects on all different scales, one day could be focused on a residential landscape plan and the very next could be focused on a master plan for a new development. I also get to have the responsibility of creating 3D models and renderings of some of our projects, which is very exciting. I really enjoy being able to bring a project to life digitally with an artistic representation of what the finished product could look like.

What is your favorite hobby? One of my favorite hobbies is probably skiing. I try to get out to the mountains just about every weekend of the season. I have been coming out here to SLC to visit family for as long as I can remember and I think this is where my love for skiing and snowboarding started, which made my move out here for work very easy.

What do you find inspiring? I find a lot of inspiration just in the natural environments here in Utah. The mountainous landscapes surrounding the valley provide a constant stream of possibilities for inspirational ideas. I also find a lot of inspiration from my coworkers in the office. There is a lot of talent in my office and I can always rely on someone here to help with some creative ideas or even just helping me learn new techniques and strategies.

**Describe a notable landscape architecture project you were involved in:** I have been lucky enough to take part in quite a lot of projects since starting in June. One notable project that comes to mind would be Olympia, a large master planned community in Herriman.

I have worked on aspects such as planting plans, irrigation plans, and site renderings. Coming from school in the Midwest, I did not have much background in Irrigation planning or much familiarity with native Utah plants, so this project has been both fun and a great learning opportunity for me to experience new sections of Landscape Architecture. The site renderings include things such as a community park art wall, and roundabout art monuments that take inspiration from national park elements.

Special Thanks to ASLA Utah 2024 Sponsors & Corporate Partners for their Support!

Platinum Sponsors
BioGrass | Great Western Recreation | Rain Bird | Victor Stanley

Corporate Partners
Bockholt Designs | Calsense | Denton House | Io LandArch | SEGroup

ASLA UTAH JUNE/JULY NEWSLETTER