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President 2024-2025
Dan Lambert, ASLA
(704) 527-0800 x327
McAdams
Dan is the Director of Landscape Architecture in the McAdams Charlotte office. His 23-year career has been spent creating inspired designs for places for people. His design philosophy is to create beloved places that become a part of its users' stories. Dan focuses on designing for ease of access and use by the greatest number of people.
Dan spent the early part of his career in his home state of Colorado and later moved to Myrtle Beach, SC. Seven years ago, Dan made the move from Myrtle to Charlotte and has never looked back. His design experience is broad in scope, project types, and geographic reach and he has project work in 20+ states and the Bahamas.
Dan believes that ASLA and our local chapters provide tremendous service and resources to the landscape architecture community and he believes that giving back to our champion professional organization is a necessity and a privilege. He looks forward to continuing his service to our community and our organization.
President - Elect 2024-2025
Paul Kuhn
Town of Cary
919-469-4360
Paul Kuhn is a licensed landscape architect who has worked for Cary, NC for over 18 years. Paul is currently the Capital Program Manager for Cary overseeing the $1 Billion worth of existing projects occurring in Cary. Paul oversees the twenty-year capital improvement plan for the future of Cary. Before coming to Cary he worked in the private sector in Pennsylvania for about 4 years. Paul graduated from Kansas State University with a bachelor’s in landscape architecture and a minor in planning. He has also successfully completed a course on Municipal Administration from UNC. He is a problem solver who has planned, designed, and built some of the many “first” projects in Cary. He enjoys working on a range of projects that the public will use from maintaining the current, building for current needs, and planning for the future. He has worked on greenways, parks, venues, public safety, and other government facility projects during his career. He has also worked closely with the development of community building in the community.
Secretary 2023-2025
Brenna Laffey
Design Workshop
919-319-6716
Brenna is a landscape designer and project manager at Design Workshop in the Raleigh studio. She holds her graduate degree in Landscape Architecture from North Carolina State University, where she served as President of the Student Chapter of ASLA, and is actively pursuing professional licensure. Her experience and interests in the field translate across multiple scales of intervention, from large-scale systems thinking to crafting thoughtful details. Brenna’s background in interior design and materials fuels her passion for human-scale place-making. Inspired by witnessing the catastrophic impacts of Hurricane Sandy in NYC, Brenna has also participated in cross-disciplinary teams working in the realm of resiliency and environmental justice. She believes that design at any scale can be a powerful medium in addressing complex issues and advocates for equitable, meaningful, and sustainable solutions. Brenna is experienced in project management and has worked on a variety of project types from land use planning at a County level to traditional landscape and site design.
Treasurer 2024-2026
Lora Greco
Town of Cary
Lora Greco serves as Cary’s Development Review Manager. In this role, Lora serves as a liaison between the business community, developers, customers, and the Town of Cary leading and coordinating the volume and pace of development project review, explaining development review processes to customers, and identifying and implementing understandable and customer-friendly solutions. She is a licensed landscape architect with nearly two decades of land planning, site design, capital project management and construction administration experience in the private and public sectors. Lora has been a member of ASLA since her undergraduate studies at NCSU's College of Design and has been a full member since 2008. She served as NCASLA's Treasurer for three years before being elected to serve as president-elect, president, and immediate past president.
Lora holds a Bachelor of Landscape Architecture from North Carolina State University and a Master of City and Regional Planning from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She is licensed to practice landscape architecture in North Carolina and South Carolina. Lora is enthusiastic about continuing supporting her fellow NCASLA members as Treasurer.
Member-at-Large Awards 2023-2025
Jael Wagoner
Qunity
Ms. Jael Wagoner, Vice President of Community Design at Qunity, brings over two decades of extensive experience spanning diverse land development, landscape architecture, and land planning disciplines. Her career is marked by a dedication to creating purposeful and inspirational places across a broad spectrum of project types, including private, public, healthcare, parks and recreation, k-12 education, higher education, aviation, and energy. Ms. Wagoner's responsibilities encompass business development, comprehensive project management from conceptualization through construction, and the mentorship of her team. Her commitment to public and environmental stewardship underscores her drive to leave a lasting, positive legacy.
As a decorated United States Navy Veteran, she embodies a strong foundation of dedication and service. Jael has been actively involved with the North Carolina chapter of American Society of Landscape Architects since 2019, serving as a NCASLA Conference on Landscape Architecture Committee Member (2020), as the NCASLA Conference on Landscape Architecture Conference Committee Chair since 2021, and is currently the NCASLA Member-at-Large | Awards 2023-2025.
Past President 2024-2025
Drake Fowler
(828) 665-2492
The North Carolina Arboretum
Drake Fowler is Deputy Executive Director/CFO for The North Carolina Arboretum in Asheville, directing the finance, development, horticulture, facilities, and information technologies departments. He manages a $6 million annual budget and has led more than $5 million in capital improvements Drake co-led a 20-year campus master planning process during 2020. He was recently elected chair of the American Public Garden Association CFO council, representing 200 institutions.
Drake previously worked 12 years for Design Workshop, an international, award-winning landscape architectural firm, serving as the operations manager for both the Asheville and flagship Denver offices. He worked with the firm’s national leadership on firm strategy, finance, HR and daily operations.
As a licensed and LEED AP certified landscape architect, he served as project manager on multi-million-dollar projects, designed and built throughout the United States and internationally, including three years leading landscape design and construction for Sierra-Nevada Brewery’s eastern U. S. manufacturing and tourism facility.
Drake is the co-author of A Guide to Strategic Planning: How to Build & Critique a Plan with Data and Research. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Landscape Architecture from Michigan State University and a Master of Business Administration degree from Western Carolina University.
Trustee 2023-2025
Zachary Pierce, ASLA
(919) 319-6716
CLH design
As a Vice President of CLH design, Zak leads a team of landscape architects, designers, and civil engineers with the development of design plans for a variety of civic, recreational, and educational projects. His dedication to ASLA reaches back to his role as the Secretary for Penn State’s Landscape Architecture Student Society. Once in North Carolina, Zak immediately became involved with NCASLA by volunteering on several long-range and conference planning committees. As an active member of
the North Carolina Chapter of ASLA, Zak works diligently to advocate for the profession. He served as NCASLA Membership Chair, NCASLA Chapter President, ASLA Chapter Presidents Council (CPC) Chair, and recently was selected to serve on the ASLA Leadership Development Committee. He is also a frequent speaker at parks/recreation, public safety, and landscape architecture conferences to further his professional development and promote the importance of landscape architecture.
Zak values the comradery amongst landscape architects and would be honored to serve as the NCASLA Secretary.
Member-at-Large Communications 2024-2026
Lauren Patterson, PLA, ASLA
Pond
Lauren is a Landscape Architect and Planner with 10 years of experience leading projects from large-scale regional planning initiatives to detailed immersive designs. She has worked on a wide variety of projects throughout the U.S. and is involved in outreach and advocacy for smart planning and design initiatives throughout the country.
Currently employed at Pond in Charlotte NC, she is passionate about improving the world of transportation and development through smart design and collaboration. She has been involved in ASLA for about 7 years and is active in various aligning professional organizations as well. She currently serves as the Urban Design PPN Co-Chair and is involved in National ASLA committees.
Member -at-Large - Climate Action 2024 - 2026
Jonathan Parsons, ASLA
Jonathan graduated from the North Carolina State School of Design with an undergrad in Landscape Architecture in 2001 and later achieved a Masters in Geographic Information Sciences and Technology from the University of Southern California. With an unconventional style and a practical eye for design, Jonathan seeks to strengthen the role of landscape architects as leaders in site development and land use planning. With over 20 years of professional design experience across the public and private sectors, his process merges his practical experience with his intuitive knowledge and understanding to create cohesive solutions and experiential spaces. Jonathan synthesizes complex projects into transformative design solutions to solve programmatic requirements through a holistic design approach. When not working, Jonathan spends time traveling, listening to live music, and spending time with his children. In the remaining spare time Jonathan works on home renovations for family and friends as a licensed NC General Contractor.
Member-at-Large Government Affairs Advocacy Chair 2024-2025
Troy Olson, PLA, ASLA
CLH Design, P.A
Troy is a Senior Landscape Architect at CLH Design, bringing 18 years of experience specializing in publicly funded projects, particularly in K-12 education environments. Troy studied Landscape Architecture at the University of Massachusetts, where he developed a strong foundation in design and sustainability. Over the course of his career, he has worked in New York City, Washington DC, Virginia, North Carolina, and Massachusetts, gaining valuable experience in all sectors of the profession. His work combines innovative design solutions with a deep understanding of the unique needs of educational institutions, ensuring each project fosters both environmental responsibility and community engagement. Troy advocates for Landscape Architects to cultivate a strong and influential voice to ensure the continuous growth and recognition of Landscape Architecture as a vital and evolving profession.
Member-at-Large Emerging Professional (2023-2025)
Britt Davis
JDAVIS
Britt Davis has 15 years of leadership and management experience in community development and is an emerging professional in Landscape Architecture and Urban Design. Before studying Landscape Architecture at North Carolina State University's Master's (MLA) program, Britt spearheaded many initiatives ranging from youth to economic development. One of the most notable is the Vacationer Supported Agriculture (VSA) project, which pioneered cooperation with over 40 farmers, NC Extension, and various partners to implement a strategic plan for place-based community-led food systems.
As someone deeply invested in building genuine human connections and lasting relationships, Britt served as the President of the Student ASLA chapter during her time in the MLA program. Her team chased innovative opportunities such as a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion grant to foster lasting social bridges, strong bonds, and share resources with North Carolina A&T University. Further, Britt's multi-phased research in mapping human health concerns and testing resilient landscape systems' ability to mitigate such problems garnered a National ASLA award in the research category. Britt currently works as an Urban Designer in Raleigh, North Carolina. Britt is excited to leverage her leadership and community development experience to pursue niche urban design innovations in the Southeast by empowering collaboration between designers, developers, government officials, and locals to create dynamic power shifts and regime changes in how we build cities in this region.
Charlotte Section Chair 2024-2026
Nick Musarra, ASLA
LandDesign
Nick is a landscape designer and emerging professional at LandDesign in Charlotte. Prior to landscape architecture, Nick began his career in transportation and environmental planning gaining experience with community impact assessments as part of the NEPA process. Wanting to continue community-based work but shift his focus to design, Nick pursued a degree in Landscape Architecture at North Carolina State University where he was able to marry his experience in high-level systems with the intentional designing of spaces. Nick served as a professional development chair of the Student ASLA chapter at NCSU and sought to re-energize the mentorship program during his term. Nick is a proud NC native growing up in Cary and attending ECU as an undergraduate. He is excited to expand his connections in Charlotte and grow his career in this dynamic region of the country. When not collaborating with designers, Nick and his partner can be found herding their cats.
Coastal Section Chair 2021-2025
Sharon Rhue
252-758-3446
The East Group
I fell in love with landscape architecture as an extension of my love for the natural and built environments of Southern California 25 years ago and have never looked back. Upon returning to my native NC in 1999, I continued the education I began at UCLA with a Master of Landscape Architecture from NCSU. After several years in Raleigh, my career took me to Greenville, NC where I am currently a Senior Landscape Architect at The East Group.
In this smaller market, my practice is broad. I am interested in coastal ecologies, and the smart growth of urbanizing communities. Another interest involves the intersection of art and architecture, which has led to long-term engagement with Pitt County Arts Committee, where I am currently as Chairperson.
Triangle Section Chair 2023-2025
Brittain Allison, ASLA
(919) 924-3239
RATIO Design
A unique blend of architect and urban designer, Brittain's experience and insight have shaped numerous projects, blending the built and natural environments. His understanding of architecture allows him to interpret and discover relationships between buildings and the public realm; creating one-of-a-kind places. He has contributed to the design of numerous municipal and privately funded projects including master plans and site plans for complex, mixed-use developments, multi-family communities, and offices.
As a burgeoning new member of NCASLA I am honored to be considered for the Triangle Section Chair position. I am eager to meet with and connect with Landscape Architects across the state and to grow both personally and professionally with ASLA.
Mountain Section Chair 2023 - 2025
Megan Foy
828- 253-6856 ext 206
Megan is a Senior Landscape Architect at Equinox based in Asheville, NC. With 15 years of experience, her professional background includes projects in environmental restoration, stormwater SCM design, master planning, landscape design, and conservation planning. Megan holds a bachelor’s degree in biology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a master’s in landscape architecture from the University of Georgia. She utilizes these skills to create environmentally conscious designs. With Equinox, has served as the project manager for master plans, site plans, public open spaces including parks and greenways. She has a broad and diverse resume of project experience in which she has sensitively integrated human use and recreation with the management of natural resources in the landscape. As a native of Asheville, she understands the importance of integrating responsible design practices with the conservation and restoration of our unique mountain landscapes.
Megan understands the importance of developing and maintaining the connections between landscape architecture professionals in the Mountain Region and looks forward to being the NCASLA Mountain Section Chair.
NC A&T University Representative & Triad Section Chair 2023-2025
NCSU Landscape Architecture Department Head
María Bellalta
NC State University
María’s career is distinguished by the admirable work she has produced over the past 30 years across research, teaching, academic administration, and practice in landscape architecture. Her research is focused on the urbanization of the Global South, and its environmental and social impacts, and is informed by international projects and collaborations and her roots in Latin America.
Derived from her research work in Latin America, María leads international studios focused on social urbanism based in Medellín, Colombia, and Mexico City, Mexico, as rapidly expanding cities that exhibit ecological, economic, and social dilemmas exacerbated by a climate crisis era. Since 2015, she has invited students to work alongside local landscape architecture and design students, broadening students’ perceptions of the discipline. Her work guides students through planning strategies that reconsider design in service of diverse communities and frame social urbanism as a means for inclusive development across territories.
María received her MLA from Harvard University, Graduate School of Design, with prior studies in environmental psychology from the University of Notre Dame. Her professional experience includes positions with Buró Verde Arquitectura, Martha Schwartz Partners, Sasaki Associates, and Copley Wolff Design Group.
María is a former trustee for the Boston Society of Landscape Architects, ASLA Delegate to the International Federation of Landscape Architects – Americas Region, and serves on the Americas Council of Landscape Architecture Schools. She has engaged in academic collaborations with Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana, Colombia, and Centro Metropolitano de Arquitectura Sustentable in Mexico City, among other academic institutions in Latin America.