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WASLA Board of Directors
President
Mike Faulkner, ASLA
Past President
Nicholas Zurlini, ASLA
Trustee
Tim Slazinik, ASLA
Treasurer
Su Wanqin, ASLA
Secretary
Zach Thomas, ASLA
Member at Large
Cresha Wee, ASLA
Member at Large, Eastern WA
Michael Sanchez, ASLA
Member at Large, Western WA
Rhiannon Neuville, ASLA
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Hello WASLA Members,
We had a fantastic time at WASLA’s first-ever Field Day, and it was great to connect with many of you in person! A special thanks to Field Operations and Earthscape Play for joining us and sharing their insight—it was a true highlight to hear directly from those helping shape the incredible public improvements along the Seattle Waterfront. It was also wonderful to learn more about future planning efforts and to enjoy engaging field sessions, including visits to past success stories like the Seattle Sculpture Park, which continues to stand the test of time.
This week also marked a bittersweet moment as we say farewell to Nick Zurlini, whose term as Past President is coming to a close. Nick’s good humor, dedication, and steady leadership have been a huge part of WASLA’s recent success—he’ll be greatly missed on the board. A big thank-you as well to Michael Sanchez, our outgoing Eastern Washington Member-at-Large, for his commitment and service.
We’re excited to welcome President-Elect Rachel Gleeson and new Eastern Member-at-Large Dan Cronan to the board, and we’re looking forward to the energy and perspective they’ll bring as we chart the path ahead.
Looking forward, the board continues to explore ways to support licensure affordability, and we’re in the process of finalizing our 2025 strategic plan and identifying opportunities to put it into action. Several of us will also be attending the National ASLA Conference in New Orleans—we hope to see you there if you’ll be attending!
And finally—Save the Date! The 2026 WASLA Annual Conference will be held May 7–8 at the Tacoma Marriott Downtown. We can’t wait to gather again, share ideas, and celebrate our profession together.
Thanks for being part of this vibrant community. More to come!
Mike Faulkner
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A huge thank you to everyone who participated in WASLA's first annual Field Day!
We all had a great time connecting and celebrating the amazing work of Landscape Architects and their impressive work in downtown Seattle!
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SAVE THE DATE! 2026 WASLA SPRING CONFERENCE
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The WASLA 2026 Spring Conference will be held at the Tacoma Marriott Downtown on May 7th and 8th, 2026!
More information to come soon!
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Welcome Incoming Board Members
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Rachel Gleeson - Incoming President Elect
Rachel Gleeson is an Associate Principal at Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates. She has contributed to MVVA’s design and planning projects at scales ranging from playgrounds to urban master plans. In addition to project management, she develops writing and communications support for a wide array of MVVA projects. She has written and co-written articles about MVVA's work, and she contributed an essay on MVVA's plazas to the book Reconstructing Urban Landscapes. She has served on the City of Seattle’s Design Commission, as well as the Seattle Public Art Advisory Committee.
Rachel earned a Bachelor of Arts in Art History from Columbia University, a Master of Architecture and a Master of Landscape Architecture from the University of Virginia, and a Master of Arts in Art History from the University of Washington. She is a licensed landscape architect in Washington State.
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Dan Cronan, PhD - Incoming Eastern Washington Member-at-Large
Dr. Dan Cronan is an Assistant Professor at Washington State University, where he specializes in integrating geospatial tools and scenario planning into landscape architecture practice and education. His professional and academic work spans diverse regions including the U.S. Pacific Northwest, Gulf Coast, New York State, China, and Turkey, with a strong emphasis on food systems, land use planning, and climate resilience.
His teaching and research focus on how landscape architecture can shape more adaptive and equitable futures. At WSU’s School of Design and Construction, he teaches courses on site planning, regional landscape systems, and scenario-based design. He works with students to apply geospatial tools such as GIS, web-based applications, and digital twins to real-world projects, particularly in rural, agricultural, and Tribal communities across the Northwest. A key part of his pedagogy involves helping students engage with community partners to develop resilient design strategies grounded in both local knowledge and future environmental conditions.
In both research and outreach, he emphasizes scenario planning through digital tools as a method to explore and visualize alternative land use trajectories, support sustainable decision-making, and inform policy around food, water, and energy systems. He’s led or contributed to projects supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF), AmeriCorps, UNESCO, and the National Park Service, with a consistent goal: to use design as a tool for systems change at multiple scales.
He is especially committed to advancing interdisciplinary collaboration between landscape architecture, environmental science, and planning by training the next generation of designers to navigate complex socio-ecological challenges with creativity, care, and stewardship.
Education
Louisiana State University – 2007, B.L.A.
University of Oregon – 2017, M.L.A.
University of Idaho – 2022, Ph.D.
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Seattle Design Commission Seeks Urban Designer
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Mayor Bruce Harrell is recruiting an Urban Designer to join the Seattle Design Commission. You’ll fill the remaining term of an outgoing Commissioner that ends in March 2027. You will also be eligible for 2 - two-year terms starting in March 2027. We are looking for an urban designer interested in elevating the design of City capital projects (parks, community centers, fire stations, etc.) and projects seeking long-term or permanent use of a street or alley. Experience in publicly funded development, policy, or plans is preferred.
Established in 1968, the Seattle Design Commission advises City officials on design excellence in City funded capital improvement projects, in the City right-of-way, or constructed with City funds. The Commission also advises the Mayor, City Council, and City departments on projects or policies that impact Seattle’s public realm. You can see the scope of our work at www.seattle.gov/designcommission.
The Seattle Design Commission has 10 members comprised of design professionals including architects, engineers, and designers. Commissioners provide recommendations to project managers and design teams that develop project designs. Commissioners align their meetings and work around collaborative and constructive recommendations that will elevate design outcomes.
During the term as a Commissioner, Commissioners may not contract with the City on any capital project that would be reviewed by the Commission. Commissioners spend approximately 10 hours a month in Commission meetings, held during the day on the 1st and 3rd Thursdays of the month.
To be considered, please transmit a resume and letter of interest by November 24, 2025 to Mayor Bruce Harrell, c/o Michael Jenkins, Executive Director, Seattle Design Commission. Michael’s email is at [email protected].
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Call for CELA 2026 Abstracts
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Deadline Extended for CELA 2026 Abstracts
The deadline to submit an abstract for the 2026 CELA Annual Conference has been extended to September 26, 2025, by 11:59 p.m. (author’s time zone)! Join us March 18–21, 2026, in Cincinnati, as we explore the theme: Catalyzing Connections: Integrating Strategies, Knowledge, and Action with Communities in Landscape Architecture. This is your chance to contribute to a powerful dialogue on how cross-disciplinary collaboration and community integration are redefining our field. Submit your abstract today—and be a part of what’s next. Abstract Deadline: 09/26/2025, 11:59 p.m. (author’s time zone) Full Paper Deadline: 04/15/2026, 11:59 p.m. (author’s time zone) Let your ideas catalyze change.
Conference Tracks
Communication and Visualization Design Education and Pedagogy Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Film + New Media Geo-Spatial and Digital Analytics | | History, Theory, and Culture Landscape Architecture for Health (new-LA CES) Landscape Performance (LA CES) Landscape Planning and Ecology (LA CES) | | People-Environment Relationships Research Methods Research by Design and Implementation (LA CES) Resilience and Climate Action (new-LA CES) Service Learning and Community Engagement Urban Design
Submit an Abstract
CELA 2026 Abstract Submission Guidelines
Please review the CELA 2026 Submission Guidelines carefully, as we have made some changes based on the feedback, we received to help ensure the conference’s quality. Required Information for Each Submission: Presentation format (i.e., oral, panel, or poster/demonstration) Conference track (select one from 16 tracks provided) Author information (i.e., title, name, highest degree, email, institution/organization of all authors) Professional status of first author (student, practitioner, or educator/academic) Abstract title (up to 20 words) Keywords (3-5) Abstract (up to 400 words) Reference (up to 10 references, APA Style, 7th edition) Learning objectives (3-5) and author bio (required only for LA CES tracks) Submission Restrictions: Each person is limited to no more than two first-author submissions. The platform will automatically withdraw additional first-authored submissions. There is no limit on the number of co-authored submissions. Student Submissions are encouraged by the CELA. PhD students may submit as single authors. All other students must co-author submissions with faculty advisors. Abstracts with a non-PhD student as the first author and no faculty member as the co-author will be automatically withdrawn by the platform. Faculty shouldn’t have their students or assistants submit submissions on their behalf. If a student is submitting, they must use their student email address. Presentation Format: CELA 2026 will be an in-person conference, and no virtual option will be provided. Oral Presentations are typically individual presentations organized into 75-minute concurrent sessions (four presenters each have 15 minutes, including Q&A time in the middle or at the end for open discussion). The first author must be the presenting author and must complete early bird registration to be included in the conference schedule. Panel Submissions are 75-minute integrated presentations on a single topic offered by 3-5 panelists. Panel proposals require a full description of the topic, the rationale for its importance, presentation structure, and the names of all speakers. A minimum of two panelists must complete early bird registration to be included in the conference schedule. Poster/Demonstration Submissions are presentations of research and/or creative scholarship information in the form of printed posters that conference participants may view. Poster abstracts should follow the same suggested abstract format. The first author (= presenting author) must complete early bird registration to be included in the conference schedule. The actual name, not a nickname, of the author needs to be used for submissions. The first author’s (= presenting author) email needs to be the direct contact of this person. Authors are strongly encouraged to use their institutional email to submit their abstracts and contact CELA.
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Members now have access to free monthly PDH live webinars and recordings via ASLA Online Learning. | Read More
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A very warm welcome to our new and renewing WASLA Members:
Anya Tollefsen | Blake Erlandson | Brook Goodwin | Charles Scott | Cresha Wee | Jason Henry | Lara Normand | Laura Keil | Margaret Hayes-Thombre | Melissa Palmer | Mike Light | Peter Nelson | Philip VanDevanter | Phoebe Chuang | Rebecca Wahlstrom
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Interested in becoming a member?
Learn more about benefits of membership.
Join today!
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Looking for the perfect job candidate?
Did you know that you can create a new job listing online on the WASLA website?
All job postings appear on the WASLA website AND are included in WASLA's monthly newsletter that goes out to over 2,000 subscribers!
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- October 10 - 13 - National ASLA Conference - Register
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