Hello! I am a landscape historian, theorist, maker and teacher, with a background in landscape architectural design, postmodern dance / movement research, nonprofit management and ecology. I have two decades of experience in landscape teaching and practice: guiding others to research living sites and articulate new landscape visions. I am one half of Living Site Land Studio, one half of Burrows, a maker of Unruly Earths, and founder of the fledgling Center for Touch-Made Landscapes.
Some things you may want to know:
Most recently an Adjunct Professor at the University of Toronto, I have been an Assistant Professor at Université de Montréal and taught at University of Buffalo, Cornell University, California Polytechnic State University – San Luis Obispo, and University of Detroit Mercy. My writing can be found at the Center for Humans and Nature, PLATFORM, Journal of Design History, and Studies in the History of Gardens and Designed Landscapes. As a designer, I have worked for Conger, Moss, Guillard, the Detroit Collaborative Design Center, and various San Francisco-based landscape architecture firms. I hold a Ph.D. in the History of Architecture and Urbanism from Cornell University, a Master of Landscape Architecture from the Harvard Graduate School of Design, and a Bachelor of Arts in Biology from Swarthmore College.
Some things I want you to know:
I have measured plant nutrient uptake on mangrove islands. I have danced duets with ancient seaside boulders. I have taught students how to draw portraits of soil and use their bodies to determine the heights of trees. I have sifted through archival boxes in the public library, seeking the lyrics of a protest song about a freeway and a park. I have cherished pebbles. I have learned to lay dry stone walls. Activities like these have manifested my aching love for the complicated, many-being livingness of the world. This love I carry with me, bring to my work, and hope to share (even in this digital glimpse) with you.
Thanks for stopping by.
CV