ASLA Announces Pamela Conrad as Inaugural Climate and Biodiversity Fellow

ASLA announced a two-year fellowship with Pamela Conrad, ASLA, PLA, LEED AP, founder of Climate Positive Design. As ASLA's inaugural Climate and Biodiversity Fellow, Conrad will research landscape architecture strategies that are most effective in addressing the climate and biodiversity crisis, with a specific focus on underserved communities in the U.S. and worldwide.

"With Pamela's expertise, we will be able to provide more in depth guidance and examples of successful nature-based solutions designed by landscape architects around the globe," said Torey Carter-Conneen, CEO of ASLA. "To make the strongest case to decision-makers, it's important we have the research to back up the solutions we know have a positive impact. Landscape architects have a vital role to play in addressing the twinned climate and biodiversity crises, because of their work with plants, land, water, and construction materials."

"I am honored to participate in ASLA's inaugural Climate and Biodiversity Fellowship. This builds upon our strong working relationship over the past several years. I am eager to advance more accessible nature-based guidance for all, particularly for underserved communities. It is my hope that this work elevates the awareness of the profession globally and scales-up our positive impacts around the world," said Pamela Conrad.

Conrad is an internationally celebrated landscape architect. She founded Climate Positive Design to improve the carbon impacts of the exterior and natural environment projects while increasing social and ecological benefits. She is a faculty lecturer at Harvard Graduate School of Design, an Architecture 2030 Senior Fellow, the vice-chair of the IFLA Climate and Biodiversity Working Group, a member of the World Economic Forum Nature-Positive Cities Task Force, a 2023 Harvard Loeb Fellow and was a Landscape Architecture Foundation Fellow for Innovation and Leadership. In addition, Conrad was principal at CMG Landscape Architecture in San Francisco, where her work included helping the Port of San Francisco plan for sea level rise along its downtown waterfront.

ASLA's Climate Action Plan advances calls for all landscape architecture projects to accomplish the following goals by 2040:

• Achieve zero embodied and operational emissions and increase carbon sequestration
• Provide significant economic benefits in the form of measurable ecosystem services, health co-benefits, sequestration, and green jobs
• Address climate injustices, empower communities, and increase equitable distribution of climate investments
• Restore ecosystems and increase and protect biodiversity

Conrad will work in partnership with ASLA's Senior Manager of Climate Action, a newly dedicated role for Jared Green, Hon. ASLA, a veteran of the profession with deep knowledge of nature-based solutions.

Conrad's fellowship will build on the ASLA Fund's research into landscape architecture solutions to extreme heat with Dr. Daniella Hirschfeld, ASLA, PhD, Assistant Professor of Climate Adaptation Planning in the Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning Department at Utah State University; and landscape architecture strategies to reduce biodiversity loss with Dr. Sohyun Park, ASLA, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Plant Science and Landscape Architecture, University of Connecticut.