2023-2025 class of the ASLA Licensure Advancement Program / ASLA
The ASLA Fund announced today the second class of the Licensure Advancement Program.
The program aims to increase racial and gender diversity within the profession and was inspired by ASLA’s Racial Equity Plan of Action, which was released in 2020.
The new class of the program includes 10 women who identify as Black, Latine, Indigenous, South Asian, and East Asian – groups that are the most statistically underrepresented among licensed landscape architects.
The class includes women based in Florida, Washington, California, Texas, Maryland, Massachusetts, Colorado, and Washington, D.C. who are involved in private practice and landscape architectural education.
- Patricia Matamoros Araujo, ASLA, Senior Associate, Savino & Miller Design Studio, Miami, Florida
- Shaunta Butler, Adjunct Instructor, Boston Architectural College; Lecturer, University of Washington; Designer and Partner, 6B Workshop, Seattle, WA
- Elizabeth Luc Clowes, ASLA, Principal, Luc Clowes Landscape Design, Boston, MA
- Patricia Fonseca Flores, ASLA, Owner and Founder, San Francisco, CA
- Kendra Hyson, ASLA, Associate Urban Designer and Planner, SmithGroup, Washington D.C.
- Clementine Jang, Co-founder, SOFT STUDIO, Oakland, CA
- Miloni Mody, ASLA, Job Captain, Gates + Associates, Fremont, CA
- Kontessa Roebuck, Landscape Designer, Rodgers Consulting, Baltimore, MD
- Fatema Ali Tushi, ASLA, Civil Designer, Civilitude Engineers & Planners, San Antonio, TX
- Allyssa Williams, ASLA, Designer, DHM Design, Durango, CO
“ASLA is committed to growing a more diverse profession – and that means improving access to licensure,” said ASLA President Emily O’Mahoney, FASLA. “These 10 amazing women contribute to their communities, have overcome obstacles, and are committed to the profession of landscape architecture.”
“ASLA has steadfastly supported and defended licensure across the country, and the Woman of Color Licensure Advancement Program is a natural extension of this commitment,” said Torey Carter-Conneen, ASLA CEO. “The program not only reaffirms the profession’s role in protecting the public’s health and safety, but also advances the economic benefits of licensure to more people. As The Alliance for Responsible Licensing concluded in its 2021 report, among technical fields like landscape architecture, a license narrows the gender-driven wage gap by about a third and the race-driven gap by about half.”
The program will provide each of the women with a personalized experience that provides more than $3,500 to cover the cost of sections of the Landscape Architectural Registration Exam (LARE), along with exam preparation courses, resources, and mentorship from a licensed landscape architect.
The new class was selected by a committee:
- Valerie Aymer, ASLA, Associate Professor of Practice, Landscape Architecture, Department of Landscape Architecture, Cornell University
- Aida Curtis, ASLA, Principal, Curtis + Rogers Design, Inc.
- Alexandra Mei, ASLA, Director of Landscape Architecture, Christner Architects
The ASLA Licensure Advancement Program was initiated with a generous $100,000 donation by former ASLA President Wendy Miller, FASLA, and James Barefoot; Marq Truscott, FASLA; Rachel Ragatz Truscott; and Council of Landscape Architectural Registration Boards (CLARB).