Board & Staff

Carolyn joined the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA) following 25 years of private practice with Hough Stansbury Woodland, later HWNDL, where she was a managing partner. In her current TRCA position as Senior Director, Planning & Development she has overseen the environmental planning, development review, policy and environmental assessment functions within 18 municipalities in the Toronto region. She has worked with Waterfront Toronto, the National Capital Commission, the former Crombie Commission on Toronto’s waterfront, and the City of Toronto on many landmark planning and design assignments. 

Carolyn’s significant work has helped to protect Ontario's future by defining plans to manage growth, protect and enhance greenspace, protect watersheds, and focus on climate change. Her 40-year career is founded on a passionate advocacy for integrating design and science for a vibrant public realm - embedded in her award recognized consulting, academic teaching (U of T) and public service.   

Christopher Grosset is a partner and senior consultant with NVision Insight Group (formerly Aarluk Consulting), an Indigenous Consulting firm based in Ottawa and Iqaluit.  His practice is to document cultural landscapes and integrate Indigenous traditional knowledge with contemporary planning for protected areas and heritage sites. He earned a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Toronto in 1993 and a Master of Landscape Architecture from the University of Guelph in 2000. 

Christopher is a founding member of the Nunavut Association of Landscape Architects (2002), past NUALA President, and was accepted to the CSLA in 2003. From 2005 through 2011 he was a CSLA Director, working on various committees including Advocacy and Communications. Christopher was the Chair of the CSLA Awards of Recognition program in 2008 and 2009, and has served on the CSLA World Landscape Architecture Month committee from its founding in 2008 until 2013. 

Christopher was Chair of the CSLA 2011 Congress in Iqaluit, Nunavut, and received the CSLA Schwabenbauer Award that year. He was elected to the College of Fellows in 2014.  He Chaired the CSLA Reconciliation Advisory Committee from 2016 to 2020, mandated “to guide the CSLA in improving awareness and capacity for supporting Canada’s First Nations, Inuit, and Métis Peoples”.  Christopher was awarded the Canadian Society of Landscape Architects Presidents Award in 2018 for his work to further the profession on Indigenous awareness.  NVision received a 2018 CSLA Award of Excellence in large scale planning and analysis for the Kinngaaluk Territorial Park Master Plan.  In 2022 Agguttinni Uumajunut Pimmariuninginnut (Territorial Park) by NVision Insight Group Inc. with John Laird Associates was awarded the Jury's Award of Excellence and National Award for Planning. Christopher is a regular contributor to Landscapes/Paysages.

Since 2000, Bob is a Principal and Landscape Architect with Scatliff + Miller + Murray (SMM) having played a significant role in many CSLA Award winning projects including Waterfront Drive (2006), The Plaza @ The Forks (2007), East Side Road Revegetation (2015), and the Wascana Landscape + Irrigation Master Plan (2018), Bob is a graduate of the University of Manitoba’s Master of Landscape Architecture program in 2002. In addition to Bob's active role in the Manitoba landscape he is the managing partner of the SMM Regina office since 2014 and has led significant assignments across Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Northern Ontario. For the society, Bob has served as MALA President (2012-14), CSLA Director (MALA Representative 2014-2016), co-chaired the 2016 CSLA Congress in Winnipeg, and continues as a Director of the LACF (since 2017) and is the LACF representative on the JEDI taskforce. In 2019, Bob was inducted into the CSLA College of Fellows. In addition to his work with the Society, Bob is an active volunteer in Winnipeg and is just completing his term as president of Manitoba Music in 2022. 
 

Cynthia is a full member with seal in the OALA who has worked in municipal practice for the City of Hamilton for 15 years, overseeing park, trail and open space design and construction.  She leads a team of 13 professional staff to ensure that the residents and visitors to Hamilton have access to high quality outdoor recreation spaces.  She graduated from the University of Guelph with an undergrad in Environmental Science, and again 3 years later with a Masters in Landscape Architecture.  Throughout her career, she has tried to marry both science and art to balance the needs of nature with the needs of humanity.  She is an elected councillor for the Ontario Association of Landscape Architects (OALA), and is the co-chair of the Municipal Outreach Committee, as well a member of the executive committee and board of the Canadian Society of Landscape Architects (CSLA) as the chair of the Finance and Risk Management committee.  In recent years, she and her team in Hamilton have pushed for Low Impact Development features, including stormwater capture on park development projects.  In March of 2020 her article on shoreline protection work in Hamilton was published in Municipal World magazine as part of a larger professional advocacy initiative to further Ontario’s efforts towards a Practice Act.  In June 2020, she was awarded the David Erb memorial award for Exemplary Volunteer Service by the OALA. 

Jane Welsh, BLA University of Guelph 1984 and MSC in Planning University of Toronto 2000 has been Project Manager of the Environmental Planning unit of Toronto City Planning since 2005. Her education and experience as a Landscape Architect has been the foundation for her work in developing new innovative solutions to address environment/sustainability/ resilience issues and change the way we build and develop in Canada's largest city. 

This work has included the award winning Toronto Green Standard and Green Roof Bylaw; the Bird Friendly Guidelines; the Biodiversity booklet series and the Enduring Wilderness: Toronto Natural Parklands book. She has also been responsible for developing the first Ravine Protection Bylaw for the amalgamated city, and the first Ravine Strategy and the first Biodiversity Strategy.

She previously developed Waterfront Plans for Metro Toronto, City of Mississauga and Halton Region Conservation Authority and worked as a landscape architect in the private sector, and has always made time to mentor staff and students.

Jane has volunteered with the OALA for many years: as founding member of the Honours Awards and Protocol Committee (since 1988): as Co-Chair of the CSLA conference in 1991; and on OALA Council since 2014 - currently serving as Vice President. She is also a member of the CSLA Committee on Climate Adaptation.

Ms. Margaret Ferguson obtained a diploma in Landscape Architectural Technology from Ryerson in 1980 and a diploma in Restoration of Natural Systems from the University of Victoria in 2011. She was accepted as a member of the NWTALA and the CSLA in 1991 and the Canadian Association of Heritage Professionals (CAHP) in 1994.

Margaret was a founding member of the NWTALA and has served continuously on the board since its inception. She has taken an active role in many areas of the association including her participation in the drafting of key documents and promotion. She repesented the NWTALA on the CSLA Board of Directors, including representation on the President’s Council from 2012-present. Margaret was a board member and the CAHP National Membership Chair  from 2006-2009.

In 1984, Margaret moved to Frobisher Bay (now Iqaluit) and became the first resident landscape architect in the eastern arctic. She travelled extensively throughout the region as a project officer with the Government of the NWT focusing on advancing responsible site development practices while managing construction projects.

In 1991, she moved to Yellowknife where she was engaged by the territorial government and then opened a consultancy that specialized in park master planning, interpretive and heritage resource design, and, community land use planning studies. Since 2004, Margaret has been a partner with Gaea Consulting Ltd. while continuing studies in ecological and restoration principles and techniques.

Tracey Hesse holds a bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts (1994) from Concordia University and a master’s degree in Design (Landscape option) from the University of Montreal (2000). At HETA, she works on diverse mandates from planning and designing, to research studies and visual analyses, as well as writing reports and technical documents for tender submittals.

Tracey acquired practical experience in both design and execution early in her career, working as a landscape contractor in her own company for eight years. Today, she has over 18 years experience in landscape architecture in the public and private sectors. She has worked for EDAW, an international landscaping firm based in the United-States, in Atlanta, GA and several other landscape architecture firms in Montreal. Since 2015, she has been an associate at HETA (Hodgins & Associates).

In 2009 and 2010, she worked as an administrative assistant for the AAPQ. This opportunity allowed her to familiarize herself with the daily operations of the Association. Subsequently, she was part of the Admissions Committee until 2019.

Tracey is known for her excellent drawing skills and urban landscape designs. She is proficient in plant selection for residential and urban projects. In 2015, she was awarded 1st Ex-aequo Prize and the Prix Coup de cœur in the category of small garden spaces from the APPQ for Le filigree, a collaboration with Éric Fleury and Les aménagements paysagers l’Artisan. She is currently a member of the Jury for the Prix Habitat Design, an initiative to promote excellence and multidisciplinary collaboration in the marketing of residential projects in Quebec.

Born and raised in Atlantic Canada, Cameron was introduced to the landscape industry at an early age by way of the landscape maintenance sector.  After completing a university degree in New Brunswick, he learned of the profession of landscape architecture from a friend and decided to pursue a BLA at the University of Guelph, graduating in 2005. He currently resides in Canada's far north in the City of Iqaluit.  There,he has held progressive roles in municipal and territorial government.  Cameron has been a NuALA board member and CSLA board director since 2011. He enjoys spending his time with family, travelling and being in the great outdoors.
 

Hans story started at the eastern suburbs of Berlin, Germany with a passion for gardening and landscaping, which led Hans to pursue the profession of Landscape Architecture at the University of Applied Sciences, Erfurt, Germany. He also had a passion for people and cultures and gained invaluable experience at Walt Disney World's Epcot Center in Florida as Cultural representative, where he met his future wife. Following his heart and love, Hans made his way to Nova Scotia and worked under WSP Canada Inc. with land surveyors, urban planners and engineers while developing Landscape Architecture for the Atlantic region. In 2017 he was hired by the Municipality of Argyle as Director of Public Works, providing him with the opportunity to experience the local community and set deeper roots for his own family. He is actively participating on the APALA board of directors as past president and leading a local community volunteer group. Hans just recently opened the doors of Arrow's Edge Landscape Architecture Inc. and is sharing his vision and ideas with people, community and other professions. 
 

Vanessa Jukes Strutt was born and raised in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, which set the foundation for her love of the prairie landscape. Spending her summers at her family cabin at Buffalo Pound Lake in the Qu’Appelle River Valley, she grew up in the short grass prairie marveling at prickly pear cactus, blue grama grass, prairie rose, among others. 

Vanessa is a Landscape Architect and Project Manager with Physical Plant, Architectural & Engineering Services at the University of Manitoba (UM). Throughout her career, she has had the opportunity to work on a variety of projects in the public and private sectors gaining extensive interdisciplinary experience expanding beyond landscape architecture and planning to include civil, mechanical and electrical engineering, architecture and interior design projects. 

Vanessa’s project portfolio at UM primarily includes leading project teams for infrastructure renewal and public realm development on all UM campuses. Some of her favourite recent projects include those that help shape the landscape to be more resilient through flood mitigation, more sustainable through the establishment of a native revegetation and reforestation strategy and more accessible through the advancement of a University wide accessibility audit of the built environment and public realm. Vanessa is the current Past President of the Manitoba Association of Landscape Architects.

Bob has been a practicing landscape architect for over 37 years. He is a graduate of the University of Guelph where he met his wife Lesley-Anne Evans, a graduate landscape architect turned professional poet.   After starting his career in Toronto working for several private sector planning and landscape architecture firms, Bob and Lesley-Anne migrated to the wild west city of Kelowna, BC. After uttering the phrase “what have we done” upon arriving on a very cold January day in 1993, the pair very quickly grew to love the city. Bob became a fundamental influence on the future form and character of Kelowna and of cities large and small across western Canada which led to multiple professional awards. Bob successfully established several businesses in Kelowna and his firm eventually joined a Canadian-based major international consulting firm where he went on to take a national role as practice leader in landscape architecture and urban design. Very recently, Bob has turned his attention and entrepreneurial skill set to the City of Kelowna in his role as Partnership Office Director. Bob has always considered volunteering and mentoring as a core value and has chaired and led many non-profit organizations locally and provincially, including President of the BCSLA and Chair of the Kelowna Gospel Mission that serves the homeless population in the area. A staunch advocate of the profession, Bob has been a passionate voice for the recognition of landscape architects as vital project leaders and building the collective understanding of our creative and financial value.