Rhiannon NeuvilleArchitect: Rhiannon Neuville Rhiannon is a natural leader. Her drive to advance causes and make projects happen is evidenced in her ability to organize a team, bring together important pieces of context and information, and ensure that everyone’s voice is heard along the way. She was instrumental in Swift Company’s Summer Internship Program, acting as a co-leader of the program while also being a direct liaison between the interns and firm leadership. In both 2021 and 2022, Swift Company welcomed interns from North Carolina A+T. Not only did Rhiannon help work with the interns on project and research work, but she also made sure that since they were coming to a new city they would feel comfortable and engaged in their time away from work, to make the most out of their experience. She’s an empathetic person who is driven to make everyone feel welcome and make sure they are working towards their individual goals and aspirations in a supporting environment. She’s has also shown strong leadership in her participation on the University of Washington’s Landscape Architecture Professional Advisory Committee (PAC). Rhiannon was a student member,then moved into an advisory role where she helped to implement the group’s Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI) sub-committee where she served as co-lead. In 2021, Rhiannon started serving as the PAC co-chair while still helping to move the JEDI sub-committee forward. Her commitment to PAC has been exceptional and she has accomplished a great deal of positive change in a short period of time. I have had the pleasure of serving on the PAC with Rhiannon and her approach is one of bringing everyone along and championing all voices of the committee. In addition to this, she is constantly pushing the committee to take on new initiatives and projects that will benefit students and the landscape architecture community as a whole. An exceptional designer, she’s been tasked with project work at all stages of the design process and has worked on projects that span scales from small urban spaces to massive transit corridor and campus planning efforts. Rhiannon has a thoughtful approach to her work at all levels. When beginning a design, she asks the right questions about the communities and contexts of the site. She observes social, cultural, and environmental implications in order to find solutions that fit the context and celebrate the place. Although she has strong personal values, she can also read client and jurisdictional challenges and navigate them with maturity. Rhiannon is also very technically competent. Her work on the 800 5th courtyard renovation project involved tricky existing conditions with limited, and in some cases incorrect, baseline survey information. Rhiannon worked with the incomplete tools she was given to find solutions to issues that emerged, often with on-site construction already underway. As a teammate on this project, I observed Rhiannon to be highly organized, thoughtful in her approach to finding the right connection detail or alternative strategy, and graceful in her interactions with on-site construction teams –quite the feat considering the pressure-cooker that a large construction project site can be! Perhaps one of Rhiannon’s strongest capabilities is communication. She’s calm, thoughtful, and organized, which leads to her correspondence, both internally and externally, being highly effective. I’ve worked with Rhiannon on multiple landscape architecture projects, on internal committees at Swift Company, and on the UW PAC. In each of these instances, Rhiannon is very capable of reading situations and communicating effectively to the correct parties to move things forward. This is a skill that I do not see in many professionals at Rhiannon’s level of experience. In written communications she is clear, succinct, and professional. In verbal communications she is a listener first, which allows her to build more informed questions and get to the heart of any issue or task. Once again, Rhiannon shows a level of refinement and maturity in this area that I believe is a step above her peers. Rhiannon’s dedication to serving her community is present in all aspects of her work and personal life. She’s offered her experience and time to many organizations and causes.What stands out about Rhiannon’s dedication to service is her genuine drive to contribute in a meaningful way to the causes she believes in. She is bold in her approach and moves things forward with confidence. It’s common for professionals with less experience to remain on the sidelines, or in support positions, but Rhiannon’s dedication to making a difference has resulted in her stepping up to take on important roles. During her time at the University of Washington, she coordinated the UW College of Built Environment’s Career Fair, and also took on the role of submission coordinator for the UW Publication Extents. On the UW PAC, Rhiannon was a driving force in the formation of the JEDI committee and continues to push new initiatives that benefit students and professionals in landscape architecture. |