2018 Annual WASLA Conference

Motif Seattle, March 16, 2018

GENERAL SESSION

12:30 - 2:00 pm
Advocacy 101: The Why, What, and How of Landscape Architecture Advocacy

Description:

Join us for this important interactive general session to learn why advocacy for the profession of landscape architecture is becoming ever more important at the state and local levels in order to protect our ability to practice, to advance an understanding of the complex services we provide, and to better position us as team leaders in developing, enhancing and managing the built environment.

The ASLA maintains a consistent and strong presence in Washington, D.C. to support programs and funding that provide work for landscape architects. Now learn about available tools that assist Chapters in developing and maintaining a strong and consistent advocacy presence with elected officials and public policy professionals in the state, and strategies for responding to licensure challenges.

Learn about recent developments in how the practice of landscape architecture addresses impacts of climate change and the policy changes needed at the federal, state and local levels. This interactive session will also consider efforts to increase public understanding of the profession, identify the issues that matter most in the state, and set in motion next steps as the Chapter moves deeper into advocacy programming.

Speakers:

Vaughn Rinner and Elizabeth Hebron

Speaker Bios:

Vaughn Rinner, Landscape Architect and Immediate Past President of the American Society of Landscape Architects
Vaughn Rinner, FASLA is Immediate Past President of the American Society of Landscape Architects. A graduate of Iowa State University, she was honored to be awarded the 2017 Design Achievement Award from the ISU College of Design.

Vaughn has over forty years of private practice experience in both small landscape architectural firms and as a partner in interdisciplinary firms. Her management of a wide variety of project types has given Vaughn a broad understanding of the issues and opportunities landscape architects face in both private and public practice. She worked primarily in upstate New York and in the Mid-Atlantic Coastal area, where she has been involved in addressing sea level rise issues for many years, and many of her current activities involve identifying the opportunities for landscape architects to lead in addressing the impacts of climate change.

Vaughn and her husband Tim Bell relocated to Seattle in 2014 to enjoy time with their two children and two grandsons.

Vaughn has worked with ASLA Advocacy issues for many years at the national level and with both the Virginia and Washington Chapters. She was a leader in the process of upgrading the Virginia title act to a practice act and served on the Virginia Board for eight years.

Elizabeth Hebron, Director, State Government Affairs, American Society of Landscape Architects