Meet Your Chapter Candidates for the 2021-2022 Election
Associate, Full, Full Fellow and International Members are eligible to vote. Digital ballots were sent under separate cover on July 15 if you are voting members. Election closes on August 13, 2021.
CHAPTER PRESIDENT
Evan Mather, FASLA, PLA, SITES® AP; AHBE/MIG, Inc, Los Angeles
I am a Principal and Director of Landscape Architecture with MIG – based in our downtown Los Angeles office. Prior to our acquisition by MIG, I had been with AHBE Landscape Architects for over fifteen years – where my focus was and continues to be the delivery of sustainable projects within the public realm: parks and open spaces, streetscapes and transportation networks, campuses for education, healthcare, retail, and hospitality.
I am most interested in digging deep and revealing the stories inherent in the context, history, geology, ecology, and culture of a project site – primarily in the Los Angeles metropolis. My commitment to this region led me to seek a position on our ASLA Southern California executive committee, where I have served as Chapter Treasurer and Fellows Chair for the last four years.
I am now running for Chapter President because I believe that as a chapter, we could be doing more to retain and serve our existing members, give lapsed members a reason to return, and encourage new members to join. Speaking to colleagues who are not members of ASLA, it usually comes down to money. As a chapter, are we doing enough to communicate the value of joining our professional organization? I believe the Chapter President is ultimately accountable to membership – current and potential – in communicating the value of being a member of ASLA. This is what I believe is currently missing, and why I am running. Thank you for your consideration.
Carlos Flores, ASLA, Community Planner, National Park Service, Los Angeles
Carlos Flores is a community planner with the National Park Service. He provides technical assistance to community groups, non-profit organizations and public agencies in support of their community-led projects related to recreation, health, and conservation. He enjoys communicating planning and design ideas visually to diverse audiences of design professionals as well to the public. Before he entered the public service, he worked for over 7 years in the private sector, specializing in private residential and commercial landscape design projects in Mexico and the US.
He is a lecturer of visual communication at Cal Poly Pomona, and has been a volunteer and instructor for over 10 years at Theodore Payne Foundation for Wildflowers and Native Plants.
Carlos is an active member of Southern California Chapter since 2015. He currently serves as Chapter President. In the past, he has served as Chapter President Elect, VP of Membership, and Student Liaison, as well as chair of the national Emerging Professionals Committee . He most enjoys providing mentorship to students and emerging professionals, as well as advocating for inclusion and diversity, licensure defense, public space, access to recreation opportunities, and conservation.
He studied Landscape Architecture at Cal Poly Pomona (MLA 2015), Horticulture at UCLA Extension (2009), and Architecture at Tecnologico de Monterrey, in Mexico (B. Arch. 2002).
PRESIDENT ELECT
Pamela Brief, ASLA; Principal, Pamela Studios, Inc., Los Angeles
Pamela Brief is a landscape architect and President/Founder of Pamela Studios Inc. She currently focuses on projects in the Southern California area. Her prior experience included award-winning domestic and international projects with POD, Emmet Wemple & Associates, The Jerde Partnership, and Walt Disney Imagineering. Her designs engage, educate, and optimize the visitor experience while preserving and improving the health of the local environment and community. An accomplished designer, manager and collaborator, Pamela enjoys mentoring students and emerging professionals.
Pamela served as the President of ASLA SoCal for 2 years, from 2018-2020. She enjoys volunteering and advocating on behalf of her profession, and the public. In addition to her membership with ASLA, Pamela is an active member of several local professional organizations, volunteers her time on pro bono initiatives, and serves on the UCLA Extension Guidance Committee. Pamela was recently appointed to LATC and will serve until 2024.
VICE PRESIDENT MEMBERSHIP
David Watts, ASLA, Associate Professor, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, San Luis Obispo
David has been a member of ASLA for over 30 years and a member of Southern California the past 14 years. In 2017 he chaired the Legacy project for the national ASLA Annual Meeting in Los Angeles. Before teaching at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, David traveled, taught, and worked abroad in France and South Africa and I’ve taught a variety of courses from its senior design sequence, to initial design studios, and the project design and implementation course. His area of research is children’s play environments, their impact on child development, and their role in reconnecting children to nature. He was involved in the re-design of the Child Development Preschool Laboratory playground on campus.
David is a registered licensed professional with over 25 years of practice and received his MSLA is from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
CALIFORNIA COUNCIL DELEGATE
Vinita Pugal, ASLA, Design Director, RLA, LEED AP, Los Angeles
Vinita Pugal, ASLA, PLA, MLA, B.Arch, LEED AP, has over 20+ years of professional experience in the field of Landscape Architecture, Planning, and Architecture. She is a California Licensed Landscape Architect. She has a Bachelor of Architecture degree, followed by a Master of Landscape Architecture. She has worked on various prestigious projects in California and around the world and collaborated in the master planning of many projects in themed entertainment globally. As Vinita Vijayan & Associates (now Designodal Inc.), she has designed and implemented a wide range of large-scale infrastructure and landscape projects in Asia, the Middle East, and Africa before moving to California.
Jim Pickel, ASLA, Consultant, Los Angeles
Past Principal (Retired) with MIG, Inc. for 30 years, I have over 40 years of experience in park and recreation planning, park design, landscape architecture, QA/QC, construction administration & observation, post-construction maintenance review and urban design. As a principal with MIG, I completed a wide range of projects including site planning, urban design, park and recreation master plans, sports complexes, streetscapes, commercial, industrial and multi-family residential developments. I have extensive experience in project management, environmental analysis, site planning, plan check review, community facilitation, pre-maintenance and post maintenance review and evaluation.
I currently serve as President of the Executive Board of the California Council of the American Society of Landscape Architects (CCASLA) and serve on the Executive Board of the Southern California Council of the American Society of Landscape Architects (SCCASLA).
I served on the Board of Directors for the California Parks and Recreation Society, District Ten, and served for 15-years on the Yorba Linda Planning Commission. I served as a member of the Yorba Linda Parks and Recreation Commission for 6 years and was the Chairman of the Yorba Linda General Plan Advisory Committee (GPAC). I also served on the City of Yorba Linda Blue Ribbon Committee for the Town Center. For the last 20 years, I have served as a faculty member in the Landscape Architecture Program at the University of California Extension, Los Angeles and have taught a few classes in the Graduate Program at Cal Poly University, Pomona.
I’m a member of the American Society of Landscape Architects.
I’m a registered Landscape Architect in California.
In 1979 I received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Landscape Architecture from the School of Environmental Design, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona.
VICE PRESIDENT SPONSORSHIP
Scott Rice, ASLA, LEED AP, CASp; Community Works Design Group, Riverside
Scott Rice is President and principal Landscape Architect of Community Works Design group in Riverside. His emphasis in professional practice is Recreation and Park Planning, with specific focus in the accessibility of public spaces and skate park design. Scott is the only Landscape Architect within Southern California that currently holds Certified Access Specialist (CASp) credentials. he current serves as Vice Chair of the County of San Bernardino Building and Safety Appeals Board.
By serving on the Executive Committee, I will have the opportunity to give back to this great professional organization that has constantly strengthened my entire career, first as an aspiring licensee and now many years later as a firm leader. The V.P. Sponsorship role will allow me to make the most of the vendor relationships I have developed over the past two decades, in an effort to publicize and advance our organization through the financial support of companies near and dear to our profession.
Scott has been a member of ASLA since 2005.
SECRETARY
Hongjoo Kim, ASLA, Founding Principal/President, Hongjoo Landscape Architecture, Los Angeles
I would like to express my sincere interest in serving the Southern California ASLA chapter, my fellow members, and our professional colleagues in the role of chapter Secretary. I am a minority immigrant from South Korea and have been a full member of ASLA for over 20 years. The American Society of Landscape Architects has provided me with professional guidance, connections to fellow professionals, valuable knowledge and resources, and most importantly, a “home base” from which we, as landscape architects, can share challenges, collaborate for solutions, and celebrate accomplishments. I feel that “it is time to give back” to ASLA and its members, especially after I have gained so much from the organization. Building on my several years’ experience with a respected non-profit organization, Asian American Architects and Engineers (www.aaaesc.org), as the most recent president, as well as previous vice president, secretary, and program committee chair, and current annual banquet chair, I am confident that I will bring valuable insights to my “home base” at ASLA. This organization boasts a strong legacy of success from current and previous leaders who have brought amazing talent and commitment to their roles. I look forward to adding my experience as a valuable asset to the SoCal ASLA chapter. Furthermore, I wish to contribute to our community and to my fellow professionals with leadership in sustaining a healthy environment, extended awareness of the landscape architecture profession, and as an advocate of diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Education
Master of Landscape Architecture, Harvard University, Graduate School of Design; Master of Landscape Architecture, University of Colorado at Denver, College of Architecture and Planning; Bachelor of Engineering in Landscape Architecture, Kyung-Won University, South Korea
Melanie Buffa, ASLA, Landscape Designer, Courtland Studio, Los Angeles
Melanie graduated from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo in 2016 and has been navigating through the field since then. Currently, Melanie works for Courtland Studio and works on small scale commercial, multi family, and residential projects. As she works towards licensure, she would like to continue to represent the younger demographic of landscape architects on the SoCal ASLA board.
Currently serving in the role of secretary, it is a great way to retain the valuable information set forth by our leadership and the voices of our chapter. I’d like to continue making sure all these voices are heard and represented.
Thank you for your consideration