NYSCLA MEMBERS
Katherine Cannella Armstrong, RLA, ASLA
, SITES AP - President
Katherine is a Registered Landscape Architect with experience in a range of project scales and typologies, including coastal resiliency, transportation infrastructure, and urban design. Currently she is a Project Manager in Major Capital Projects with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. She is a past Board Member and Programs Committee Chair for the New York downstate chapter of ASLA. Katherine received a Master of Landscape Architecture from the University of Virginia, where she was a recipient of the Howland Travel Fellowship, and she holds a BA in history from Boston College.
Emma Oakes, RLA, ASLA - Secretary
Emma is a Registered Landscape Architect with Costich, DPC and joined NYSCLA as Secretary in 2021. She has a range of professional experience working with landscape architects, engineers and planning professionals across the nation. Her public sector experience is centered on urban design; planning and advocating for multi-modal transportation corridors, active streetscapes and context-sensitive design. Emma’s private sector experience includes noteworthy residential design-build projects, collaborating on recreational master planning efforts, rendering 3D visuals, curating planting plans, project management, as well as public meeting presentations and facilitation. She earned her Bachelor of Landscape Architecture degree from SUNY ESF in 2016, where she completed a study abroad semester in Kyoto, Japan.
Andrew Hart, RLA, ASLA - Treasurer
Andy has 25 years of experience in the Landscape Architecture profession with projects that range from small-scale public park design and detailing to large-scale commercial projects. Additional background in Architecture offers him well-rounded knowledge of all phases of a project from the building to the site. Andy graduated from SUNY ESF in 1992 and started at Bergmann the same year. Andy currently is the Commercial Practice Leader for the NY Region Buildings Group. In this role, He oversee a team of landscape architects, civil engineers, architects, and interior designers. Responsibilities include developing and implementing marketing plans, ensuring positive client relationships, supervising the Project Managers, and coordinating with other business practices. Andy has been the Treasurer of NYSCLA since 2008 and was also the former President of New York Upstate Chapter of the ASLA from 2011-2013.
James Bennett, RLA, ASLA - Downstate Board Member
James is a landscape architect and works for the New York City Economic Development Corporation, where he manages a variety of design and construction projects. Previously, he worked at Snohetta and Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates, focusing on large and complex public realm projects. He holds both a Master’s of Landscape Architecture and Master’s of City Planning from the University of Pennsylvania, and a Bachelor of Arts from Columbia University.
Andrew Britton, RLA, ASLA - Upstate
Board Member
abritton@edrdpc.com
Michael Haas, RLA, ASLA
- Upstate Board Member
Michael Haas, RLA, ASLA is the Director of Landscape Architecture at Delta Engineers, Architects, Land Surveyors & Landscape Architects, DPC. Mike joined Delta in 2018 after over 30 years as the founder and principal of HAAS Landscape Architects in Binghamton, NY. His strong track record of creative site planning and his ability to surpass the expectations of municipal, commercial, non-profit and residential clients is a testament to the wealth of knowledge and problem-solving skills he has honed through the years. Mike is a graduate of the College of Environmental Science and Forestry in Syracuse and holds a Plant Science degree from SUNY Delhi. He is a past president of the NY Upstate Chapter ASLA, NYS Nursery & Landscape Association Southern Section, and registered in New York and Pennsylvania.
Ursula Dean Hoskins, RLA, ASLA - Downstate Board Member
Ursula is the Vice President for Capital Projects for the New York Botanical Garden and has over twenty-six years of experience in the field leading large scale projects. The primary focus of her professional experience has included managing capital planning, design and construction for large non-profits including the New York Botanical Garden, the State University of New York, Hudson River Park Trust, the Central Park Conservancy and the NYC Department of Parks and Recreation. Ursula is a graduate of Cornell University with a Master in Landscape Architecture and she holds a Bachelor of Science in Forestry from the University of Vermont.
Maria Olsen, RLA, ASLA, LEED Green Associate - Downstate Board Member
Maria is a Registered Landscape Architect and certified LEED Green Associate with VHB Engineering, Surveying, Landscape Architecture, and Geology, P.C. out of Hauppauge NY on Long Island. Her 7 years of experience in the land development field has afforded her opportunities to work with myriad of disciplines and across all phases of design projects. She believes the integrated services approach in her experience allows her to provide a landscape architect’s perspective to many projects that likely wouldn’t receive one. She has worked within both the public and private sectors, providing a wide range of services from streetscape design to master planning residential developments and parks across Long Island, NYC and Upstate. She is active outside her profession as well. Some of her volunteer efforts include participating in ASLA-NY Advocacy Committee as well as being a board member of her alma mater’s Co-Ed Arts and Architecture Fraternity Alumni Association (Alpha Rho Chi). She received her Bachelor of Landscape Architecture degree from The Pennsylvania State University in 2017 shortly after her study abroad at Akademie fur international Bildung (AIB) in Bonn, Germany.
James A. Palumbo, RLA, ASLA - Upstate Board Member
Jim grew up on Long Island. He first attended Farmingdale University, obtaining a degree in Ornamental Horticulture. He then settled down in Central New York after pursuing a Landscape Architecture degree at SUNY ESF. Jim is currently a Principal with Klepper, Hahn & Hyatt of Syracuse, NY, where he has worked since 1995.
Eric Shaw, RLA, ASLA - Upstate Board Member
Mr. Shaw is a Registered Landscape Architect with over 21 years of experience in the field. He has a diverse background with exposure to a wide variety of projects ranging from streetscape design, green infrastructure, small and large scale commercial site development, municipal, institutional and transportation. He specializes in the preparation of Construction Documents, including plans, details, technical specifications and cost estimating. His experience also includes providing Construction Administration/Construction Support services; performing site visits, preparing site observation reports, reviewing shop drawings and RFIs and processing payment applications.
Kimberly Tryba, ASLA - Downstate Board Member
A 2018 graduate of the MLA program at Rutgers University, her previous achievements include work with the formation of the Maplewood Memorial Park Conservancy and an internship with the Capital Projects Division of NYC Parks. Recognitions include multiple grants and awards such as the prestigious 2017 HUD Innovation in Affordable Housing Student Design & Planning Competition, the 2017 Julius Gy. FÁBOS Research Award in Landscape Architecture, and the prestigious George H. DeBoer Travel Prize for research at the estate garden of Capezzana, near Florence, Italy. Kimberly’s commitment to the industry extends beyond the workplace. An active member of ASLA national since 2012, she a member of the ASLA-NY Board, chairs the Advocacy Committee, and was a member of the Programs and Communications Committees. Kimberly is co-chair of the 2021 and 2022 NJASLA annual meetings, having been a committee member since 2014. A 2013 graduate of the New York Botanical Garden, where she received a certificate in Landscape Design, Kimberly has been a landscape and gardening instructor in the continuing education program since Fall 2018, and joined the teaching staff at the Brooklyn Botanical Garden in 2020.
Mike Voelkel, RLA, ASLA, LEED AP- Downstate Board Member
Mike Voelkel, RLA, ASLA, LEED AP, is a partner at LVF Landscape Architects. With over 17 years of experience, his built work ranges in scale from residential gardens to public parks and large nature-based infrastructure projects. Mike holds a Master of Landscape Architecture degree from Cornell University and a Bachelor of Environmental Design degree from the University of Colorado. Prior to LVF, Mike was a Senior Associate at Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates.
Scott Whitham, RLA, ASLA
- Upstate Board Member
Scott Whitham, RLA, is the founding Principal of Scott Whitham Landscape Architecture, PLLC (Whitham Planning and Design) and has over 30 years of experience in leading complex projects and project teams. His work has ranged across diverse built-environment disciplines, and has included planning new regional park systems and revitalized urban waterfronts, leading in the preservation and rehabilitation of significant historic structures and landscapes, and managing the planning, design and construction of educational facilities and campuses. Actively engaged in his community, Scott’s volunteer work has been equally diverse, from Chair of the City of Ithaca Planning Board to Chair of the Architecture, Planning and Design Panel of the New York State Council on the Arts, among many others.
Nanci Bateman, RLA
- Emeritus
Nanci Bateman, RLA, ASLA has been working with Landscape Architects since 1986 in various capacities in the public and private sector, with federal, state, and local governments, academia, and non profits. She practices as a Landscape Architect with her consulting firm Envirovisions Studio on special projects and also serves as NYS DEC’s only Landscape Architect. Since 2001, she has served NYSCLA as Secretary, Board Member, President, and now Emeritus. Originally from Richmond, Virginia, she has enjoyed living and working in the diverse landscapes of Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Seattle, western Massachusetts, the island of Montserrat, and now throughout New York. She lives in Delmar, NY and enjoys art, music, traveling, windsurfing, hiking, and biking-and spending time with her special pup Kaipo.
Douglas McCord, RLA
- Emeritus