Meet the LACF Board

Executive Committee and Board of Directors

The LACF Executive Committee and Board of Directors are dedicated individuals who bring their unique experience and knowledge towards realizing our mission of promoting and advancing the core values of the profession of landscape architecture. Highlight an image below to learn more.

Eha Naylor, President

Partner, Dillon Consulting Limited

Eha Naylor, President, FCSLA, OALA

LACF-FAPC Vice-President, 2016- current
Elected to the Board in 2014

  • Chair, OALA Practice Legislation Committee

"It is a privilege to sit on the Board of Directors, as our profession is at an important juncture, and LACF is contributing to the improvement of landscape architecture in Canada. The Council plays a key role in disseminating the knowledge acquired throughout the country for the benefit of landscape architects in the pursuit of excellence. The role of landscape architecture is particularly important today in the face of climate change, which is why the LACF supports innovative research and future professionals during their training. "

_ Eha Naylor

Vincent Asselin, Past President

Founding partner of WAA-Williams, Asselin, Ackaoui et associés Inc.

Vincent Asselin, Past President, C.Q., FCSLA, AAPQ

LACF Past President 
LACF Founding Board Member, 1987

  • WAA International Ltd, Shanghai, President
  • WAA Design Kuala Lumpur, President
  • WAA Montreal, Founding Partner
 
  • CSLA President, (2017-2018)
  • CSLA President (2001-2002)

 

"As a landscape architect, I think it’s very important to support the Landscape Architecture Canada Foundation (LACF), because the objectives and mission of this Foundation go well beyond the boundaries of general expertise and practice of the profession. In fact, by supporting research and the publication of various works, the Foundation becomes an internal catalyst that allows us, individually and collectively, to achieve greater horizons.

_Vincent Asselin 

Ed Versteeg, Vice-President

Instructor, Landscape Architecture, Dalhousie University and Principal, Ed Versteeg Landscape Architect

Ed Versteeg, Vice-President, APALA, CSLA

Elected to the Board 2015

  • Grants Juror since 2012  
  • Member on the Scholarship, Fundraising & Grants Committees

 "It is important that landscape architects actively support the growth and development of their profession. The LACF provides us with a concrete opportunity to contribute to landscape architecture in Canada. The Foundation has been a strong supporter of landscape architecture communication, research and scholarship for over 25 years."

- Ed Versteeg

Peter Kreuk, Treasurer

Durante Kreuk Ltd., Founding Partner 

Peter Kreuk, Treasurer, FCSLA, LMCSLA, LMBCSLA, AALA

LACF Treasurer
Elected to Board in 2007

  • Chair College of Fellows (2010-2012)
  • Past President BCSLA (1990 & 2002)
  • Chair Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival (2015- present)
  • Director Park & Tilford Gardens (1990-2016)

“The LACF Board provides a chance to give back to a profession that has been good to me. Working with other landscape architects on the LACF Board provides a unique opportunity to meet interesting people who are motivated to grow the profession through support for students and research.”

_Peter Kreuk

Judy Bennett

LACF Administrative Assistant

Judy Bennett,

Achihevements

  • Administrator at Durante Kreuk Ltd, Vancouver, BC
  • Assistant to the LACF Treasurer
  • Adminstrator for ongoing business of the Foundation

LACF is grateful for Judy's contribution to the Foundation.  Judy has worked tirelessly providing administrative support over the last few years alongside the Executive Committee, Treasurer and with volunteer Board and Committee members.  She is our contact go-to person and we appreciate the quality of her work and her prescence.  Thanks Judy! 

LACF Board members   

Christine Abe, Secretary

Principal/ Partner, MBTW Group, Toronto 

Christine Abe, Secretary, OALA, CSLA, ASLA

LACF Director, 2019

Christine is Principal and Partner at The MBTW Group with 28 years of experience in the field of Landscape Architecture. She has a wide range of experience in various scales of projects including numerous site plan, mixed use, institutional, school, park, condominium design, streetscape and commercial centre projects. In addition, she has been involved in the master planning of parks, new communities, schools, and institutional projects. As a Principal at The MBTW Group, Christine is involved in all aspects of landscape architecture from the design and conceptualization of a project, to the working drawings, and finally through to the contract administration phase of a project.

"I was honoured when I was approached to join the Board of Directors of the LACF. I think it is incumbent upon those of us that have been fortunate enough to lead successful careers in Landscape Architecture to support organizations such as LACF that do excellent work to promote the ideals and fundamental core values of the profession." 

- Christine Abe

Michelle Legault

Executive Director

Michelle Legault, CSLA, LACF

Michelle Legault is the Executive Director of both the Canadian Society of Landscape Architects (CSLA) and the Landscape Architecture Canada Foundation (LACF). 

Following her graduation from Laurentian University in 1996 with a Master’s degree in history, Ms. Legault began her career administering a scholarly publishing program and yearly awards program at the Humanities and Social Sciences Federation of Canada’s Aid to Scholarly Publications Programme. In 1999, she accepted a position as an Information Officer with the Canada Council for the Arts. In 2003, she became Head of the Canada Council for the Arts’ Arts Services Unit and, from 2007 to 2012, was the Executive Secretary of the Public Lending Right Commission, where she managed the $10M national Public Lending Right Programme. Since 2012, she has been at the helm of the Canadian Society of Landscape Architects. Ms. Legault brings key leadership strengths to the role of the CSLA’s Executive Director in the areas of communication, governance, project management, volunteer and member support and business and financial management. She is responsible for increasing the awareness and promoting CSLA’s goals and objectives, celebrating its members’ achievements, supporting education and research, developing policy, ensuring strong Board governance and enhancing the organization’s profile.

Katherine Velluso

Communications Coordinator

Katherine Velluso, FCSLA

Katherine has worked in the communications field for nearly three years, beginning as a co-op student while she studied at Carleton University. Her co-op opportunities allowed her to gain experience with a wide variety of communications methods such as social media, video editing, internal communications, marketing, and graphic design. Some of the organizations she has worked for include: Canada Revenue Agency, International Development Research Centre, and Public Safety Canada.

In June of 2019, Katherine graduated from Carleton University with a Bachelor of Communications & Media Studies, Women’s and Gender Studies Combined Honours. She was awarded the Bell Centennial Scholarship for academic excellence in the Women's and Gender Studies program in 2016. She was also awarded the Senate Medal for Outstanding Academic Achievement upon graduation.

With their unique experience, knowledge and understanding of landscape architecture, the members of the Board of Directors are working to build a better future for all of us ...

Board of Directors:

Sheila Boudreau

Principal of SpruceLab

Sheila Boudreau,

Elected to the Board in 2021

Sheila Boudreau is the Principal of SpruceLab, and is a Registered Professional Planner and Landscape Architect with over 25 years of experience in both the private and public sectors. She holds undergraduate degrees in Landscape Architecture and Fine Art from the University of Guelph, a Master of Arts (Planning) from the University of Waterloo, and training in Indigenous engagement. Previously she managed the landscape architecture team at Toronto and Region Conservation Authority, and as Urban Designer with the City of Toronto, she initiated the City’s first green stormwater infrastructure streetscape projects and co-led the award-winning Green Streets Technical Guidelines. With DTAH, she worked on projects including Evergreen Brick Works, various university sites (Queen's, York, Regina), and Waterfront Toronto's Water's Edge Promenade area. In 2020, she established SpruceLab as a Toronto-based social enterprise that focuses on nature-based solutions and supporting Indigenous initiatives and youth, and emerging professionals. Current projects include leading the engagement and design for the Ted Rogers School of Management's Indigenous Healing Garden, and the proposed Kitchener Public Library Southwest Branch - sustainable site design. She sits on the Boards of Advisors for Ryerson Urban Water, Ryerson Urban Farm Living Lab, and Urban Minds, and represents the OALA on the Green Infrastructure Ontario Coalition Steering Committee. She is also an instructor with the Master of Landscape Architecture program at University of Toronto, and Ryerson University, and is proudly of Acadian, Mi'kmaq, and Celtic ancestry.

"I look forward to contributing to the important work of the Landscape Architecture Canada Foundation, and especially supporting needed research and the next generation of landscape architects. As a profession that is deeply involved with planning and designing with nature, and the related benefits and impacts on communities, the work of the Foundation helps us evolve to best address the climate change and societal challenges of our times."

- Sheila Boudreau

Doug Carlyle

LACF Board Member

Doug Carlyle, FCSLA

Elected to the Board 2022

FCSLA – 2010
AALA – 1979
BCSLA – 2018
RCA – Royal Canadian Academy of Arts. Elected - 2005
Carlyle + Associates -1985
DIALOG Partner (former) - 2011
SAPL, University of Calgary Adjunct and Sessional Professor 
Landscapes/Paysages Past Member, Editorial Board

Doug’s contributions to the CSLA have included university accreditation review, jury member for the Awards programme, and member of the editorial board of Landscapes/Paysages. As a former partner of DIALOG and principal of Carlyle + Associates, he has developed a practice based on a passion for design excellence especially in the urban setting. 

Doug brings over 40 years of experience in a wide range of award-winning projects, from community master plans to private gardens. Passionate about urban places large and small, his work investigates the diverse voices and forces that drive ongoing place focussed transformation. He thrives in teams with broad and unique expertise that together can create relevant and inspiring design solutions. 

"I am honoured to be elected to the LACF Board. Its fundamental ideals for the profession and support of communication, scholarship, and research in landscape architecture are essential at this critical time in our and the world.  The pursuit of excellence in the work of Landscape Architects is enhanced and advanced with the support from the LACF." - Doug Carlyle

Gerry A. Eckford

ETA landscape architecture inc., Vancouver BC

Gerry A. Eckford, MBCSLA, FCSLA

LACF Fundraising Committee, Chair
Elected to the Board 2018

  • BCSLA – Director (1989-1990) Registrar (1990-1997)
  • CLARB – Regional Director ( 1997-1999) Treasurer ( 2000-2002)
  • LACF – Grants Committee (2012-2015 )
  • State of Washington Licensed LA

"I have always believed in giving back to the profession that has provided me with the lens through which I see the world around me. As a seasoned practitioner, I want to support the current and future generations of landscape architects in achieving their scholastic, and research goals. My focus will be aimed toward achieving the highest levels of fundraising in support of all LACF programs and initiatives."

- Gerry Eckford

 

Cynthia Girling

Professor at UBC

Cynthia Girling, FCSLA

Elected to the Board in 2021

Cynthia Girling is a Professor of Landscape Architecture in the School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture, University of British Columbia, and Chaired that program from 2004 to 2010. After practicing in Vancouver early in her career, she moved to academic practice and has now taught, conducted scholarship and headed landscape architecture programs for over thirty years, initially at the University of Oregon and now at UBC. 

Her scholarship has focused on the form-making role of open space in the city and in the environmental contributions of urban open space across several spatial scales — yards, neighbourhoods, and open space systems. She has co-authored two books and numerous reports and articles. With Professor Ronald Kellett, she co-directs the elementsLab, an interdisciplinary research group emphasizing measured visualizations to inform neighborhood scale design that is more energy conserving, lower environmental impact, of better design quality and more livable.

Cynthia Girling received her Bachelor’s and Master’s in Landscape Architecture from the University of Oregon and holds a Bachelor of Environmental Studies from the University of Manitoba. She has served on the BCSLA Board of Directors while Chair of Landscape Architecture and served on the Board of Examiners for six years. At the national level, she was a juror for the CSLA awards in 2008, served on the editorial board of Landscapes/Paysages from 2010 to 2021, is a member of the board of the Landscape Architecture Canada Foundation serving on two LACF committees, served as a juror for the CSLA College of Fellows in 2021 and 2022, and served on the jury for the 2022 Governor General's Award. Cynthia is also a Fellow of the ASLA and the Council of Educators in Landscape Architecture and a former treasurer of the Landscape Architect Registration Board in Oregon.

"I look forward to the opportunity to contribute to the increasingly important work of LACF in supporting scholarship and scholars of landscape architecture in Canada who expand our capacity to shape resilient, equitable and meaningful landscapes. I intend to help the foundation to increase levels of support and to communicate the research results to the profession in Canada and beyond." - Cynthia Girling

 

Marilyn Gould

Regional Manager- Saskatchewan, HTFC Planning & Design

Marilyn Gould, CSLA, SALA

LACF-FAPC Director, 2019

•    Treasurer of Design Council of Saskatchewan (2014-2017)
•    Chair of Design Council of Saskatchewan (2011-2013)
•    SALA Representative for Design Council of Saskatchewan (2007 – 2017)

"I have always believed in giving back to the profession that has provided me with the lens through which I see the world around me. As a seasoned practitioner, I want to support the current and future generations of landscape architects in achieving their scholastic, and research goals. My focus will be aimed toward achieving the highest levels of fundraising in support of all LACF programs and initiatives."

- Marilyn Gould

Marie-Pierre McDonald

Senior Director of Collaboration Internations within Groupe BC2

Marie-Pierre McDonald, FCSLA

Marie-Pierre McDonald is a landscape architect with a Master of Architecture degree from McGill University. 

Since living and working in Nunavik early in her career, Marie-Pierre has worked closely with several indigenous communities and government agencies on complex planning, development and regulatory projects. These experiences have allowed her to better understand the issues, needs, and values of indigenous peoples.

As Senior Director of Collaboration Internations within Groupe BC2, Marie-Pierre coordinates several work teams and ensures the optimal management of land-use and strategic planning projects, as well as economic, recreational and tourism projects in various urban, rural and natural contexts.

"As a professional who regularly collaborates with indigenous communities, I would like to support future generations of landscape architects from these communities in order to increase the reach of their voice and thereby ensure a wider dissemination of their knowledge of the land throughout the profession."

Marie-Pierre McDonald

Glenn A. O’Connor 

LACF Board elected 2022, Finance Committee

Glenn A. O’Connor , OALA, FCSLA

Board Member Canadian Society of Landscape Architects (CSLA) 2018 – 2021 Executive Committee Member, President Elect, President, Past President 

CSLA College of Fellows Jury Member 2018 – 2020

Chair CSLA – Governor General’s Medal in Landscape Architecture (GGMLA) 2020

Board Member Canadian Society of Landscape Architects (CSLA) 2012 – 2014 

Ontario Association of Landscape Architects (OALA) 2012 – Present

Practice Legislation Committee and Budget Committee Member. OALA Task force member 2016 and 2022 Chair Fees and Services Guides 

Board Member Ontario Association of Landscape Architects (OALA) 2007 – 2014 Positions: Past-President (2012 – 2014), President (2010 – 2012), Treasurer (2007 – 2010), Executive Committee Member, Continuing Education Committee Member 

Board Member Ontario Parks Association Foundation Board of Directors 

2003 – 2008 Positions: Secretary, Vice-Chair, Treasurer

Glenn has over 40 years experience and spent 30 years honing his craft with his own firm.  During his career, he has completed more than 1,300 planned and built projects and won more than 21 awards and published numerous articles both domestically and internationally. Glenn was the Senior Director of Water Parks at FORREC for 7 years where he worked on 40 water parks, in 10 countries on 3 continents. He became a CSLA Fellow in 2015. 

“I am delighted to be able to assist the foundation and further contribute to the profession through the LACF. By assisting and funding research work today through the foundation, we will help advance the profession, increase knowledge and create the leaders of tomorrow. “ 
-Glenn A. O’Connor 
 

Bob Somers

Principal, Scatliff+Miller+Murray 

Bob Somers, MALA, SALA, OALA, CSLA

Elected to the Board in 2017

  • CSLA Board of Directors

 “Through my time spent with the CSLA board of directors, I began to understand the important role that the LACF plays in our profession across Canada. The groundwork that has been laid is a testament to the strong volunteer capacity and leadership of our organisation that understands the need to continue advancing our profession’s role. I’m excited to be on the board and do my part to assist in the development of LACF’s future.” 

- Bob Somers

John E. Zvonar

Conservation Landscape Architect, Heritage Conservation Services, PSPC (since 1992)
 

John E. Zvonar, FCSLA, OALA

Now in retirement, John’s many achievements as a 'former' member of the federal government’s Centre of Excellence in Heritage Conservation included: Parliament Hill and the Supreme Court of Canada as well as many National Historic Sites across the country and abroad (incl. the Canadian National Vimy and Beaumont-Hamel Newfoundland Memorials).  Locally, he is an avid and active volunteer at Maplelawn Garden and now connected to the Advocacy Committee of Heritage Ottawa.

Affiliations include: Jury member of LACF submissions to LACF (2014 – present); voting member for Canada of the ICOMOS-IFLA Cultural Landscapes Scientific Committee (2015 – present); and past-president, Alliance for Historic Landscape Preservation (2009-2013).

 “I became involved with the LACF because of my ongoing role since 2014 in evaluating submissions to the annual grants program. With this experience and now, in 'retirement' from the federal civil service, I imagine my range of experience can continue to benefit the work of the Council and ultimately the CSLA.”

- John Zvonar