U.S. Department of State Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations, Washington, D.C.

 
Claire Bedat's worldwide design leadership and advocacy for the profession of landscape architecture are exercising broad influence on allied professionals and the built environment globally. As the first Landscape Architect to serve as the Design Manager for the U.S. Department of State Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations, Bedat is shaping the profession's role and driving eco-diplomacy development goals for U.S. assets abroad through climate leadership and environmental conservation. With a $75 billion portfolio replacement value spanning across 25,000 assets, as well as 5,000 hectares of sites at 290 overseas locations, she manages multidisciplinary teams of highly experienced professionals in acquisition, planning, design, and engineering standards critical to diplomatic missions worldwide. In 2022, Bedat launched a 'Global Arboretum: Quantifying Eco-Diplomacy through Trees' initiative to characterize the value of trees as capital assets, recognizing their mitigating effects and adaptive capacity to climate change. During her previous 20 years in private practice, Bedat quickly rose through the ranks to become a leader. While at AECOM, she directed two Smithsonian Institution national museum projects for new, universally accessible entry and public realms. She served as the president of the ASLA Potomac Chapter and worked to protect the landscape architecture licensure rights in Virginia. Bedat's remarkable, decades-long career has been marked by engagement, advocacy, cultural sensitivity, global perspective, and leadership. Her unique qualities as a designer, communicator, and collaborator directly influence how allied professions and decision-makers understand excellence in design and planning.