2024 Class of Fellows, Lisa Cowan, FASLA, Boston Chapter

StudioVerde, Cumberland, ME

Boston Chapter - Category: Management

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Boston Chapter - Category: Management

Ecological accountability is now seen as conventional in landscape architecture in part because of Lisa Cowan's pioneering work over the last 40 years. One of the first Landscape Architects in the nation to work primarily alongside ecological scientists, Cowan spearheaded an innovative, integrated team approach to ecological and wetland restoration in the early 1990s. This approach changed the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' standards and led to the adoption of methodologies that transformed the design, construction, and long-term performance monitoring of wetland and upland habitat establishment and restoration. As an early adopter and expert in Sustainable SITES certification, Cowan continued to lead an emerging market through outreach, education, and leadership across a spectrum of professional organizations, providing the impetus for municipal and regional SITES policy adoptions. Design teams from the Atlanta BeltLine to the General Services Administration to the Maine Department of Transportation have relied on Cowan's unparalleled expertise to guide projects toward environmental goals. Other national professional organizations, such as the Ecological Landscape Alliance and the National Association of Wetland Managers, have tapped Cowan's ability to find synergies and opportunities to improve ecological outcomes. Since the early 1990s, Cowan has been writing articles and white papers, leading workshops and speaking at conferences - locally, regionally, nationally - demonstrating her commitment to sharing her knowledge. While thinking globally, she's acted locally, serving as the Maine Section co-chair of the ASLA Boston Chapter for five years.