2025 Class of Fellows: José de Jesús Leal Loera, FASLA, California Sierra Chapter

Native Nation Building Studio, MIG, Sacramento, CA
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José de Jesús Leal Loera embodies the transformative power of landscape architecture, leveraging his lived experiences, professional expertise, and cultural heritage to advance the profession in ways that resonate deeply with Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities alike. His practice, teaching, and volunteering blur together, all feeding into his work to prioritize Indigenous communities and elevate their traditional ecological knowledge. He has long persevered, slowly building partnerships, supporters, and successes one relationship at a time. José is a national presence in the current Indigenous Renaissance, reminding us that landscape architecture is a centuries old practice that is not only shaped by culture but reflects it. A principal and Native Nation Building Studio director at MIG, José's work focuses on the power of culturally sensitive inclusive community-based design; he has helped build a studio of Indigenous landscape architects, designers, and planners who are working with and for Indigenous people throughout the US. Through his professional practice, speaking and teaching engagements, and his signature sense of humor, he pushes the profession to listen more deeply and respond with collaborative problem solving. José demonstrates that landscape architecture is also about healing connections between individuals, communities, and the nature world. His leadership in advancing Traditional Ecological Knowledge and relational approaches to land and ocean stewardship serves as a model for how the profession can grow and evolve. At ASLA, the Landscape Architecture Foundation, and America Walks, and as a teacher, a speaker, an award-winning designer, José is an indefatigable advocate for bolder visions and advancing the value of landscape architecture generally but Indigenous voices specifically.