2026 Class of Fellows: Jolene Rieck, PLA, FASLA, Nebraska/Dakotas Chapter

Emergent Strategies Group, Inc.; Bismarck, North Dakota
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Category: Leadership/Management, Page 54

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Category: Leadership/Management, Page 54

Jolene Rieck, PLA, ASLA, is a trailblazing leader whose career has expanded the role of landscape architecture in public policy, infrastructure, and community development-particularly in regions where the profession has historically been underrecognized. Over more than 25 years, she has demonstrated how landscape architects can lead complex public initiatives, shape policy, and deliver lasting community impact. Rieck's work is defined by her ability to translate design into action. In executive roles within state government and as a consultant, she has led major capital programs, eliminated long-standing project backlogs, and implemented systems that improved transparency, accountability, and delivery of public investments. Her leadership has guided tens of millions of dollars in funding toward projects that enhance safety, mobility, environmental stewardship, and economic vitality. A hallmark of her career is advancing landscape architecture in policy and governance. She has successfully advocated for legislation, influenced transportation and infrastructure policy at state and federal levels, and played a key role in protecting licensure standards. Her appointment as the first landscape architect on the North Dakota Board of Architecture and Landscape Architecture reflects her trusted voice in regulatory and public-interest decisions. Rieck has also led nationally significant, precedent-setting efforts-from establishing a locally funded veterans cemetery that achieved national designation, to securing voter-approved funding for community infrastructure, to protecting culturally important landscapes through collaborative planning with Tribal Nations and public agencies. Through sustained leadership in ASLA and CLARB, along with mentorship and coalition-building, Jolene Rieck has elevated the profession's visibility and credibility. Her career exemplifies how landscape architects can lead beyond design-shaping policy, stewarding public resources, and strengthening communities.