The 2020 Ohio ASLA Annual Meeting and Expo was scheduled for May 15 but was canceled due to the global pandemic. In an effort to provide membership the opportunity for 12 HSW LA CES CEUs, OCASLA created a Virtual Speakers Series that included incredible speakers; Mark Johnson (Civitas), Nans Voron (SCAPE), Veronica Davis (NSpireGreen), Claire Agre (Unknown Studio), Shane Coen (Coen Partners), Kofi Boone (North Carolina State University) and many more.

 

Over the past year, OCASLA has made great progress on their legislative efforts. The terms 'ASLA' and 'Landscape Architecture' have both been successfully added to the definitions and abbreviations section of ODOT's Project Manuals. The Chapter also hosted the only Virtual Statehouse Day in the country, and assisted ASLA via webinar in providing a model for others to use. Lastly, OCASLA has been hosting quarterly call-in events providing members with pertinent, up-to-date information on the state of the statehouse, licensure in Ohio, and other topics of importance to Ohio's Landscape Architects.

A Diversity and Inclusion Committee was established this year to support, listen, uplift, advocate, and encourage more designers from underrepresented backgrounds. OCASLA is working to increase the visibility of the committee's efforts by strengthening existing ties to local community groups and outreach efforts, and by creating meaningful social media campaigns. The committee's current action item is to work with the State's board to include a DEI section as part of the HSW LA CES requirement.

The year ended with the Virtual Awards Ceremony held on December 10 with a keynote address from ASLA's president-elect and Ohio's own Eugenia Martin, FASLA. The Chapter received 26 professional submissions and two student submissions. The Maryland Awards Jury awarded seven professional awards and one student award.

As seen in LASN magazine, December 2020.