Karen Kumm Morris

Karen Kumm Morris

ASLA Chapter: Potomac Chapter
Category: Leadership/Management
Title: Urban Design Consultant, Arlington County, Va.
Education: BSLA and MLA

Most notable professional accomplishments: Designed the award winning Bethesda Streetscape Plan; designed a public standard for urban street trees with expanded soil in 1984 that became a regional model and resulted in healthy, flourishing urban trees; promoted compact, energy efficient urban design for seven communities totaling over 35,000 acres in Montgomery County, Maryland; received two APA awards for planning and urban design work; and, was elected President of the Potomac Chapter during the 2010 Annual Meeting. 


Thoughts on being elected to the Council of Fellows: I am very honored to be selected by my peers into the Council of Fellows. I have spent the majority of my career in the public sector advocating for mixed-use, transit-oriented development, designing compact, walkable communities, and producing master plans. It takes a team of people and many years to see the results of this type of work. And, it takes a commitment to a community over the long haul to implement a plan. I wish to thank the selection committee for recognizing public servants. Our future, by necessity, is becoming more urbanized with the cost of energy and commuting time. There is no turning back the clocks. This provides all of us, landscape architects and contractors, the responsibility to design and build beautiful, energy efficient, sustainable places that attract people, promote social interaction and bring nature into our built environment. As a new member of the Council of Fellows, I will continue to promote the profession and advocate for sustainable, attractive community design for the future.