Jonathon Geels, FASLA

Troyer Group, South Bend, IN
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Indiana Chapter | Service

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Indiana Chapter | Service

Jonathon Geels's leadership and volunteer work have served as a catalyst for landscape architects everywhere, creating opportunities to engage, grow, and adapt to emergent paradigms. His government affairs advocacy and his work with other chapters (particularly in leadership training and licensure advocacy) have expanded the reach of landscape architecture policy initiatives by empowering dozens of other leaders. His work has also contributed to significant statutory wins, such as the Great American Outdoors Act. Jonathon has performed exceptional neighborhood, local, state, and national service-each endeavor complementing his approach to professional practice, which prioritizes people and their experiences, and providing new paths to connect to landscape architecture, especially for under-represented groups. Over the last decade and a half, he has volunteered service to nearly 50 organizations, contributing to dozens of projects and initiatives that represent thousands of hours of pro bono work. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Jonathon founded Field Day Camp, a virtual landscape architecture and empathetic design camp to combat the negative effects of social distancing on school-aged children and introduce them to an unfamiliar profession, while also supporting parents working from home. It received national attention and earned a 2020 Merit Award from INASLA in Communications, one of multiple awards Jonathon has received from ASLA, the Garden Club, the Chamber of Commerce, and others.