The Ohio Chapter ASLA (OCASLA) began the year with the 2023 Board of Directors Strategic Planning Meeting where the executive committee set forth goals and initiatives for the year.
In August, the Ohio Chapter held the Summer Educational Tour and Sponsor Happy Hour in Akron, Ohio (4.5 HSW LACES CEUs). The day began at the Akron Museum of Art with a presentation from Suzie Graham, President, and CEO of the Downtown Akron Partnership. A walking tour followed with a quick stop at State Route 59, outlining its history and potential for the future with Jason Segedy, the City of Akron's Director of Planning and Urban Design. Next, attendees entered the Lock 3 Tour with Angie Short, Landscape Architect with GPD Group. The day wrapped up with a tour of Summit Lake Nature Center guided by The Summit Metro Parks.
In December, OCASLA held its 2022 Annual Meeting and Vendor Expo (6 HSW LACES CEUs) in Downtown Columbus. We hosted ASLA CEO, Torey Carter-Conneen and ASLA Past-President, Jeannie Martin, FASLA as they kicked off the morning with a welcome and quick national update. Glen Valentine, Principal, and Matt Langan, Technical Director of STIMSON Studio (2021 ASLA Firm of the Year) started off the event by giving an overview of their practice. Jake Boswell and Halina Steiner, Professors of Landscape Architecture at the Knowlton School, followed with a presentation titled "Prototypes in Concrete" that outlined Jake's artificial floating islands made from concrete taken to full US patent status. Halina presented her ASLA Award-winning "Curbing Sediment" project. After lunch, Nicole Sherman and Alexander Kitchin presented on behalf of Fine Concrete. Lastly, Annette Wilkis of SiteWorks, a construction management company out of New York, delivered a presentation on the "Dark Side - Construction and Care of the Built Environment."
Directly following the Annual Meeting and Vendor Expo, Ohio Chapter ASLA honored the winners of The 2022 Professional and Student Awards Program with our Awards Gala held at Strongwater in Downtown Columbus.
On the advocacy front, we accomplished many efforts in 2022. In May, the chapter hosted the sixth annual Statehouse Day, in person for the first time since 2019. Doug Boyer, VP of Legislative Affairs, Regina Hanshaw of the Ohio Board of Building Standards, and Shannon Himes, Executive Director of the Landscape Architecture Board spoke to attendees about the current legislative efforts happening on both the national and statewide levels. Luther Liggett, Ohio Chapter Lobbyist, provided insight to attendees on how to speak with legislators. The attendees then split off and visited with various legislators and their aides, advocating for the importance of our profession. There were 18 attendees and meetings with 9 different legislators.
In July, the chapter successfully lobbied the Power Siting Board to require landscape plans specifically to be produced by landscape architects. This addresses the visual and ecological impacts of solar facilities as a part of the application process for new installations.
In September, Doug Boyer, VP of Legislative Affairs, David Wilson, VP of Communications, and Blythe Price, Secretary, attended the National Advocacy Day. They met with aides from the offices of Senator Sherrod Brown, Senator Rob Portman, Representative Mike Carey, and Representative Anthony Gonzalez to advocate for the passage of the Excess Urban Heat Mitigation Act and the Outdoors for All Act.
Lastly, the chapter has been working with the Board of Building Standards to revise the definition of registered design professionals to include landscape architects. This would clarify that landscape architects are licensed and qualified to seal construction drawings and would align the building code with the administrative code.
ASLA Ohio is pleased to announce that the Ohio Board of Building Standards has made the following revisions to the Ohio Building Code:
REGISTERED DESIGN PROFESSIONAL. Any architect holding a certificate issued under section 4703.10 of the Revised Code, any landscape architect holding a certificate issued under section 4703.36 of the Revised Code, or any engineer holding a certificate issued under section 4733.14 of the Revised Code.

We Were Busy at the Section Level this Year.
The Western Reserve Section held The Holden Arboretum Symposium where Nelson Bird Woltz's own Thomas Woltz and Lanie McKinnon presented the Comprehensive Plan as it relates to the Holden Arboretum and the inherent cultural/environmental values worth 2 HSW LACES CEUs.
In June, Anova Furnishings hosted an educational event for the Buckeye Section about Inclusive Design for Outdoor Furniture. Midwest Sales Associate Phillip Harris provided insight to Ohio Chapter Members about best practices, key findings, and guiding principles to create accessible experiences through furniture design. Participants learned the history of ADA, how inclusive design relates to the built environment and who inclusive design serves.

 
The JEDI (Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion) Committee, formed in 2020 by Andre Banerjee, Public Relations Representative, has been dedicated to increasing access to landscape architecture and helping foster a more just and equitable profession. The committee has led workshops for students in grades 3 through 8, introducing them to landscape design through the lens of diversity. The committee also gave an interactive and in-depth presentation about our profession to seniors aged 55 and over who are independent living residents. In addition, the committee has begun efforts to lead the national cohort of DEI leaders across all state chapters, in conjunction with national ASLA leadership.
This year, the JEDI Committee facilitated organizing the inaugural Centering Diversity Summit, held in October across two locations simultaneously. The goal of the summit was to collectively synthesize efforts that are happening across landscape architecture firms, organizations, and universities, as well as allied fields in Ohio. Throughout the day, the participants were engaged in panel discussions and interactive workshop sessions where they brainstormed how the future of Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion for landscape architecture in Ohio could take shape. The Summit was a great success, with active participation and engaging conversation from over 70 attendees, most of whom were Ohio Chapter members.
We were able to celebrate our graduating students from The Ohio State University, Kent State University, and the University of Cincinnati with dinners with faculty, staff, and Ohio Chapter ASLA leaders from the area.

Professional Awards
Ohio Chapter ASLA Award:
Keith A. Myers, FASLA
Award of Excellence
Design Constructed: Rose Run Park Phase I - MKSK
Honor Awards
Design Constructed:
Wesley Chapel Cemetery - OHM Advisors
Design Constructed: Lower.com Field - MKSK
Design Not Constructed:
Buckeye Lake Pier Design & North Shore
State Park Redevelopment Plan - MKSK
Merit Awards
Design Constructed: Harold and Eugenia
Thomas Comprehensive Care Center -
REALM Collaborative
Design Constructed: The Lindsey Family
Play Space at Edgewater Park -
John Cardwell - Cleveland Metroparks
Student Awards
Honor Award
Field Future: Adapting Farms to
Future Extremes of Dry and Wet -
Yu-Ming Hsu (The Ohio State University)
Merit Award
Catalyst for Landscape Change - Priyanka Raghuwanshi
(University of Cincinnati)