With the conclusion of Black History Month, ASLA would like to highlight ways to stay engaged year round with our efforts to continue fostering diversity, equity and inclusion within our profession, membership, and leadership; mirror the communities we serve; welcome and serve all people and communities; and treat them fairly and equitably.
ASLA Diversity Summit
Since 2013 ASLA has convened an annual diversity summit to strengthen its focus on the recruitment underrepresented populations into academic programs and development of emerging professionals as practitioners. Visit ASLA’s Diversity Summit webpage to learn about this popular event, access resources, and view a summary of action items identified in 2018 to help achieve five-year goals established at the 2017 Super Summit. The 2019 Diversity Summit is scheduled for May 17-19, 2019 at ASLA headquarters.
Career Discovery and Diversity
Exposure and access are key to motivating the career aspirations of all students, and ASLA is boosting its commitment to provide more career discovery resources that promote landscape architecture. Below are a few highlights of ASLA rich collection of career discovery resources available to educators, families and students:
- Career Discovery and Diversity PowerPoint Slides for educators and volunteers,
- Your Path to Landscape Architecture, which hosts “Diverse Voices,” two videos sharing unique perspectives from professionals in the field,
- Tools for Teachers, which includes lessons plans, case studies and hands-on activities
- Activity Books, available digitally in English and Spanish, and
- YOUR LAND, available digitally and in print upon request.
ASLA has also expanded its partnerships to groups that prioritize diversity and inclusion and also focus on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) learning:
- American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) Engineering Go For It! (eGFI)
- DC Environmental Education Consortium (DCEEC)
- DC STEM Network
- Future City Competition
- National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE)
- National Science Teachers Association (NSTA)
- STEM Education Coalition
- STEMconnector
Get involved! Follow ASLA’s Career Discovery and Diversity activities and gain fresh insight on ways you can inspire the next generation of landscape architects:
- LAND (search the Career Discovery News and Diversity and Inclusion categories)
- See what members are up to on ASLA Twitter @NationalASLA and #ASLACareerDiscovery.
- When you volunteer at a school or with a community group, share on ASLA Twitter @NationalASLA and tag #ASLACareerDiscovery.
- #iPledgeASLADiversity Social Media Series encourages landscape architects to take the pledge by committing to diversity and inclusion, then share using #iPledgeASLADiversity.
If you have questions, contact ASLA’s Career Discovery and Diversity Manager, Lisa J. Jennings at ljennings@asla.org.
Designing for Diversity and Diversity in Design
This 2016 plenary—aimed at ASLA members and landscape architecture students—hosted a dynamic and diverse panel who discussed the importance of fostering diversity in design and urban policy. This conversation continues to drive ASLA’s commitment to diversity and inclusion and has inspired chapter-level engagement.
Black Landscape Architects Network (BLAN)
In 2010, Perry Howard, FASLA, 2007-2008 ASLA President, Karen Phillips, FASLA, and Glenn LaRue Smith, ASLA, organized a meeting of black landscape architects to coincide with the ASLA’s Annual Meeting in Washington, DC. Since then, BLAN has become a respected and established “platform to provide a free and open platform for idea sharing as well as key discussions specifically relevant to landscape architects of African heritage.”
Black in Design
The Black in Design Conference is a biennial event that focuses on uncovering the complex dialogues related to the intersection of design and black identity. Hosted at the Graduate School of Design at Harvard University by the African American Student Union (AASU), the conference highlighted the works of emerging and seasoned design professionals, activists, artists, and educators whose common goals challenge Eurocentric methods of design, education, and engagement to create spaces and places for all people. For more information, visit the Black in Design website to watch recordings from the 2017 conference, and for the 2019 conference announcement.