SUN-A09: Groundwork in Action: Turning Regional Lessons into Resilient Futures

Sunday, October 12, 2025

8:30 AM - 9:45 AM CT

Location: New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, Room R08-R09

1.25 PDH, LA CES/HSW, FL

Guest Speaker(s)

Kona A. Gray, FASLA

Principal
EDSA, Inc.
Ft. Lauderdale, Florida
Lisa DuRussel, ASLA, PLA, LEED AP

Associate Professor of Practice in Landscape Architecture
University of Michigan
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Laura G. Marett, ASLA

Principal
SCAPE
Boston, Massachusetts
Christopher M. Pulaski, ASLA, PLA

Director of Planning and Zoning
Terrebonne Parish Consolidated Government
Houma, LA
Jonah Susskind, ASLA

Director of Climate Strategy
SWA
Sausalito, California

From hurricanes to wildfires, natural disasters increasingly cross regional boundaries. This session builds on the ASLA Groundwork forums, highlighting how landscape architects are advancing community resilience through design, planning, and advocacy. Attendees will explore lessons from diverse regions and consider practical ways to engage in disaster preparedness, response, and recovery.

Learning Outcomes:

Recognize cross-regional patterns in disaster impacts and how shifting geographies of risk affect landscape architectural practice.
Identify design and planning approaches that strengthen community preparedness and resilience to natural disasters.
Apply lessons from regional case studies to inform their own work in disaster mitigation and recovery.
Explore the role of landscape architects in partnering with communities and agencies during immediate response and long-term rebuilding.