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Happy Holidays All –
I want to take this opportunity as the new President of Maryland ASLA to first thank our Immediate Past-President, Larissa Torres, and the outgoing board members for their service to the chapter. The last few years have seen expanded programming and impact, and an overall strengthening of the organization. Most recently, the tour of Eager Park in East Baltimore with Senator Ben Cardin was a great success in terms of our advocacy work -- setting the stage for more events in 2020 with local, state, and national leadership. Advances such as these were only possible through the joint effort of a small group of dedicated individuals who are committed to the improvement of Landscape Architecture.
Our profession, according to the latest numbers from ASLA National, is growing in demand, while disturbingly shrinking in both school enrollment and ASLA membership. What can we do here on the ground to improve the outlook for future landscape architects?
In 2020 the Maryland ASLA will work to tackle these problems in new ways as part of a national membership drive so that we can continue to move our chapter forward in a sustainable manner.
Our goal this year is to both increase the value of membership and highlight existing value for our members. Among these efforts will include opening up the awards program to celebrate a greater diversity of projects, advocating to elected officials on the values of our profession, and creating more opportunities for continuing education credits. We also aim to be a valuable resource for existing and potential students in our region by retooling of our Job Shadow Week, hosting more on-campus events, and developing student outreach programs with a greater emphasis on K-12 students.
We hope that you will join us and be part of the future growth of Landscape Architecture. If you would like to reach out with any thoughts or suggestions, please don’t hesitate to email me at president@marylandasla.org.
Sincerely,
Ben Boyd