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As spring blossoms across North Carolina during World Landscape Architecture Month (WLAM), WithersRavenel’s design specialty is growing and blooming as well. Our company-wide growth is especially evident in the recent additions to our talented Design + Planning Studio.
While WithersRavenel is a multidisciplinary design firm with statewide coverage, this dedicated Design + Planning Studio in Raleigh is unique in its focus. Whether public or private development, from parks to housing to mixed-use sites, our team of landscape architects and planners is poised to serve our clients with creative, collaborative design.
“We have developed a team of the most amazing designers and planners I have had the pleasure of working with,” explains Gary Warner, the group’s Senior Director. “Their collective knowledge and their passion for design and exceptional client experience makes for projects and working relationships that are second to none. Their depth of knowledge and attention to quality can translate anyone’s vision into an exceptional project. And,” he says, they’re just fun to work with.”
Some of the latest additions to our team include:
Brian Starkey, PLA, ASLA: Our Parks & Recreation Director brings a bounty of creative, place-making experience to this role. For 24 years, Brian led his own landscape architecture design firm, serving both private and public clients while creating award-winning parks, civic and public spaces. His background extends from the Netherlands to North Carolina.
Meredith Gruber, PLA, AICP: As WithersRavenel’s Director of Planning – Public, Meredith helps municipalities manage present challenges with an eye on the future. Her 15 years of municipal project and program management experience, including public engagement expertise, gives her valuable insight into how planning can shape the public realm.
Courtney Landoll, PLA, ASLA: With more than 17 years landscape architecture experience, Courtney has the knowledge to lead and implement complex, multidisciplinary projects. Today, she is a Client Success Manager for WithersRavenel, helping public and private clients achieve their goals by focusing on communication and problem-solving. Her leadership extends to professional development, as she is the president of the N.C. chapter of the America Society of Landscape Architects.
Brendie Vega, AICP: Brendie is our Director of Planning – Private. Her love of cities and the built environment is evident in the passion and eye for detail she brings to her role. Her background in municipal planning provides valuable insight when she assists developers in the navigation of zoning, ordinances, permitting and entitlement rules.
Nicole Young, PLA, ASLA, LEED AP: Nicole is our newest landscape architect and project manager, bringing more than 14 years of experience in the public and private sectors. She has been involved with projects across the Triangle at varying scales from master planning to detailed site designs, including parks facilities, streetscapes, trails and commercial and residential development.
Karen Mallo, AICP: Karen has more than 20 years of urban planning experience, including ordinance preparation and revisions related to legislative updates, municipal plan review, comprehensive plans and area study research, analysis, and preparation. She also has expertise in public meetings and hearings, as well as community engagement workshops and public education methods.
Dan Greenberg, PLA: Dan’s appreciation for public spaces, and his exceptional talent in landscape photography, has grown in more than a decade of landscape architecture experience. His work includes a bounty of streetscapes, greenways, campuses, municipal buildings, commercial and mixed-use developments, and master plan guidelines.
Other team members include Francesca Botero; Sharna Chowdhury; Zack Grossl; Laura Moore, PLA; Kurt Pfeifer, PLA, LEED AP; Daniel Rauh, AICP; Rifat Sharmin; Shelbe West; Daniel Whatley, PLA; and Tianchi You.