Faculty
Alison Hirsch, PH.D., FAAR, LJI DirectorAssociate Professor + Director, Landscape Architecture + Urbanism (she/her) Alison is a socially and politically engaged scholar working across landscape architecture, cultural landscape studies and landscape history. Her writing and design-research is most focused on landscape and cultural meaning with particular emphasis on communities historically marginalized, as well as environmental and spatial justice. As an educator and academic, she strives to maximize opportunities for applied research, service-learning and forms of community-student co-creation. Alison is currently deeply immersed in research on the working landscapes of the San Joaquin Valley as a landscape of extreme inequality and risk. |
Lauren ElachiLecturer, Landscape Architecture + Urbanism, Design Principal, Kounkuey Design Initiative (KDI) (she/her) Lauren is a landscape architect and community advocate. She uses design to create equitable access, improve public health outcomes, and envision spaces of joy and justice through her work. As Design Principal at Kounkuey Design Initiative’s Los Angeles office, she has managed projects ranging from recreational spaces in South Philadelphia, to indigenous planning documents in Juneau, to environmental justice advocacy campaigns in the Eastern Coachella Valley. She co-teaches ARCH 571, focusing on community engagement tactics and participatory design of public spaces for racial and gender inclusion. |
Aroussiak Gabrielian, PH.D., FAARAssistant Professor, Landscape Architecture + Urbanism (she/her) Aroussiak is Assistant Professor of Landscape Architecture + Urbanism at the School of Architecture, Affiliate Faculty of Media Arts + Practice at the School of Cinematic Arts, and Director of the newly established Landscape Futures Lab at USC, which is a design-research incubator for climate innovation and imagination. Aroussiak is an environmental designer and media artist, whose work aims to torque our imaginaries to help us re-think our interactions with both human and non-human agents on this planet. She is co-founder and Design Director of foreground design agency, a critical landscape practice based in Los Angeles, which works to dismantle structures of power and privilege that render specific humans, species, and matter silent. |
Esther MarguliesAssociate Professor of Practice, Landscape Architecture + Urbanism; School of Architecture Diversity + Inclusion Liaison (she/her) A member of the USC MLA+U faculty since 2009, Esther is a licensed landscape architect who has been involved in the planning and design of parks and open space in major urban centers throughout her career. In Los Angeles she has been a principal designer and researcher on Citywide park equity studies and projects including the 2008 City of Los Angeles Parks Needs Assessment and the 2017 LA Parks Report Cards. At USC she has led studios on climate change adaptation strategies in Southern California and spatial equity in the historic Black American Oakwood neighborhood of Venice, CA. She is currently part of a research team working with the City of Los Angeles to develop urban forest strategies related to public health, air quality and extreme heat. |
Farre “Faye” NixonLecturer, Landscape Architecture + Urbanism (she/her) Faye believes that the transdisciplinary work required to address the challenges of the Anthropocene presents an opportunity to enrich and transform the design practice. As such, her research aims to investigate speculative and critical design methodologies, interrogate the intersection of emerging technologies and design, and co-create with humans and their non-human counterparts within the context of uncertain climate futures. She co-teaches ARCH 571 – a transdisciplinary seminar on the participatory design of public spaces for racial and gender inclusion, and coordinates ARCH 642 – a design studio on environmental justice, bioremediation, community engagement, and site design. |
Jennifer ToyLecturer, Landscape Architecture + Urbanism (she/her) Trained in landscape architecture and urban planning, Jen has committed her career to participatory design and community-based development. She believes when designers act as visionaries, facilitators and bridge-builders between residents and governments, they can create true change. With 15 years of professional experience, she pairs a deep knowledge of living systems and project delivery with expertise in co-design processes and social capacity building. She is the principal investigator and faculty lead on the USC + Terremoto TEST PLOT project focused on community-based land care models. |
Research Associates
Jared Edgar McKnightMLA + U (’21) (he/him) Jared Edgar McKnight is a Master of Landscape Architecture and Urbanism candidate (’21) at USC where he is also a graduate research and program assistant, and he is also an Associate and Designer at Philadelphia-based WRT, LLC. He holds a Bachelor of Architecture with Honors, a Bachelor of Arts in International Studies, and minors in Architectural History and French & Francophone Studies from the Pennsylvania State University (’11), as well as a Master of Architecture from the University of Pennsylvania (’12). Originally from Pittsburgh, PA, Jared has lived in Lausanne, Switzerland and Philadelphia, PA prior to moving to Los Angeles in 2019. |
Yuliang (Julian) JiangMLA + U (’20) (he/him) Yuliang Jiang (Julian) is an interdisciplinary designer in the AEC industry. In addition to his research position at LJI, he is also a designer at Stillwater Sciences. He holds a Bachelor of Engineering in Urban Planning from the Anhui University of Architecture (’14) in China, a Master of Science in Architecture from the University of Liverpool (’15) in the UK, and a Master of Landscape Architecture from the USC (’20). His research focuses on framing sustainable systems and resilient prototypes across scales. Yuliang specializes in the development of integrated solutions that perform qualitative and quantitative analyses of design/research. |
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Current Students
Leslie DinkinMLA + U/MHC (’23) (she/her) Leslie Dinkin is a Master of Landscape Architecture and Urbanism Candidate and research assistant at USC. She received her Bachelor’s degree in anthropology and concepts of human nature at Colorado College. After graduating, Leslie spent some time in Leadville, Colorado and Jackson, Wyoming teaching middle and high school students environmental ethics, ecology and wilderness skills. Recently, she moved back to Los Angeles, where she grew up, and is currently eager to learn everything she possibly can about her home city. |
Kavya GudihalMLA + U (’25) (she/her)Kavya Gudihal is a student in the Master of Landscape Architecture + Urbanism program in the School of Architecture at USC. She received a Bachelor’s degree in Architecture from BMS School of Architecture, Bangalore, India. After graduating she worked in the professional field for 2 years before continuing her education. Kavya’s interest lies in exploring the profound effects of urbanization on habitats, people, and plants. Her upbringing in Bangalore has played a pivotal role in shaping her passion for combating urbanization’s negative impacts and advocating for ecological restoration. Through collaboration and a commitment to environmental stewardship, Kavya aims to create resilient cities that harmonize with nature. |
Mark ReidMLA + U (’25) (he/him) Mark Reid is a student in the Master of Landscape Architecture + Urbanism program in the School of Architecture at USC. He is from Toledo, Ohio, and moved to Los Angeles after graduating from Denison University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Environmental Studies and International Studies. His goal as a future landscape architect is to design environmentally and socially equitable urban green spaces that improve green access and build resilience to climate change. He is driven to enhance the coexistence of humans and nature through his work. He is a senator on the USC student ASLA board for the 2023-2024 school year, a summer 2023 intern at the LA River Integrated Design Lab, and works at a local plant nursery as a horticulturist on the weekends. He is especially interested in the use of native plants in conjunction with design. |
Sarina VegaLandscape Justice Initiative Fellow, MLA + U (’25) (she/her) Sarina Vega is the inaugural LJI Fellow and is a Master’s Candidate in Landscape Architecture at USC. As a consultant, she supports Native American Tribes with climate change adaptation & resilience and approaches her work with a critical environmental justice framework. Prior to consulting, Sarina was the Environmental Programs Associate at Casa Familiar where she facilitated and co-led community engagement, helped deploy the San Ysidro Community Air Quality Monitoring Network, and worked with community members, local officials, and State agencies to implement environmental justice solutions for the binational community of San Ysidro. She received her dual-degree in Environmental Science & Policy and Studio Art from Smith College in 2019 and is currently pursuing a certificate in GIS from UC San Diego. Sarina’s research interests include transborder and queer spatial ecologies and cultural/historic landscapes. |
Nina WeithornMLA + U (’24) (she/her) Nina Weithorn is a Master of Landscape Architecture and Urbanism student at USC. She received a Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Studies with a minor in Social Work from New York University. After graduating she moved back to her home city of Los Angeles where she worked on a variety of urban farming projects. Nina is passionate about working at the intersection of food justice, community engagement, and design. |
Previous Contributors
Students
Robert Andrade (MLA + U ’21)
Andrea Binz (MLA + U ’22)
Hector Covarrubias Del Cueto (MLA + U ’21)
Nehali Doshi (MLA + U ’22)
Hannah Michael Flynn (MLA + U/MUP ’23)
Ana Mangino (MLA + U ’22)
Eliana Ramirez (MLA + U ’23)
Zehra Rizvi (MLA + U ’22)
Daniela Velazco (MLA + U/MHC ’23)
Faculty and Associates
Jerome Chou, Senior Planning Principal, Kounkuey Design Initiative (2020)
Hyunch Sung, Landscape Designer, Studio Moonya (2021)
Katy Foley, Senior Associate, Studio Supernatural (2021)
Lauren Cubacub, Design Associate, Konkuey Design Initiative (MLA+U ’21; LJI Associate 2021-2022)