Let’s Talk About Sequestration
Jonah Susskind

On September 16 at 10:45 AM, Jonah Susskind, Director of Climate Strategy, joins Chris Hardy (Sasaki) and Nicholas Pevzner (University of Pennsylvania) to discuss how frameworks like SITES v2 create a pathway to maximize carbon sequestration potential. Carbon sequestration is complex, incremental, and subject to reversal, and this session calls for a more honest conversation about its real power and limitations. Panelists will unpack the science behind sequestration modeling, the biases embedded in research drawn largely from agricultural and forestry contexts, and best practices for optimizing sequestration across diverse climates.

Beyond the Blueprint: Climate Action Planning Across Practice Scales

On September 17 at 8:30 AM, Jonah joins Chelsea Gieryic (Livable Cities Studio) and Aida M. Curtis (Curtis + Rogers Design Studio) to share how scale and culture shape Climate Action Plans, offering practical insights attendees can adapt to their own practice. Climate action planning looks different in a five-person studio than in a global practice, and this session brings together firms and organizations of varying sizes to unpack how scale, capacity, and culture shape effective strategies. Attendees will leave with practical approaches to barriers like resourcing, staffing, and accountability, along with collaboration and partnership models they can apply within their own firm’s scope.

Once Upon a Time: Narrative, Storytelling, and Finding Through-lines in Landscape Architecture
René Bihan

On September 16 at 10:45 AM, René Bihan, San Francisco Managing Principal, joins Charles A. Birnbaum (TCLF) and John A. King (writer) to explore how narrative thinking helps designers transform complex sites into coherent, meaningful places. Drawing on practitioner, critic, and cultural landscape advocate perspectives, the panel will show how a narrative “through-line” connecting site history, community input, and design intent can deepen community connection and produce legible, resilient places. Attendees will explore how storytelling tools can surface histories and cultural lifeways at risk of erasure, strengthening public experience and cultural resonance.

The ASLA Industry Outlook: An Executive Forum on the Future of Landscape Architecture
Gerdo Aquino

On September 18 at 12:30 PM, Gerdo Aquino, Co-CEO and Los Angeles Principal, will speak on a panel moderated by ASLA’s CEO Torey Carter-Conneen, featuring Michelle J. Delk (Snøhetta), Jennifer Guthrie (GGN), Gary Hilderbrand (Reed Hilderbrand), Mark W. Johnson (Civitas), and Mia Lehrer (Studio-MLA). This executive forum brings together leaders from many of the world’s most influential landscape architecture and interdisciplinary design firms to examine the forces reshaping the profession, from resilient infrastructure investment and artificial intelligence to shifting demographics and new models of collaboration. Panelists will explore where the greatest opportunities are emerging over the next decade and what today’s decisions mean for how firms compete, grow, and lead.

Breadth and Depth: Building Organizational Capacity from Emerging Practices to Legacy Firms
Steven Lee

On September 18 at 9 AM, Steven Lee, SWA/Balsley Principal, joins William DiBernardo (Sit—Still Landscape Architecture) and Grace E. Prem (SCAPE) to compare how organizational scale shapes specialist depth versus generalist breadth, and builds adaptive capacity for change. Bringing emerging, mid-size, and legacy firm perspectives, panelists will explore adaptive capacity as the skills, systems, and structures that let landscape architects respond to shifting market conditions, project complexity, and emergent technology. Attendees will leave with a framework for evaluating capacity gaps, whether at the level of a firm, team, or individual trajectory.

Cultivating the Active Archive: Translating Design Memory into Future Practice
Jennifer Hung

On September 18 at 10:45 AM, Jennifer Hung, San Francisco Marketing Manager and Associate, joins Hannah Hardenbergh (Klopfer Martin Design Group) and David C. Malda (GGN) to examine how a living project archive can carry ideas, relationships, and knowledge across generations. Drawing on perspectives from small, mid-sized, and large practices, panelists will focus on the ineffable: the memory, stories, and institutional knowledge held within design teams. Attendees will learn how to distinguish static documentation from an active archive that informs ongoing work, and how to capture that knowledge without overburdening project teams.

Actions Behind the Actions: Getting to Work on LA 2040
Mariana Ricker

On September 18 at 3 PM, Mariana Ricker, San Francisco Associate Principal, joins Amy C. Syverson (Landscape Forms) and Jordan Clark (TBG Partners) to share lessons learned putting LA 2040 targets to work within their own organizations. As leaders of the ASLA Climate and Biodiversity Action Committee, the panelists will speak to what it actually takes to move from intention to progress, from building internal literacy to finding alignment and momentum beyond the “sustainability club.” Attendees will leave with strategies to map LA 2040 objectives to their own work, prioritize effectively, and build the kind of buy-in that holds up against roadblocks.

Mariana is also speaking on two additional panels: “ASLA Climate & Biodiversity Action Committee: Latest Projects and Q&A” on September 16 at 12:15 PM, and “Continue the Conversation: Tracking Whole Life Carbon Assessment for LA 2040” on September 16 at 2:45 PM.