AHBE - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Director
- Creative Director, San Diego
Job Titles:
- Director of Business Services
Alex Dupey (AICP) is a highly accomplished planner with over 20 years of experience working with public and private clients across the country on complex urban planning, transportation, and community design and development projects. Alex was drawn to planning's broader impact as a synthesis of urban form,
design and community engagement. His expert facilitation skills have enabled him to engage clients, stakeholders and the public in complex-and sometimes contentious-conversations that help define shared goals and build consensus around implementation strategies. Because every project is different, he strives to make each one relatable and cogent to each community-ensuring that its history and culture are acknowledged and reflected while addressing its future needs and aspirations. While he appreciates keeping a vision in mind, Alex also focuses on implementation and producing tangible results along the way. He has presented nationally on multimodal travel options, pedestrian-focused design standards, and online public engagement tools and techniques.
Alex is Director of Planning Services, Northwest
Amy Mitchell (PLA, BFQP) is a highly experienced and versatile landscape architect and project director whose work can be found in a range of settings, in streets, schools, parks and specialized children's environments around the country. Coming from arts education, Amy was drawn to landscape architecture as a means of manipulating texture, color, form and space. Rather than art on a wall or shelf, she creates entire environments that people interact with on a regular basis. In designing spaces, Amy strives to capture the spirit and the character of the communities that use them. She manages collaborative processes with extensive community outreach and needs assessments to uncover and reflect shared values. While detail-oriented and organized, Amy allows for a little controlled chaos because creativity needs space to emerge and unfold. A focused and persistent problem-solver, she is adept at utilizing new technology and exploring different perspectives to achieve desired project goals.
Amy is Director of Landscape Architecture, Berkeley
Job Titles:
- Director of Marketing and Communications
Audrey West (PLA, ASLA) thought she was transitioning from a career in early childhood education to a degree and career in landscape architecture. She soon realized that designing supportive environments for children is based on the same principals of eliciting social, emotional and educational outcomes in the classroom. At the same time, she suffered an injury that made her take a deep dive into understanding what it's like to move through the built environment with a physical limitation. Now, Audrey brings over two decades of experience helping communities translate their hopes and visions into inclusive environments that are relevant and usable for everyone-parks and play areas, healing gardens, supportive housing, streets, and civic, cultural and educational campuses. As Director of Landscape Architecture in MIG's Seattle office, Audrey offers her multi-perspective expertise in team building, conceptualization, participatory design, management and construction administration-designing and constructing spaces that, at their core, are about the community.
Job Titles:
- Director of Environmental Services
Job Titles:
- Director
- Associate Director of Marketing
Calvin Abe (PLA, FASLA) is a design leader and award-winning landscape architect who has sought to connect people to nature in a vast array of settings-civic and corporate, education and medical, hospitality and housing, streets and infrastructure, and parks and plazas. Calvin's perception of beauty and appreciation for the natural world was formed at an early age growing up on a farm near the Sacramento River. He enjoys working through a process of inquiry and dialogue with clients and collaborators, listening to expose hidden narratives and expressions of identity and purpose that are the true drivers of a project. Calvin translates what he hears into design solutions that combine space, form and time. He focuses on capturing the sights, sounds and silences that encompass the experience of a place. As an artist and photographer, Calvin continues to search for innovative ways to engage and explore-bringing new insight into his work. In addition to founding and leading AHBE Landscape Architects for over 30 years, he has lectured, taught and served as a visiting critic for landscape architecture programs at numerous Southern California colleges and universities.
Job Titles:
- Chief Operating Officer
- Member of the Enterprise Leadership Team
- Vice President
- Expert
Carolyn Verheyen is a regional and statewide expert in facilitation and outreach, social policy planning, community service delivery, strategic planning, and organizational development. Public, private, and nonprofit clients seek her guidance as an agent of positive and often transformative change in improving the lives of the people they serve. When she began her career 30 years ago, environmental psychology was a little-known field of study. Today, her work is informed by a deep understanding of how an environment-physical and social-not only shapes human behavior, but also contributes to opportunity, well-being, connection, and sense of purpose. Carolyn's range of content knowledge encompasses every area of community and social services including, but not limited to: public and behavioral health, child development, child and family services, homelessness, parks and recreation, education, transportation, and land use. She has worked with people at every organizational level from line staff and managers to CEOs and Board members. As a facilitator and strategic planner, Carolyn is known for her ability to apply sensitive listening, objective assessment, tactful advice, peer-oriented coaching, intuitive communication, and an equity lens. She recognizes that the long-term impacts of her work can be life-changing for all people in need. Because many of her projects involve multiple agencies and communities of interest, she strives to foster collaboration with a strategic focus that overrides ego, competition, and organizational or jurisdictional boundaries, which translates into better experiences and outcomes for everyone.
Cathy Corliss (AICP) is a land use, transportation and environmental planner with over 25 years of experience for both public and private sectors in the Pacific Northwest. She sees cities as places for human interaction and was drawn to planning as a way to help people live together better. She is skilled at helping clients convey the visions and aspirations behind projects like comprehensive plans and development code in a way that makes them accessible to everyone-and helps empower community members to participate in planning their own futures. Her detailed-oriented approach and expertise in local requirements have led to successful land use and transportation plans; development code updates; ordinances that address issue such as transportation, environmentally sensitive areas, and residential and commercial design and signage; and development applications that range from large master plans to minor partitions.
Job Titles:
- Director of Air Quality, Greenhouse Gas, and Noise Services
Job Titles:
- Director
- Director of Sustainability, Berkeley
Job Titles:
- CDO
- Chief Development Officer
- Member of the Enterprise Leadership Team
- Treasurer
- National Leader
Chris Beynon (AICP) is a national leader in the transformation of our urban environments. Chris has led urban design, land use planning, downtown revitalization, economic development, and mixed-use corridor projects in cities large and small throughout North America. His affinity for cities and their distinct characters was awakened while traveling and working abroad after college. Returning to the States, he saw characterless uniformity on the streets and in the communities and skylines-a stark contrast to the bustle and vibrancy of places like Cairo, Bangkok, Amsterdam, and Barcelona. Since then he has worked to plan and design urban environments that celebrate and reflect what truly makes them unique. A highly skilled facilitator, writer, and keynote speaker, Chris is a catalyst for critical thought and collaboration. Whether it's a community workshop or a client working session, he integrates multiple points of view and builds consensus to move projects forward for both private and public-sector clients. From downtown cores to transit corridors to neighborhood parks, Chris creates innovative planning and design solutions that optimize resources, meet multiple objectives, and produce measurable outcomes to tangibly impact communities.
Cindy Mendoza's (CPRP) leadership and award-winning expertise in park and recreation planning is a catalyst for community livability across the nation. Her affinity for developing parks and programs began almost 40 years ago as a recreation leader and soccer coach for underserved kids in her community. Through this work, she saw firsthand the life-changing benefits of parks, programs and natural areas to youth and their families. Clients and colleagues find Cindy to be a solution-oriented pragmatist, working collaboratively to strategize the right mix of programs, facilities, and policies to maximize resources and meet each community's unique needs. As a writer and facilitator, Cindy brings together diverse perspectives, synthesizing outreach findings and technical data to articulate desired outcomes and support action. An authority in the field, she has published and spoken extensively at the state and national level on the evolution of parks and recreation and its contributions to community livability. As MIG's Director of Parks and Recreation, Cindy offers best practices and the ability to make all communities thrive through people, parks and programs.
Cindy is Director of Parks and Recreation
With a strong foundation in both planning and public policy, Dan Amsden (AICP) is passionate about developing strategies and designs that are implementable, foster positive change, and respond to each community's vision and needs. He's an award-winning planner, urban designer and community engagement specialist with over 20 years of experience leading inclusive, community-based planning projects throughout the United States. An experienced and personable problem-solver, his patience and poise enable him to navigate the most complex and challenging planning and design projects. His father planted the planning seed before Dan left for college where the idea of helping to organize the built world took root, leading him to study geography, city and regional planning, and planning law. He is a board member of the Sacramento Valley Section of the American Planning Association (APA) and active in the Urban Land Institute (ULI) and Society for College and University Planning (SCUP). From general and specific plans to urban design and campus master plans, Dan is always seeking ways to innovate-creating better processes, places, and outcomes for his clients and communities.
Job Titles:
- CEO
- Member of the Enterprise Leadership Team
- President
Darci Rudzinski (AICP) helps communities plan physical spaces that communicate their visions and aspirations for a more livable, workable and equitable future. She draws on her passions for history, neighborhood and community planning, and economic development to actively listen to the goals and concerns of community members, identify issues and create place-specific solutions. A key focus for her is planning transit and transportation systems- exploring the interface between land use, community needs, and the corridors and thoroughfares we all use to reach our jobs, school, shopping and other activities. Darci has nearly 25 years of experience in both the public and private sector in Oregon, including helping over 20 jurisdictions ensure that their transportation plans, comprehensive plans and code updates, public facility plans and review programs comply with all state rules and statutes. She is active member in Oregon's chapter of the American Planning Association.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Enterprise Leadership Team
- Principal
Dave Rodgers (PE, LEED AP) is a regional and national civil engineering expert with specialized experience in construction administration and sustainability. Dave has developed engineering solutions for every possible type of public infrastructure project-from housing and streets to stormwater and utilities. With his combined background in civil and environmental engineering, he has been dedicated to working with communities to find ways to improve the built environment in which people move, function, and live-and in doing so, also improve quality of life. An avid cyclist, Dave has contributed his construction administration and collaborative problem-solving skills to a variety of multimodal projects, including streets, sidewalks, bike lanes, and transit access. He has a thorough understanding of AASHTO (American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials) standards, geometric design, and the safety and use issues that influence successful multimodal implementation. Dave shares his expertise on green infrastructure and sustainable design with other professionals by writing and presenting at conferences around the country. He also actively participates in many local and national professional organizations, including the Commute Seattle Board and the United States Green Building Council. By staying engaged and connected, Dave brings new perspectives to his work in creating built environments for the benefit of multiple stakeholders.
Job Titles:
- Director
- Director of Web Engineering
Job Titles:
- Member of the Enterprise Leadership Team
- Principal
- Marketing and Communications Strategist
Deanna Chow Trotter is a highly accomplished marketing and communications strategist whose versatility and expertise are applied to branding and communications projects for public, private, and nonprofit organizations nationally, with a focus on the West. Midway through architecture school, her design sensibility was drawn to communications design-admiring clever copywriting, witty advertising campaigns, and simple and inspiring graphics. From her start as a graphic designer at the San Francisco Newspaper Agency (San Francisco Chronicle and Examiner) to her development of retail and corporate branding programs through various consultancies to her current leadership in MIG's communications group, Deanna excels at the intersection of vision and implementation-strategy. She looks for unseen potential and frames questions to uncover new opportunities and ways to engage audiences to drive awareness and elicit action. She values collaboration with clients and colleagues because she believes the best solutions come from having a shared vision and considering approaches from multiple points of view. With her MBA degree, she understands the business context for decision-making and can balance quantitative goals with the qualitative process of creative design and production. Deanna helps clients define their marketing and communication needs, develops strategic recommendations, and guides them in selecting the best media and distribution channels for the greatest reach and impact.
Deanna is Director of Marketing Strategy
Is that project complicated, challenging, complex, unusual, even frighening? Bring it on! Deirdre loves organizing and facilitating major land use and development projects-and her extensive experience and technical expertise ensure projects are completed in compliance and on time. While she originally wanted to be a Forest Ranger, Deirdre's love of geography led instead to urban planning. She now has in-depth knowledge of processing entitlements for residential, industrial, healthcare and commercial developments. And she's well versed in reviewing and interpreting city/county codes, governmental regulations and environmental requirements. Her experience includes doing due diligence, preparing fee and land use feasibility studies, USGBC certification programs, and development alternatives, for projects that have required approvals for manufacturing, machinery, high pile storage, refrigeration, solar installations, and health clearances for food products, as well as approvals from the Federal Aviation Administration. During construction Deirdre also ensures condition compliance and implementing mitigation measures, along with permits and agency clearances.
Deirdre is Director of Entitlement Services
Job Titles:
- Member of the Enterprise Leadership Team
- Principal
- Community Planning and Public Outreach Expert
Esmeralda García is a community planning and public outreach expert whose projects often tackle complex social and economic issues associated with public services and infrastructure, transportation, housing, and urban planning and design. Through her early volunteer work, she was exposed to community organizing and governance, which sparked her passion for collaborative engagement and inclusive decision-making. Esmeralda is widely recognized for her ability to reach and connect with communities of diverse backgrounds and cultures-many of whom are under-served and often go unheard. She combines her extensive experience in facilitation and strategic planning with her broad knowledge of planning and communications to bring people together to identify and resolve problems. With her fluency in Spanish and English, Esmeralda is uniquely positioned to articulate challenges, opportunities, and goals for both clients and constituents. Whether it's a freeway corridor impacting tens of thousands of residents and businesses or a neighborhood park serving a hundred families, she is dedicated to forging understanding and cooperation to find implementable solutions that improve the lives of everyone.
Esmeralda is Director of the Pasadena office.
Evan Mather (PLA, FASLA, SITES® AP) is an award-winning landscape architect and filmmaker whose work in both mediums is a high-level practice of inquiry and exploration. Evan has walked these dual paths since college-applying his creativity on the land and through the lens. For over 25 years, he has been committed to delivering sustainable projects that impact people and the environment in tangible, measurable ways. From streetscapes and schools to parks and infrastructure, Evan seeks to reveal the stories inherent in the context, history, geology, ecology, and culture of a project site. His films investigate and communicate landscape architecture, urban design and sustainability issues by immersing audiences in a landscape's narrative. Evan's unique synthesis of disciplines and his incorporation of new technologies enables him to educate and inspire clients and the general public-offering a fresh perspective and unveiling unexpected project possibilities. With each project, he strives to elevate his craft and his profession-using his experience and expertise to create healthy, beautiful environments that engage and endure.
Jacob Dumler is an award-winning landscape architect whose versatility and creativity have contributed to outdoor spaces around the country in a variety of settings from zoos and aquariums to parks and streets. He is inspired by the opportunity to create authentic places that are captured in memory-offering potentially life-changing experiences and activities through interaction with the natural world. Jacob collaborates with clients, colleagues, and communities to take ideas from sketches and concept drawings to built reality. His interest and background in fabrication enables him to bridge the disciplines of design, engineering, and facilities maintenance, and facilitate interdisciplinary communication. As a Design Principal, Jacob ensures that all landscape design-regardless of setting-balances aesthetics and function; meets the highest standards of quality, efficiency and value; promotes engagement and awareness; and infuses meaning and a sense of discovery.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Enterprise Leadership Team
Job Titles:
- Director Los Angeles Operations and Director of Regenerative Design Studio
José Leal (PLA, ASLA, IA) has a passion for truth-telling, considers humor to be good medicine, and has been learning from and experiencing the natural environment since he was a child-working alongside his family in the fields, picking avocados or oranges in an orchard, and playing outside where he grew up. His Mexican and Indigenous heritage lead to Jose's passion for Indigenous landscape architecture and celebrating how diverse Indigenous people have adapted to their natural environment. In landscape architecture, he found a path to continuous discovery and a means for connecting people to place, history, and culture. His respect for the land and its resources is evident in his work as a designer and planner. He considers both ecological processes and human, animal and plant systems, creating designs for places that respond to all. For José, every project represents an opportunity to build on the collective knowledge of clients, community members, colleagues and the place itself. His work ethic and tenacity ensure a steady generation of innovative ideas and solutions, while his technical expertise enables him to translate visions into physical form.
José is Director of our Native Nation Building Studio
Job Titles:
- Director of Urban Strategy and Development
After college, Kate volunteered as a Court Appointed Special Advocate-where she encountered a well-intentioned but flawed child welfare system. She found her calling. Kate now has over 25 years of experience directing and guiding organizational and systems change for public, philanthropic and nonprofit agencies nationally to improve service delivery and outcomes for children, youth and families. Kate's work on systems change from multiple vantage points helps clients tackle complex problems and identify the most strategic and effective way forward. As Director of Social Impact, Kate leverages her knowledge and passion to help clients achieve greater impact and equity with their programs, policies and plans. She combines impeccable client service with fluid facilitation and process design-and a sense of humor-leading organizations in exploring and defining the steps to vision and mission realization.
Job Titles:
- Civil Engineer
- Engineer
- Principal
- Principal and Co - Leader
Kathryn Gwilym is an award-winning civil engineer and thought leader in sustainable infrastructure, particularly green stormwater infrastructure (GSI) and low-impact development (LID) technologies. Kathryn is inspired by the opportunity to have long-term impacts on healthy communities and environmental protection through her work. For more than 20 years, she has applied her engineering and design expertise to a wide range of public facilities, housing, streets, parks, and utilities projects. With a high level of critical thinking and observation, Kathryn strives to ensure that all voices are heard-from agency staff and maintenance personnel to end users and community stakeholders-so that a project can succeed in meeting multiple objectives and needs. As a principal and co-leader of MIG's quality assurance/quality control (QA/QC) processes, she provides critical analysis and feedback on constructability, feasibility, and adherence to both firm and client standards. In continued service to her profession, Kathryn helps train the next generation of professionals by teaching locally and regionally, as well as through active participation on advisory committees and technical working groups.
Job Titles:
- Director
- Director of Exhibit Design
Job Titles:
- Director
- Director of Creative Services
Job Titles:
- Member of the Enterprise Leadership Team
- Principal
Laura Stetson's leadership and award-winning expertise in land use planning and zoning has contributed to the thoughtful revitalization of many cities throughout California. For Laura (AICP), it all started with her fascination for maps and the stories they tell about cities. Understanding the spatial layout of a community and its human impacts enables her to use policy to shape the environment in a positive way. In turn, the policy documents she helps to craft-general plans, specific plans, zoning codes, and CEQA documents-guide positive change for the people in those communities. A self-defined "fixer", Laura uses her management and facilitation skills to engage clients and stakeholders in collaborative problem-solving. If vision is considered both a starting point and overarching goal for planning, Laura's strength lies in taking that vision and mapping out the best routes to implementation. She methodically analyzes and synthesizes the potential implications and outcomes associated with policies that regulate not only how land will be used, but what, where, and how desirable new construction occurs. Because the plans she develops have long-term impacts, Laura strives to ensure that they meet multiple objectives and are adaptable to changing circumstances. With her 30+ years of experience, she offers a deep reservoir of knowledge to assist communities of every size and variety find the right path forward.
Job Titles:
- Director of Preservation Planning and Design
Lisa Brownfield leverages her 30+ years of planning expertise to help public and private clients find and define the best path forward on issues ranging from land use and housing to sustainability, environmental justice and circulation. As a child sitting in the backseat of her mother's Mustang, Lisa had an innate curiosity for cities-she always imagined how vacant or run-down spaces could be improved and become community assets. Now she directs and manages projects that create positive change for entire cities and their residents. Lisa is adept at working collaboratively with client staff, ensuring that they have a sense of ownership and accomplishment throughout the planning process. The diversity and depth of her experience allows her to frame discussions, keeping projects moving toward successful outcomes. Whether she's developing a general plan, specific plan or environmental analysis, Lisa's focus is always on the future and the potential benefits that can be achieved for each community.
Lisa is Director of Planning Services
Mark Davies became interested in construction early in his life working with his carpenter grandfather. This interest led to a career spanning over two decades in civil engineering. From large, multi-phased infrastructure projects to more intimate parks and trails, Mark has utilized his engineering expertise to address a range of issues that impact people's daily lives-from utilities and stormwater to accessibility and sustainability to rights-of-way and multimodal transportation. He is inspired by the collaboration that comes from working with a diverse team of clients, colleagues, contractors, and community members to see a project through to successful construction. Mark enjoys "diving deep into the details" to develop a comprehensive understanding of client and project needs, enabling him to approach each project strategically and cost-effectively. As an endurance athlete, he has an affinity for transportation and recreation projects that facilitate mobility and connection. In addition to providing project-oriented leadership and vision, Mark offers insight and experience as a mentor to younger staff.
Job Titles:
- Director of Visualization, Deputy Director of Denver Operations
Job Titles:
- Director of Urban Design, Denver
Job Titles:
- Member of the Enterprise Leadership Team
- Principal
Melissa Erikson (PLA, ASLA, BFQP) is an accomplished landscape architect and designer who grew up finger-tracing land contours on National Geographic maps, and is now shaping them in the public realm for people of all ages and abilities. Her work encompasses a diverse range of outdoor spaces from parks and plazas to trails and streets-with the common purpose of connecting people to nature and fostering positive associations to story, memory, and place. A collaborative problem-solver, Melissa finds inspiration in bringing together multiple disciplines and perspectives to create designs that respond to the physical, environmental, and cultural characteristics of a site. With her creativity and attention to detail, she listens thoughtfully and makes the appropriate connections between people and ideas to arrive at consensus-based solutions. She focuses her passion and enthusiasm toward developing sustainable public landscapes that engage the senses, promote interaction, and give voice to each community's story.
Melissa is Director of Community Design Services and coordinates the landscape architecture practice throughout the firm.
Job Titles:
- Director of Environmental Analysis
Job Titles:
- Designer
- Member of the Enterprise Leadership Team
- Principal
Mukul Malhotra is an award-winning urban designer and nationally-recognized expert and innovator in complete streets. Originally an architect, Mukul gravitated toward urban design because it yields greater impact beyond just the physical environment-urban design sets the stage for public life affecting how people live, work, play, and move around. He is committed to not only advancing the communities he works in around the country, but to moving the dial up a notch on the profession itself. As one of the creators of MIG's re:Streets Initiative, he leads a multidisciplinary collaboration on exploring what America's roadways would be like if they were designed for living instead of just driving. Mukul leads projects from the germination of a vision through the cultivation of consensus into final design execution. His projects have addressed issues related to urban development and revitalization, streetscape design and planning, pedestrian- and transit-oriented design, and preservation of neighborhood and city character. An avid walking advocate, he also serves as the President of the Board of Directors at America Walks and Walking College Mentor. From downtowns and historic districts to new communities and university campuses, Mukul's creativity and interdisciplinary approach have given shape and form to countless places and spaces from California to Massachusetts and Texas to Idaho.
Mukul is Director of Urban Design.
Job Titles:
- Director
- Director of Engineering, Seattle
Job Titles:
- Director
- Director of Engineering, Denver
Job Titles:
- Co - Director of the Equity - Studio
Job Titles:
- Member of the Enterprise Leadership Team
- Principal
Pam Steele has extensive experience on "both sides of the counter" offering a full range of planning, environmental, and development consulting services to public agencies and private sector clients. Early in her 30-year career, she was a Building Department employee whose frequent interaction with planners shifted her path toward contributing to a project from beginning to end-from due diligence to entitlement and permit approval to occupancy. Having served as a Planning Director and as a development project manager, Pam's strength lies in bringing people and perspectives together to create projects that provide public and private benefits. She has prepared and managed specific plans and amendments, community and master plans, and multi-layered environmental reviews and clearances for industrial, commercial, residential, and medical projects. Pam distills and articulates the needs of public agencies and private developers to foster collaboration and mutual understanding. In doing so, she helps them navigate the entire process to successfully achieve their common goals.
Pam is Director of the Riverside office.
Job Titles:
- Director
- Director of IT Operations
Job Titles:
- Member of the Enterprise Leadership Team
Job Titles:
- Director
- Director of Health Equity
Job Titles:
- Director of Environmental Planning
Job Titles:
- Member of the Enterprise Leadership Team
Job Titles:
- Director of Human Resources
Job Titles:
- Director
- Director of Planning Services, Southern California
Job Titles:
- Director of Digital Engagement
Job Titles:
- Director
- Director of Planning Services, Northern California
Job Titles:
- Director of Major Infrastructure
Job Titles:
- Director
- Associate Director of Marketing
Job Titles:
- Director of Biological Analysis
Job Titles:
- Director of Social Marketing
Job Titles:
- Director of Biological Services, Southern California