2023 BSLA ExComm Elections

Position: Member-at-Large

The BSLA has always been a leader within ASLA and we have always set the standard for what chapters should be doing for their members and for their community. As Trustee, I would bring our successes to other chapters and also bring their successes back to us. As the trustees are the actual governing board of the Society, I would do my best to make our points of view heard at a national level and to communicate what is happing at a national level back to us in the chapter.

I have been involved with BSLA since I moved to the Boston area in 1977. Over that time, I have served as Chapter president (which included a successful defense of a sunset law that would have removed our licensing), coordinator for the UNE (predecessor to the LARE) review course for a decade, chair and member of the Awards Committee, and, recently, chair of the Fellows Nomination Committee. I convened a BSLA/CSI committee to review master specs for unit concrete block walls, was active in peer review of the design pf the Central Artery and public outreach to the affected neighborhoods, and served as the BSLA representative on joint committees with the BSA to organize charrettes to explore design options for Fort Devens and the Boston waterfront.

With ASLA nationally, I have served as the president of the Chapter President’s Council, as a member of Landscape Architecture Magazine’s board, as a member of the committee that reviews MasterSpec Landscape sections, and on the Annual Meeting planning committee reviewing educational session proposals. I have served on several accreditation teams for LAAB, as chair of a Housing subcommittee and ASLA representative at a Site Plan Development Conference, and have been a presenter at ASLA Annual Meetings.

As a practicing landscape architect, I have been the President of Ryan Associates in Waltham, MA for the last 20+ years. Previous to that, I worked at Burck – Ryan (in partnership with Skip Burck), as well as Sasaki, SWA (when they had a Boston office), and Carol Johnson’s.

For those of you who don’t know me, my name is Michelle Crowley but I go by “Mich” (rhymes with “quiche”). I have been a member of BSLA for the past 20 years and would consider it an honor to represent you as the next president of BSLA. I am a partner and founder at Crowley Cottrell, LLC. We are a Boston based firm that strives to bring clarity to complex sites to create beautiful, approachable landscapes for living.

Before studying Landscape Architecture at the University of Pennsylvania, I worked in landscape construction in my home state of New Mexico. I believe that experience gave me a practical perspective to the work I have done at various firms in Boston over the last two decades (some of which have won ASLA and BSLA awards). My work spans from private residences to colleges and Universities; and on each project I feel that my down to earth approach helps facilitate the collaborative efforts of clients, designers, allied professionals and contractors.

As a partner managing a dozen staff members and growing the firm since 2011, I have always been interested in employee engagement and how to create a firm culture that encourages equity and mentorship. Through the pandemic I was, and am still, involved with the BSLA’s monthly firm leader roundtables. I believe I have been appreciated for my forthright contributions, which have led to honest and open conversations with mutual benefits for participating firms.

I feel strongly that with nurturing leadership BSLA can help Boston area firms become a truly collaborative network - with everyone from interns to firm leaders, designers to contractors, sharing knowledge and moving the field forward. If elected the next president of BSLA, I hope to support not only programs that help us share knowledge about design and sustainability, but about the future of work and collaboration in a post-COVID era.For those of you who don’t know me, my name is Michelle Crowley but I go by “Mich” (rhymes with “quiche”). I have been a member of BSLA for the past 20 years and would consider it an honor to represent you as the next president of BSLA. I am a partner and founder at Crowley Cottrell, LLC. We are a Boston-based firm that strives to bring clarity to complex sites to create beautiful, approachable landscapes for living.

Before studying Landscape Architecture at the University of Pennsylvania, I worked in landscape construction in my home state of New Mexico. I believe that experience gave me a practical perspective to the work I have done at various firms in Boston over the last two decades (some of which have won ASLA and BSLA awards). My work spans from private residences to colleges and universities; and on each project I feel that my down-to-earth approach helps facilitate the collaborative efforts of clients, designers, allied professionals and contractors.

As a partner managing a dozen staff members and growing the firm since 2011, I have always been interested in employee engagement and how to create a firm culture that encourages equity and mentorship. Through the pandemic I was, and am still, involved with the BSLA’s monthly firm leader roundtables. I believe I have been appreciated for my forthright contributions, which have led to honest and open conversations with mutual benefits for participating firms.

I feel strongly that with nurturing leadership BSLA can help our Massachusetts and Maine firms become a truly collaborative network - with everyone from interns to firm leaders, designers to contractors, sharing knowledge and moving the field forward. If elected the next president of BSLA, I hope to support not only programs that help us share knowledge about design and sustainability, but about the future of work and collaboration in a post-COVID era.