Founded in 1985, Nelson Byrd Woltz (NBW) is a 30-person landscape architecture firm with offices in Charlottesville Virginia and New York City. Committed to education and conservation, the firm has been involved in a broad array of public and private projects including public parks, botanic gardens and zoos, private gardens and estates, academic institutions, corporate campuses, and town planning. The firm actively seeks this diversity of project scales and types to cultivate the creativity of the professional staff. The firm’s work has garnered over 50 national and regional awards and has been widely published.


Warren T. Byrd Jr., CLA, FASLA, Principal

As founding principal, Warren Byrd has led the firm in a wide range of public and private landscape projects throughout the United States, as well as Canada, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Brazil, Baja Mexico, Antigua, Russia, and China. Recent and current work includes the Flight 93 Memorial in Shanksville, PA with Paul Murdoch Architects of Los Angeles, CA; a two-block urban sculpture garden on the Gateway Mall in St. Louis, MO; the Dell stormwater park at the University of Virginia; the Asia Trail at the National Zoo in Washington, D.C.; the restoration of Montalto at Monticello in Albemarle County, VA; master landscape plans for Caltech in Pasadena CA, St. John’s College in Annapolis MD, and the University of Miami FL in Coral Gables; the landscape master plan for Watercolor’s 500-acre community on the Gulf Coast of Florida; the City of Lynchburg’s urban waterfront park on the James River; and several residential projects in Virginia, North Carolina, and New York. The work of the firm has garnered over 50 national and regional design awards within the past ten years.

In addition to his 30+ years of practice, Warren taught for 26 years at the University of Virginia, serving as Chair of the Department of Landscape Architecture for seven years. His many honors have included an All-University teaching award, a CELA teaching award, and two Bradford Williams Medals for articles published in Landscape Architecture magazine. Now a Professor Emeritus, Warren’s particular focus, in both his teaching and his practice, has been on the understanding and adaptation of natural systems and plant communities as they might best influence sustainable strategies of design. He received his B.S. in Horticulture from Virginia Tech in 1975 and his Master of Landscape Architecture from the University of Virginia in 1977. He is a Fellow of the American Society of Landscape Architects.


Thomas L. Woltz, CLA, ASLA, Principal
Thomas Woltz began working with Warren Byrd in 1997 and became a partner of Nelson Byrd Woltz in 2004. During his time with the firm, Thomas has led designs of a broad range of institutional, and corporate projects in the US and abroad including The Peggy Guggenheim Sculpture Garden in Venice, Italy, Luckstone Corporation, Richmond VA, Washington and Lee University in Lexington, VA, The McIntire School of Commerce at the University of Virginia, Round Hill, Jamaica, and The National Arboretum of New Zealand, Eastwoodhill Arboretum. Thomas has also led design work on private gardens and farmland in a dozen states and New Zealand over 15 years of practice.

Thomas holds Masters degrees in Architecture and Landscape Architecture from the University of Virginia. Prior to graduate studies, he worked for five years in Venice, Italy where he developed an intense interest in architectural craft that continues to influence his design work. Thomas has held a part-time faculty position in the University of Virginia School of Architecture for 14 years teaching site planning and land analysis. More recently Thomas was instrumental in the establishment of the Conservation Agriculture Studio within Nelson Byrd Woltz. This is a family of projects that share information and seek to interweave sustainable agriculture with best management practices for conservation of wildlife, indigenous plants, soil and water. Currently the studio is dealing with more than 10,000 acres of cultivated land in VA, CA, NC, SC, KY, CT, NY, and New Zealand. Thomas serves on the Board of Directors of The Cultural Landscape Foundation. He is frequently invited to speak around the country and internationally.


Jeffrey G. Aten, CLA, Project Manager

Jeff graduated from the University of Virginia in 2004 with Master degrees in Architecture and Landscape Architecture and joined Nelson Byrd Woltz in the fall of 2004. During graduate school, he developed a website and database for the memorial and historic trees on the University of Virginia campus, worked part-time for Joshua Galloway Landscape Architects, and as a teaching assistant for a 3D rendering introductory class and a details and materials class. He was a member of two design teams recognized in the Benjamin C. Howland Design competition, taking first place in 2001 and second place in 2004. He was inducted into the Omicron Delta Kappa honor society in 2003.

Jeff holds an undergraduate degree from the University of Vermont in Environmental Studies. His senior thesis focused on American lawns. Through the School for International Training in Brattleboro, Vermont, he studied abroad in India, Nepal, and Bhutan for a semester then traveled through India, Pakistan, and China for six months. Following undergraduate school, Jeff started his own carpentry business in New Haven, Connecticut, designing and building exhibits for a children’s museum and building additions to single family residences in Connecticut and New York. Jeff is currently working on several large-scale private estates that incorporate conservation agriculture strategies into the overall landscape design. He was a designer on the Wolong Giant Panda Center in Sichuan, China; the landscape master plan for Caltech in Pasadena CA; Charles Luck Design Centers in Richmond and Sterling VA; Anthony Fokker Business Park in Schiphol, The Netherlands; pool and residential landscapes for WaterColor in Walton County FL; bunkhouse design for the Homestead at Nick’s Head Station; and Tupelo Farm house renovation and gate design in Albemarle County VA.


Alissa Ujie Diamond, Staff Designer

Alissa joined Nelson Byrd Woltz in the summer of 2008. She earned a B.S. in Architecture in 2002 and Master of Landscape Architecture degree in 2008, both from the University of Virginia. During her graduate studies, her work won distinctions including the ASLA Certificate of Honor, the Helen and Stanley Abbott Award for excellence in Landscape Architecture, and publication in the student journal Lunch.

Alissa’s professional experience includes positions with Fox Architects in St. Louis and H2L2 Architects in Philadelphia. She contributed to the design and document preparation for a number of projects including the St. Louis Zoo Animal Nutrition Center, Emerson Headquarters Auditorium in St. Louis, and the ING Bank Headquarters Building in Wilmington, Delaware. During graduate school, she interned at Siteworks Studio in Charlottesville where she worked on several projects, including the Rockefeller Park Master Plan in Cleveland, Ohio, which was recognized with an ASLA Honor Award in Analysis and Planning. At NBWLA, she is currently working on residential projects in North Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia.








Kathleen Edwards, Office Manager


Breck Gastinger, Senior Project Manager

Breck began working at Nelson Byrd Woltz in 2000. He earned Master of Architecture (2003) and Landscape Architecture (2004) degrees from the University of Virginia. He also holds a Bachelor of Architecture degree from UVA (1998). His graduate work was recognized with numerous honors including the AIA School Medal for design excellence and the Stanley Abbott Award for excellence in Landscape Architecture.

At NBW, Breck has worked on a wide range of projects including the new town of WaterColor in Walton County FL; Washington and Lee University Commons, Lexington VA; Automated Trading Desk Corporate Headquarters, Mount Pleasant SC; Woods Hole Research Center in Woods Hole MA; the Farm at Cape Kidnappers, Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand; the Green Roof Terrace Courtyard at Rouss Hall, University of Virginia (UVA’s first green roof project); part of the winning design team for the second stage of the Flight 93 memorial competition; and the second and third design stages of the Eisenhower Memorial competition. Current projects include Nick’s Head Station, Poverty Bay, New Zealand; the Farm at Cape Kidnappers, Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand; Eastwood Hill Arboretum Master Plan, Gisborne, New Zealand; City Garden, St. Louis MO; and a campus master plan for the University of Miami at Coral Gables


Evan Grimm, Project Manager

Evan Grimm joined Nelson Byrd Woltz in 2003 after working at Wenk Associates in Denver, Colorado for two years. He earned both Bachelor and Master of Landscape Architecture degrees from Auburn University in Alabama which he completed in 2001. During graduate school, he received a National ASLA Student Honor Award for his year-long thesis in the design of civic hydrology and participated in several projects at the Rural Studio in Hale County, Alabama.

While at NBW, Evan has managed several a wide range of projects including the landscape design for the Education Center at Virginia Commonwealth University’s Rice Center for Environmental Life Sciences, recipient of the first LEED® platinum certification in Virginia; a master plan and pattern book for an 87-acre sustainable community known as The Coves at Smith Mountain Lake, Virginia; site design for the regional headquarters of the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries on the James River in Virginia; and several residential projects in Albemarle County. He was a staff designer on the Matoaka Amphitheatre Restoration at the College of William & Mary; the Asia Trail at the National Zoo; a conceptual master plan for a new town outside of Moscow, Russia; a master plan for the Wolong Giant Panda Reserve in Szechuan Province, China; and WaterColor, a new town in Walton County, Florida.

Current work includes project management for the site design of a sustainable residential community on the New River Gorge near Fayetteville, West Virginia called Wild Rock; a master plan for a 300-acre development on Cane River Lake in Natchitoches, Louisiana that incorporates sustainable agriculture practices into the design; the Flight 93 Memorial in Shanksville, Pennsylvania; landscape design for the Lower and Middle Schools at St. Anne’s-Belfield School in Charlottesville, VA; and a master plan for the Loft Mountain Ranger Station in the Shenandoah National Park. He is a founding member of the Charlottesville Community Design Center.


Sophie Johnston, CLA, Project Manager

Sophie Johnston joined Nelson Byrd Woltz in 2002. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Environmental Sciences (1994) and a Master of Landscape Architecture degree (2001), both from the University of Virginia. Raised on a farm in Southwest Virginia, Sophie gained an early appreciation for ecology and the rural landscape. Following undergraduate school, she spent several years traveling and teaching environmental education and English in Costa Rica, Colorado, and Spain while simultaneously developing an interest in gardens. Traveling, teaching, and gardening inspired her to combine her interests in environmental sciences with design and pursue a career in landscape architecture. While in graduate school, she studied design in Venice and was a fellow at the American Landscape Academy in France.

As a project manager at NBWLA, Sophie enjoys working locally where she continues to be inspired by the Virginia landscape (natural, cultivated, historic, and contemporary) and maintains a particular interest in the productive landscape. Current and recent projects include an extension to the Kenwood Center for Jefferson Studies at Montalto with the Monticello Foundation; an addition to the Miller Center for Public Affairs at University of Virginia; several projects for the University of Virginia Foundation including Morven and the Boar’s Head Inn & Sports Club; design of the Charlottesville Urban Farm in collaboration with the Quality community Council; and several rural residential projects in Central Virginia.


Jeremy B. Jordan, Staff Designer

Jeremy joined Nelson Byrd Woltz in July 2006. He graduated summa cum laude from Temple University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Landscape Architecture in May 2006 where he received an ASLA Award of Merit for academic excellence, the Ambler College Collegial Assembly Award, and the Alumni Association Award. He is a member of Sigma Lambda Alpha, Alpha Rho – the national honor society for landscape architecture. While at Temple, he worked as an intern for the Olin Partnership from 2004-2006 where he assisted on several projects including the U.S. Embassy in Berlin, the Museum of Jewish Heritage in New York, the Rodin Museum Landscape Restoration in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the Bethel Performing Arts Center in Woodstock, New York, the Comcast Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, The Logan Square Restoration in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

At NBW, Jeremy has worked on the City Garden in St. Louis, Missouri; the Flight 93 Memorial in Shanksville, Pennsylvania; the Virginia War Memorial in Richmond, Virginia; and two large estates in Albemarle County that integrate conservation agriculture practices into the landscape design.


Paul Josey, Staff Designer

Paul joined Nelson Byrd Woltz in 2007 and brings to the office interests in commercial, civic, and academic institutional projects. He has particular knowledge of soils, woody plants, urban design, and rainwater reuse. Paul received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Landscape Architecture with a minor in Environmental Studies from the University of Maryland in 2002 and completed post-graduate work in Landscape Architecture at the University of Virginia.

Prior to work with NBW, Paul worked at Urban Trees + Soils in Annapolis, Maryland and InSite Landscape Architects in Berkeley, California. In Annapolis, he focused on the detailing of urban parks and residential projects with a focus on rainwater reuse as well as innovative soil and planting specifications. Additional work experience ranges from local and regional planning in Monteverde, Costa Rica; mixed-use and community master planning in New Delhi; and work for Dumbarton Oaks in Washington, D.C. He is an Eagle Scout, has taught mountaineering in Switzerland for two summers, and was a contributor to the book, Up By Roots by James Urban.

At NBW, Paul has worked on the Wolong Panda Reserve in Sichuan Province, China; the North Bethesda Market in Bethesda MD; City Garden in St. Louis MO; Charles Luck Design Center in Charlotte NC and the St. John’s College master plan in Annapolis MD. Currently, he is working on the Flight 93 Memorial.


Jocelyn Kelley, CLA, ASLA, Marketing and Contracts

Jocelyn joined Nelson Byrd Woltz in October 1999. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology with an emphasis in plant ecology from Bates College (1978) and a Master of Landscape Architecture degree from the University of Virginia (1992). Prior to graduate school, Jocelyn lived in Philadelphia and applied her environmental interests to various research, writing, and field biology projects at the Academy of Natural Sciences, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection’s Office of Science and Research, and BCM Engineers Environmental Consulting Group. Following graduate school, Jocelyn worked for the University of Virginia’s Facilities Planning and Construction Department as a project landscape architect where she managed several master planning and site development projects including the University master plan update, a master plan for Water Resources Management, design and construction of The Park - an intramural recreation center, and design and construction of the new Law School Grounds. At NBW, Jocelyn is now the Director of Marketing and contracts manager. Prior to assuming these roles, she was project manager for a Sustainable Site Master Plan for US EPA’s Narragansett Lab in Rhode Island, the Washington & Lee University Commons Building, Virginia Commonwealth University's Rice Center for Environmental Life Sciences, the Master Landscape Plan for Blandy Experimental Farm and the State Arboretum of Virginia, and the Doris Duke Center for Sarah P. Duke Gardens at Duke University.


Aven Hormel Kinley, Accounting Manager

Aven joined Nelson Byrd Woltz in February 2008. Aven oversees the financial operations of the firm and handles client billing and accounts receivable. Aven has been working in the field of accounting since 2003. She came to NBW after two years in International Accounting with Blue Ridge Numerics. Aven earned a degree in Psychology from Mary Washington College in 2001. She was born less than one mile from the Charlottesville office.


Jim Kovach, Project Manager

Jim Kovach has worked for NBW since 1999 with various interludes. He holds Bachelor and Masters degrees in Architecture from the State University of New York at Buffalo (1997) and the University of Virginia (2002). He also earned a Certificate in Furniture Design from the Arkitektskolen in Aarhus, Denmark (1997). He worked for Nelson Byrd Woltz from 1999 to 2001 and returned to the firm in January 2006 after over three years with VMDO Architects in Charlottesville. He is the recipient of numerous awards including the James River Green Building Council "GoGreen" Award with VMDO Architects (2005), City of Charlottesville ‘Design Professional of the Year’ Award (2005), Alpha Rho Chi Award for service and scholarship in architecture (2002) and Inform Magazine’s ‘Best in Show’ Award for the University of Virginia Architecture Entrance (2002) with Timothy Stenson.

At NBW, Jim has worked on several master planning efforts with Luck Stone Corporation for a series of brownfield and greenfield sites in Virginia, two estates and their associated gardens in New York State, a Ranger Station in the Shenandoah National Park, and a small farm office at Nick’s Head Station in New Zealand. He is the co-founder of the Charlottesville Community Design Center which opened in the spring of 2004, a past member of the Board of Directors for Camp Holiday Trails, and has served as an Adjunct Professor in the undergraduate program of the University of Virginia’s Architecture School.


Karl Krause, Staff Designer

Karl joined NBW in June 2009. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in English Literature from Carleton College (2000) and a Master of Landscape Architecture degree from the University of Virginia (2009). His many honors in graduate school include selection as a finalist in the Landscape Architecture Foundation Olmsted Scholar’s Program (2008), a national program recognizing students with exceptional leadership potential. He was awarded a Benjamin Howland Traveling Fellowship in 2008 which he used to initiate a project with children of immigrants from disadvantaged urban neighborhoods in San Francisco, Minneapolis, Staten Island, and Montreal to educate and motivate them to become agents of social and environmental change in their communities.

Karl is the producer of a handful of music videos and chef of a journal of arts and literature called Puppyflowers. He has installed drawings and sculpted works at Prospect Park, Crissy Field, Flashpoint DC, and other parks and galleries. Prior to graduate school, he taught music and dance to middle school students and held various positions as an educational and graphic designer.

He is currently working on a master plan for Eastwoodhill Arboretum in Gisborne, New Zealand.


Sara C. Myhre, RLA, RA, Senior Project Manager

Sara Myhre joined Nelson Byrd Woltz in October 2002.She earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Architecture from the University of Virginia in 1992 and Master of Landscape Architecture and Master of Architecture degrees in 1996, also from the University of Virginia. Following graduate school, Sara moved to Seattle where she worked for The Portico Group for six years. Projects there included a master plan for the Botanical Garden of the Ozarks in Fayetteville AR; the Lowry Park Children’s Zoo in Tampa FL; the Dallas Children’s Zoo in Dallas TX; and the Auckland Zoo Sea Lion Exhibit in Auckland, New Zealand.

At NBW, Sara has been a project landscape architect for the Asia Trail at the National Zoo in Washington, D.C., and project manager for the landscape master plan at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena CA. She has overseen construction for several Luck Stone Corporation Design Center projects. She is currently the Senior Project Manager for City Garden, a three-acre public sculpture garden in downtown Saint Louis MO scheduled to open in the beginning of July 2009. She is also managing the design of a landscape plan for St. Anne’s-Belfield Lower and Middle Schools in Charlottesville,VA.


Sara L. Osborne, Project Manager

Sara Osborne joined Nelson Byrd Woltz in 2003. A native of England, Sara holds a Bachelor of Arts degree and post-graduate diploma from Leeds Metropolitan University. Sara became a licensed British Landscape Architect in 1987 and is a member of the Landscape Institute. Prior to coming to the United States in 1989, she worked for four years with Gillespies in Manchester, England.

Sara worked in New York City for eleven years where she was employed by Quennell Rothschild & Partners and Mathews Nielsen Landscape Architects. In a joint venture between the two firms, she was a project manager for the Hudson River Concept Plan and the subsequent Hudson River Park Design Guidelines. While in New York, Sara worked on many urban and waterfront projects as well as private and institutional landscapes including public parks, schools, streetscapes, and community design projects. Her first project at Quennell Rothschild was the collaborative and controversial design of the South Garden with artist Jennifer Bartlett (now Robert Wagner Park in Battery Park City).

At NBW, Sara has worked on several large projects including the Addition to the Architecture School at UVA, the mixed use development of North Bethesda Market in Rockville MD, the Virginia War Memorial in Richmond VA, and a large residential project in Albemarle County VA that employs principles of conservation agriculture in the design.


Zuzana Ponca, Staff Designer

Zuzana Ponca joined Nelson Byrd Woltz in the winter 2007. She received her Master of Landscape Architecture degree from University of California, Berkeley in 2002. She was a member of a studio project team that won the 2001 Metropolis Magazine Sustainable Design Competition for the design of a sustainable urban streetscape in San Leandro, CA. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Architectural History and German in 1996 from Tufts University after which she spent a year in the Slovak Republic on a Fulbright Fellowship researching developments in contemporary architecture in Bratislava.

Prior to joining NBW, Zuzana worked for the Office of Cheryl Barton in San Francisco (2001-2003), Ripley Design Group in Walnut Creek, CA (2003), and Hannetel Yver Laforge (HYL) Landscape Architects in Paris, France (2004-2007). Current work at NBW includes revitalization projects for the City of Lynchburg downtown and along the waterfront of the James River; the Montalto Conference Center for the Thomas Jefferson Foundation in Charlottesville, VA; and the University of Miami Master Plan in Coral Gables, Florida.


Anne Pray, Staff Designer

Anne joined Nelson Byrd Woltz in June 2006 following graduation from the University of Virginia with a Master of Landscape Architecture degree. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental Geoscience from Boston College in 1998 and soon thereafter discovered the world of gardens and landscape architecture. She worked as a gardener and landscape manager for several companies in Connecticut and Fishers Island, New York before striking out on her own to start a garden design and maintenance company that she transported to Virginia and sustained throughout graduate school. In addition, she served as a project manager for The Brown Companies on the landscape phase of the ‘Houses at Sagaponac’ project, an innovative 65-acre housing development in the Hamptons that challenges conventional wisdom about the design and construction of residential housing. Coursework in Landscape Design at the New York Botanical Gardens deepened her interests and led her to pursue a master’s degree. During graduate school, Anne interned at the offices of NBWLA and Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates, Inc. She also served as a graduate teaching assistant during the eight-week summer introductory session at UVA. Since joining NBW, Anne has worked on several large residential projects in Virginia.


Todd Shallenberger, RLA, Landscape Architect, Senior Project Manager

Todd Shallenberger joined Nelson Byrd Woltz in 2001. He received his Master of Landscape Architecture degree from the University of Virginia and a Bachelor of Science degree in Landscape Architecture from the Ohio State University. Prior to joining NBW, he was a Senior Associate at Gregg Bleam Landscape Architects where he managed and designed a broad range of projects from public parks and institutions to religious sites and residences. The ASLA and the AIA recognized several of these projects for design excellence. Todd has also worked for Morgan Wheelock Incorporated in Boston, Massachusetts where he focused on horse farm and large scale estate designs. Todd was Project Manager and Landscape Architect for the landscapes associated with the Addition to the School of Architecture and the Materials Science Engineering and Nanotechnology building (Wilsdorf Hall) at the University of Virginia. He is currently the Senior Project Manager and Landscape Architect for the Flight 93 Memorial in Somerset, Pennsylvania; a several hundred acre private estate in Albemarle County that adheres to principles of conservation agriculture; and the Charles Luck Design Centers in Charlotte and Raleigh, North Carolina and Howard County, Maryland.


Michael T. Smith, Staff Designer

Mike joined Nelson Byrd Woltz in the summer of 2008 after working for two years at Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates in New York City. He earned his Master of Landscape Architecture degree from Rhode Island School of Design in 2006. While at RISD he received a Graduate Honor Award from the ASLA for his academic achievement. In 2003, he received a Bachelor's degree in English with a minor in Art from St. John's University in New York.

While at MVVA, Mike was an integral part of the design team for Brooklyn Bridge Park, an 80-acre post-industrial park along the Brooklyn waterfront. He worked on the project from design development through construction documents; the park is currently under construction. Mike was also a part of master planning phase of the Lower Don Lands, a landscape urbanism project reinventing a 300-acre post-industrial site situated along the Don River and Lake Ontario.

Currently at NBW, Mike is working on a wide range of projects including construction documents for the Flight 93 National Memorial in Shanksville, PA; a master plan and restoration design for Sunnyside Farms in Washington VA; and playground design for St. Anne’s-Belfield Lower and Middle Schools in Charlottesville VA. He worked on the final design stage of the Eisenhower Memorial national design competition and assisted with 2009 National ASLA awards submissions.


James Thomas Solomon, Staff Designer, LEED AP

Tommy joined Nelson Byrd Woltz in the spring of 2009. He holds a Master of Architecture degree from the University of Virginia (2006) and a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in Architecture from the University of Memphis magna cum laude (2003). Since graduating from UVA, he worked for Gregg Bleam Landscape Architect in Charlottesville where he was a project manager for several residential projects, the AIA North Carolina Center for Architecture & Design, and the Circular Congregational Church in Charleston, South Carolina. In the spring of 2006, he co-managed the design and construction of the EcoMOD2: preHAB house (http://www.project-neworleans.org/singlefamilyhousing/ecomod1.html) in the Hurricane Katrina-ravaged Mississippi Gulf Coast region. He is the recipient of the Alpha Rho Chi Bronze Medal and the Francis Mah Travel Grant. At NBW, he is currently working on the Flight 93 National Memorial and the Blue Moon Fund office in Charlottesville.


Sarah Van Steenburg, Human Resources Manager and Accounts Payable

Sarah Van Steenburg joined Nelson Byrd Woltz in July 2009. Sarah oversees the Human Resources and Accounts Payable functions for the firm. Prior to joining Nelson Byrd Woltz, Sarah worked with attorneys placing them in permanent and temporary positions with large law firms and Fortune 500 companies. Sarah received her bachelor’s degree from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service and her law degree from the University of Virginia School of Law. Outside of work, Sarah likes to take long walks with her German Shepherd, Bella.


William Matthew Whitaker, Project Manager

Matt Whitaker joined Nelson Byrd Woltz in 2004. He holds a Master of Landscape Architecture degree from the University of Georgia, College of Environment and Design (2001) and a Bachelor of Science degree in biology and chemistry from the University of Alabama in Huntsville (1994). His graduate studies focused on how place takes on meaning through the interaction of people with the landscapes they inhabit. Matt’s understanding of the dialogue between cultural and natural histories was enhanced at UGA by studies in cultural landscape management, historic preservation, conservation ecology, southeastern native plant communities, and urban and rural community redevelopment. His undergraduate studies focused on plant ecology.

Following graduation from the University of Georgia, Matt worked for OCULUS/John Milner Associates documenting and preparing cultural landscape reports for several sites including the Washington Monument in the District of Columbia, Cades Cove in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Tennessee, and Washita Battlefield National Historic Monument in Cheyenne, Oklahoma. Since joining Nelson Byrd Woltz, Matt has worked as a staff designer and project manager on a mixed use development called North Bethesda Market in Rockville MD, the Hahn Meadow Garden at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg VA, the addition to the School of Architecture at the University of Virginia, WaterColor in Walton County FL, and several residential projects. He has honed the firm’s methods and approach to establishing native plant communities and particularly meadows on a number of projects.


R. Kennon Williams, Senior Project Manager/Designer

Kennon Williams joined Nelson Byrd Woltz in 1999. He holds a dual Bachelor of Arts degree in Studio Art and Political & Social Thought (1986) and a Master of Landscape Architecture degree (1996), all from the University of Virginia. At NBW, he has managed several large-scale projects including the new town of WaterColor in Florida; the Dell at the University of Virginia; and the corporate headquarters of Automated Trading Desk in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina. All of these projects have been recognized for the integration of environmental preservation/restoration with design. Kennon has also participated in a number of urban community and design charrettes in places as diverse as Portland, Oregon; the Washington D.C area; and Moscow, Russia. Recent and current work includes urban infill design in the Netherlands, revitalization projects in downtown Lynchburg, Virginia; master plan studies at George Mason University; a master plan for a 300-acre sustainable development in Natchitoches, Louisiana; and a master plan for a 4000-acre state park in Albemarle County, Virginia.

Kennon’s particular interests lie in community and urban design and site planning that supports biodiversity and sustainable site hydrology. He lectures and has served as an expert on panels related to these topics. Currently, he is a member of the State of Virginia Technical Advisory Committee for the development of new stormwater regulations. Prior to joining Nelson Byrd Woltz, he worked on projects for the Nature Conservancy and Biohabitats, an environmentally-oriented firm headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland.


Claudine Wispelwey, Business Development

Claudine Wispelwey joined Nelson Byrd Woltz in March 2008. She is responsible for Business Development for the firm. Previously, she had been a Senior Managing Director at Bear Stearns in New York for seven years. At Bear Stearns, she was an Institutional Equity Salesperson, covering hedge funds. She left that job in February 2007 to travel to New Zealand and live in Nantucket MA for a year. Prior to working at Bear Stearns, she spent two and a half years working as a Managing Director for PaineWebber, Incorporated in Boston, MA. She holds a Master’s in Business Administration in finance from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She received her Bachelor’s Degree in French and Italian from Syracuse University.


Mary W. Wolf, RLA, Senior Project Manager

Mary Wolf joined Nelson Byrd Woltz in October 1999. The University of Virginia awarded her a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics in 1986 and a Master of Landscape Architecture degree in 1994. During graduate school, she worked in the Office of the University Architect at UVA and the Chattanooga Planning and Design Center in the Department of Parks and Recreation. Following graduate school, she move to New York City and practiced landscape architecture at Deborah Nevins Associates, Inc. where she managed numerous residential estate projects. She also worked at Quennell Rothschild Associates.

At NBW, Mary has been the project manager for the Asia Trail at the National Zoo which opened to the public in 2006. She was a staff landscape architect for Palm Inc. Corporate Headquarters master plan in San Jose CA; Ford Rouge Motor Plant in Detroit MI; and two Orient Express Hotels, Keswick Hall and the Inn at Perry Cabin. She is currently a senior project manager on the City Garden, a three-acre sculpture park in the heart of St. Louis that opens to the public in July 2009. She is also working on several private residential estates in New York, central Virginia, and Tennessee.


Dorothy Bothwell, Project Manager

Dorothy Bothwell joined the New York office in the summer of 2008. A 1995 graduate of the University of Virginia with a Masters degree in Landscape Architecture, she has 14 years of professional experience. She has worked in various design and teaching capacities for Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates, New York City Parks and Recreation, Robert A. M. Stern Architect, Ken Smith Landscape Architect, Paolo Burgi Landscape Architect in Switzerland the New York Botanical Garden. In 2002, she started her own firm in Norwalk CT – Bothwell Site Design LLC. Dorothy holds a fine arts degree from the University of Wisconsin. Prior to graduate school, she was an assistant to the artist Mel Chin. Her background in fine arts informs her strong sense of conceptual design which she balances with a realistic sense of detail and budget. At NBW, she is currently working on a winery in Healdsburg CA.


Jennifer Brooks, Staff Designer

Jennifer Brooks joined the New York office in July 2009. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 2002 from New York University’s College of Arts and Science in New York City with concentrations in Fine Arts and Urban Design and Architectural Studies. Her undergraduate honors thesis was entitled “America’s First Garden City: A Case Study of Sunnyside Gardens, Queens”. In 2007, she earned a Master of Landscape Architecture degree from Harvard University Graduate School of Design. Among several honors, she garnered a Penny White travel award that took her to South America to study the transformation of indigenous landscape typologies due to tourism.

Jennifer has interned for several New York design and planning offices including Cynthia Steffe, Inc., Michael van Valkenburgh Associates, and the New York City Department of City Planning. She was a Community Design Fellow at New Yorkers for Parks where she designed a waterfront park at the street-end of Vernon Boulevard in Queens. Her proposal was featured in the exhibition Manufactured Ecology at the Industrial Edge at DaughterPride Gallery in Long Island City in 2007. Most recently, Jennifer worked for Hart Howerton in New York.

At NBW, she is currently working on a private residence in the Carnegie Hill neighborhood of New York City, and a winery and organic farm in Healdsburg, California.


Christina Michas, Project Manager

Christina Michas received her Master of Landscape Architecture degree from the University of Virginia and joined NBW upon graduation in 2001. She studied design in Venice, Italy and is a fellow of the American Landscape Academy in France. Christina received her Bachelor of Arts degree in literature from the University of California at Berkeley. In September 2004, she helped open NBW’s New York office. From New York, she managed the design and installation of gardens at the Manhattan Friends Seminary, a roof terrace at 110th Street and Broadway, and numerous residential estates on Long Island and upstate New York. Recent projects include a landscape plan for a house and garden in Litchfield County, Connecticut and a conceptual masterplan for the Northwest Michigan Botanic Garden in Traverse City, Michigan. Christina is currently managing a redesign of the sculpture gardens at the Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Venice, Italy.


Jeffrey Longhenry, Project Manager

Jeffrey Longhenry joined Nelson Byrd Woltz in July 2007. He holds Bachelor of Arts degree in Religious Studies from Indiana University, Bloomington (1990) and earned his Master of Landscape Architecture degree from the University of California Berkeley in 2002 where he received the Beatrix Ferrand Memorial Fellowship and several design competition awards. Prior to earning his degree in Landscape Architecture, Jeffrey worked in San Francisco for The Nature Conservancy as a Development Associate, Friends of the Urban Forest as a Community Organizer, and Visual Aid as a Program Manager. Following graduate school, he worked for Gary L. Strang Architecture + Landscape in San Francisco for two years. Projects included Elevation 22, a multifamily housing project, the Mathematical Sciences Research Institute at UC Berkeley, and the Emeryville Linear Park and Bikeway. In 2004, he joined SWA Group’s San Francisco office where he worked on Novartis Pharmaceuticals U.S. Headquarters in New Jersey, Alameda Landing Mixed Use Waterfront, and Verakin New Park City in Chongquing China.

Since joining NBW, Jeffrey has been working on a residential project in northwestern Connecticut, a winery and organic farm in Healdsburg CA, and redesign of the gardens at the Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Venice, Italy.