Amy Verel

I’m sorry to be harsh, but I find your solicitation merits a tough response. I’m confused – did you personally visit the site or not? Maybe you’re low on ideas because “many of you” have “other priorities” besides visiting and understanding your site. What do you perceive as your duty to your own academic/creative work? When I read that, I was…[Read more]

I missed the morning “General Sessions” on Saturday and Sunday (I don’t really function that early in the morning) but everyone said that Majora Carter was incredible and very well received. I’m not sure what ASLA puts online in terms of the General Sessions, but there was another regular education session on Sunday – Sun-B3 Agricultural Urbanism:…[Read more]

I’ll be there and definitely at the Land8 Happy Hour! I’d enjoy a “Tweetup” if I’d managed to “SmartPhoneUp” yet but to date I have not – frankly the speed with which they keep releasing Droids is making it wonderfully difficult to commit to one, but that’s not what we’re talking about – anyway have a great meeting and hope we all manage to catch…[Read more]

Sounds like a great trip, Suzan! Never been there but Germany is high on my list, particularly my ancestral Alsace-Lorraine. Love to see pics some time!

“I’d rather have someone that’s a little broody, but produces, than a guy that doesn’t produce, but keeps me in stitches.”

Haha LOVE THIS, Craig! From someone who loves a good laugh to keep things around the office light but can also be “broody” and frustrated (but still professional) when things are, you know, frustrating as they’re bound to be…[Read more]

I LIKE IT! 😀

and that’s how I learned that you can’t swear here. And knowing is half the battle.

But seriously folks. Andrew, I do think you’re on to something. I don’t think it’s unique to our industry or even creative fields, but the creative nature of our industry does seem to magnify the challenge of creating a team where personalities can gel…[Read more]

Well, this bitch is going to decline to comment on the topic, teehee! 😀

Jay – happy to help! I might have been a little confusing in my reply and unfortunately I didn’t do a skills-based resume, though it’s something I’ve always considered because I have one of those somewhat “untraditional” career trajectories. I meant to say that I did the “current position” entries for my ASLA activities, etc. Send me your e-mail…[Read more]

You might want to consider restructuring your resume into a skills-based format that highlights your strengths and achievements while honestly conveying, but de-emphasizing, the timeline of your work experience. Recruiters regularly recommend this for people with gaps or non-traditional career paths and you can find examples online. I agree with…[Read more]

Good suggestions for other graphics reference, but for technical reference I’d recommend still picking up Time Saver Standards while you’ve got money budgeted for textbooks (something I didn’t while in grad school, LOL) – it was the go-to reference in my last office and I’ve always regretting not picking it up while I was in school – they didn’t…[Read more]

Thanks Keven – definitely an important aspect of the project!

Hi Logan,

Sound like you have the right idea, especially with industry-related volunteering. Since you mentioned LinkedIn, I took a moment to look up your profile and would recommend a couple of things. First, join the ASLA LinkedIn Group – it’s the official group of the national organization and it has over 2,000 members and a good volume of…[Read more]

Interesting you mention that, Jennifer – with respect to Brad’s mention of a pedestrian bridge as well – I think this is an area with great opportunity and worth further exploration and discussion. I don’t have any experience with it, but my fiance (Frank Varro, also an la on here) and I frequently talk about taking on projects like that for local…[Read more]

Hi Brad!
I must admit, I’ve stuck with the close-to-home volunteering that I was basically already doing (ASLA Conference and a local group I’m in called Women in Planning and Development), just ramping things up and saying yes to more things. The ASLA/ACE Mentor Program Legacy Project for the National Meeting, for example. was a great opportunity…[Read more]

I can’t decide if it’s uncouth to extol the hidden networking opportunities (I don’t think so – like I said it’s pretty much a win-win!), but isn’t it amazing the people you can meet doing these things? I’ve found it’s a great way to meet firm principles and more established design professionals (who generally have more time donate) who share my…[Read more]

Nice! I’ve been lucky with the ASLA National Meeting being in Chicago – I’ve been able to get involved with leading a walking tour and helping out with the ASLA/ACE Mentor Program Legacy Project. I’m planning to do something non-industry related once I finish my MLA thesis project (famous last words, I know :-D)