staff Archives - LEES+Associates

Introducing our Ontario Practice Lead

We are thrilled to introduce Amanda Gebhardt as our new practice lead for Ontario and Eastern Canada. Amanda joined us in April 2023 and has swiftly shown her passion for collaboration and realizing diverse and impactful projects. Her project portfolio includes cemetery expansion development, commemorative spaces, active transportation, complete streets, trails, urban parks, and environmental habitat restoration.

Amanda will be focused on the organic growth of the Ontario office in Guelph, continuing with LEES+Associates’ strong commitment to cemetery planning and design while building on the firm’s western park and recreation practice in Ontario.

With 18 years of experience in parks, trails, and cemetery design and management, Amanda brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to our team, allowing us to provide excellent service to clients and projects across Canada. We encourage you to connect with Amanda and look forward to the fantastic work she will accomplish with our team.

Joining Amanda as part of the expanding Ontario team is Kelsey Walker, a senior landscape designer with 12 years of experience across Canada. Kelsey’s experience includes planning and design assignments for parks, trails, open space, streetscapes, industrial and recreation projects in a variety of contexts, as well as a decade of experience in event and festival design and execution.

Kelsey is keen to explore the world of cemetery and memorial design and looks forward to assisting Amanda in growing the LEES+Associates presence in Ontario.

Accessibility and Universal Design

LEES+Associates is excited to be expanding our knowledge and skillset in the realm of accessibility and universal design in the outdoor environment. One of our staff, Ivy Smith has recently become an RHFAC (Rick Hansen Foundation Accessibility Certification™) Professional and is one of the first members in Canada to achieve this designation.

Her training with the Rick Hansen Foundation has given her an expanded perspective of the built environment.
She is passionate about applying the principles learned and she hopes to work towards making outdoor landscapes, particularly parks, trails and outdoor recreation amenities more accessible and enjoyable for everyone.

For more information about Universal Design:

Universal Design 101

Below are some links for more information about the program!

Learn more about the program: Accessibility Matters
Become an RHFAC Professional

Path to Becoming a Landscape Architect | Josh Bernsen

Congratulations to our colleague Josh Bernsen who has recently become a member of the British Columbia Society Of Landscape Architects (BCSLA) and a registered landscape architect in BC.

Growing up in a small agricultural community in Southern California, Josh credits working on the family alfalfa and wheat farm, and interacting with the landscape as inspiration for becoming a landscape architect

He began his career working in Portland, Oregon upon graduating from the landscape architecture program at Washington State University. Prior to moving to Vancouver to be close to family, Josh had started his initial landscape architecture registration in Oregon and decided to complete the registration process with the Oregon State Landscape Architecture Board. He completed the last 2 LARE exams (Landscape Architect Registration Examination) while working in BC.

He transferred the license to BC via a reciprocity process and was accepted as a member of the BCSLA in October 2018, his registration concluded with the New Member Book Awards this past April.

The book awards is a tradition started by Clive Justice (FCSLA) and is way of welcoming new members to the Society. This year, 2 books were presented to new members with one of the books authored by Clive.

Adam Rogerson Joins LEES+Associates

We’re very excited to welcome Adam Rogerson to the LEES+Associates team!

With remarkable experience working in the cemetery industry and a keen interest in sustainable design, Adam is committed to the effective integration of sustainable practices in cemetery planning and design. He also spent time abroad as an intern studying the impact of tourism on sensitive coastal ecosystems in the Caribbean.

Adam has a Bachelor of Landscape Architecture from the University of Guelph and joins the team as a landscape architect intern. He will be stationed in our Toronto office.