We are hands-on collaborators working throughout the Northeast dedicated to material exploration, horticultural excellence, and ecological stewardship.

A woman walking on a garden path carrying two potted plants, with a person in the background near a garage, under a partly cloudy sky.
A person installing large gray stone pavers on a walkway or patio area, with tools and construction materials nearby.
People working on a gardening project on a hilltop with a fenced swimming pool below, surrounded by trees and a bright blue sky with some clouds.
A woman sitting in the driver's seat of a red bulldozer on a grassy field with trees in the background, making a peace sign with her hand.
A woman with glasses and brown hair working in a garden, planting or tending to green leafy plants near a wooden fence.
Two hands, one wearing a gray coat and the other a black glove, are holding a piece of beige tile and a red brick labeled 'KINK' on a table with black, gray, and wooden surfaces.
Two women standing on dirt and rocks, near plants, observing a large outdoor structure under construction, with trees and blue sky in the background.
A small salamander with a black back and yellow underside resting on a person's finger near a muddy pond with grass and mud in the background.
A person sitting on a curved wooden bench in a small outdoor courtyard, surrounded by a wooden fence and plants, with multi-story houses in the background. The person is smiling and wearing a white shirt, dark pants, and a cap.
A woman with blond hair, black glasses, wearing a white and navy striped shirt and white pants, sitting on a wooden folding chair inside a modern room with hardwood floors and white walls.
A woman in waterproof clothing and a gray cap holding a tangled mass of aquatic plants in a shallow stream surrounded by green vegetation.
A person tending to plants in a wooded area with sunlight filtering through the trees.
Person holding a large frog with a fishing hook still attached to its body, wearing a dark blue jacket.
A rooftop garden under construction with plants and workers present, overlooking a scenic landscape with trees and a pool.
Person working in a garden on a slope filled with various plants and shrubs, under a clear blue sky with a few clouds.
Two people are engaged in a conversation in a garden with potted plants, trees, and a wooden fence, in an urban setting with apartment buildings in the background.
A person wearing work gloves is lifting a large, flat rock with a rough surface, surrounded by smaller rocks and debris.
A man in a pink t-shirt with the words "ANTISEXIST ANTIRACIST PROEQUALITY BEER CLUB" printed on the back, holding a water bottle, standing on rocks in front of an empty swimming pool under construction, with construction equipment and trees in the ba
Close-up of a person’s hand touching a stone surface, with various stone pieces and a gravel surface in the background.
A woman wearing protective gear and a hat, standing in a pond near a wooden dock, holding a container filled with aquatic plants, with trees and blue sky in the background.
Woman kneeling on a brick patio, watering a small green plant in a garden bed, with a wooden fence and other plants in the background.
People shopping for large marble slabs in a warehouse.
Person holding a turtle with a black shell and red-striped limbs outdoors on a grassy field.
Two construction workers are measuring a large concrete piece on a construction site, with one person standing on the concrete and the other looking at it.

Team

  • Marissa is an award-winning licensed landscape architect with over a decade of experience in the field. Working across a range of geographic contexts and site conditions, Marissa’s approach to design prioritizes lush, thoughtful, and energetic landscapes that are context-specific and environmentally responsible. With a passion for education, each project she embarks on acts as an opportunity to demonstrate the positive impact of considered built environments. Based between New York City and Albany, Marissa has worked at a range of scales, from upstate properties larger than 40 acres to Brooklyn backyards smaller than 1,000 square feet. 

    She holds a masters degree in Landscape Architecture from the Harvard Graduate School of Design, and a bachelor's degree in Agricultural Sciences from Cornell University. Her work and writing has been featured in a range of international publications, including Architectural Digest, Vogue, Fine Gardening, Gardenista, and Gardens Illustrated, and her work has received numerous accolades from professional organizations, including ASLA NY Upstate and the Cultural Landscape Foundation.

    When Marissa is not designing, she has served as an adjunct professor of Landscape Architecture at Cornell University and the Pratt Institute. Marissa has taught introductory landscape design courses at Harvard's GSD, New York Botanical Garden, and Brooklyn Botanic Garden, and has been featured as a guest lecturer at the Ithaca Native Landscape Symposium, ASLA national conference, and Massachusetts Horticultural Society.
    Over the course of her career she has collaborated with and/or worked for landscape firms such as Miranda Brooks Landscape Design, Larry Weaner Landscape Associates, Practice Landscape, Rock Design Associates, and Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates. Marissa is licensed in New York, Vermont, Massachusetts, and Connecticut, and has completed projects in New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Illinois, and New Jersey.

  • Based in Brooklyn with a diverse background in the art and museum world, Mary blends her love for artistry and curation with a deep reverence for the natural world. At ALA, Mary operates in an administrative capacity, and oversees much of the firm’s procurement efforts for plantings and furnishings. Mary has previously worked for Damien Hirst, Yto Barrada, the Whitney Museum and 1stdibs.

  • With a master’s degree in landscape architecture from the Harvard Graduate School of Design, McKenna has excelled as a Brooklyn- based landscape designer at offices including FutureGreen, MNLA, and Studio Zewde coordinating document sets and construction details for projects at a range of scales. McKenna works to design and build vibrant, dynamic, socio-culturally and ecologically diverse spaces to be enjoyed and used for generations. McKenna provides drafting, construction detailing, and project management support at ALA, and has shepherded projects including, but not limited to, the Bluestone Garden, Woodland Retreat, and Sherwood Hill. McKenna is located in Brooklyn.

  • Sophie has helped design and realize public parks, residential gardens, mixed use developments, rural artist residencies, institutional campuses, and public art installations in the US, Canada, France, and Thailand, for offices including PFS Studio (Vancouver, BC), WHY Architecture's landscape studio (NY + LA), EPICENTER (UT), Unknown Studio (MD), 10x10 (MI), and the City of Baltimore Recreation and Parks. At ALA, Sophie provides freelance project support through drafting and planting design.

    Education is critical to Sophie’s practice, and she has taught design studios and technical courses at the University of British Columbia’s School of Architecture and Landscape architecture, with a specific focus on the definition of resilience in the public imagination of desert ecologies. Currently, Sophie teaches graduate courses in the department of landscape architecture at Morgan State University. She holds a Masters in Landscape Architecture from the Harvard Graduate School of Design and a Bachelors of Art in Dance and Political Science from Connecticut College.


  • Robyn is a landscape designer with a strong focus on native meadow design, seed mix development, and the practical realities of installation and long-term management. With a background that spans ecological design studios and native plant nurseries, she brings a hands-on understanding of how landscapes grow, change, and thrive over time – especially those rooted in northeastern plant communities.

    Robyn holds a Master of Landscape Architecture from the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry and a Bachelor of Science in Ecology and Conservation from West Chester University. She has a deep love for the Hudson Valley and Catskills, and when she’s not designing landscapes, she’s likely hiking, camping, or tinkering in the garden with her family.

ALA is WBE-certified, and operates in Brooklyn and Albany, New York. We are licensed in New York, Connecticut, and Vermont.