OJB Landscape Architecture is pleased to announce the promotion of many of the firm’s team members! Congratulations to this amazing group on their outstanding contributions to the profession and OJB.
Andrew has been with OJB since 2006 and has led award-winning higher education, workplace, and healthcare project teams. He has recently been promoted to Principal. Trained as an Architect, Andrew works to enhance the connection between the landscape and architecture; creating opportunities for the two to inform one another and make better spaces for that connection. His passion is designing for the people that will occupy those spaces. Andrew is actively engaged in the design community, including the Rice Design Alliance and its publication Cite Magazine. He has also taught an Introduction to Landscape Architecture class at the Rice School of Architecture for over ten years and actively supports schools of Architecture and Landscape Architecture through lectures, mentoring, acting as an outside critic, and supporting faculty members.
Meredith was recently promoted to Associate in OJB’s Houston office. Meredith is passionate about working on projects that thoughtfully connect people to nature through landscape design. She has enjoyed pushing her designs forward to enrich each project’s unique goals and creatively resolve challenges. Meredith’s multi-disciplinary background allows her to bring a comprehensive approach to the team. She is passionate about enriching people’s lives through their experience with nature and her dedication to high-quality design and visual representation drives her to practice Landscape Architecture at the highest level.
Erin was recently promoted to Sr. Associate in our San Diego office. Erin has been an invaluable project manager and takes pride in leading the documentation efforts of some of OJB’s significant projects. Erin has a strong background in Geographic Information Systems and Environmental Studies that informs her designs. She is passionate about how inclusive design strategies can promote equity and justice in all communities and is dedicated to environmental sustainability.
Jason Ferster – Technical Director
Jason was recently promoted to Technical Director in OJB’s Boston office. Jason is dedicated to building innovative sustainable landscapes and he consistently demonstrates an acute attention to detail that takes projects from concept to construction. He is passionate about ensuring the integrity of OJB’s built work and he enjoys working with collaborators in the field. Jason also enjoys renovating his home and spending time with his three dogs – a 200-pound Great Dane, a 2-pound Yorkshire Terrier and his 60-pound Red Fox Lab.
Cristina Frass – Project Designer
Cristina joined the OJB Houston team in April of 2019. She has worked on a variety of residential, institutional, and commercial projects across Texas and California, many of which feature roof gardens. Cristina often assists her team in all stages of the design process, from technical research and design studies to 3D modeling, graphic and presentation development, and construction documentation. She is passionate about ecologically performative landscapes, especially climate-resilient design and water management in urban areas.
Michelle Hartmann – Project Designer
OJB congratulates Michelle on her recent promotion to Project Designer. Michelle joined OJB in the spring of 2019 and jumped right in to one of the firm’s largest and most complex projects. She is interested in how spatial design can evoke emotional responses and frequently looks to artists and designers outside the field of Landscape Architecture for inspiration. Michelle enjoys crocheting and weaving in her spare time.
Cally Hickey – Project Designer
OJB congratulates Cally Hickey on her recent promotion to Project Designer. Cally has a background in ecology and environmental studies and incorporates her knowledge in these areas to create meaningful spaces that allow people to engage with outdoor spaces in sustainable ways. She is passionate about creating vibrant and inclusive spaces that cater to all communities. Cally enjoys collaborating with multi-disciplinary teams to create spaces that work on various levels. She is inspired by her grandfather who was an engineer and introduced her to the field of landscape architecture.
Drew joined the San Diego team nearly two years ago and quickly distinguished himself as a masterful designer that specializes in project visualization through renderings, modeling and VR tools. Drew has been promoted to Project Designer and will continue to lead OJB’s visualization efforts on key projects. Influenced by Roberto Burle Marx, Drew is passionate about creating spaces that provide value to communities from every demographic while respecting and enriching habitat and ecosystems. In his spare time Drew enjoys photography, hiking and exploring unique landscapes.
Ana was recently promoted to Associate in OJB’s Dallas office. Ana joined OJB in 2016 and has been instrumental in the design of several critical projects for the firm. After starting in OJB’s Houston office, Ana raised her hand to help launch OJB’s Dallas office. Ana enjoys working on a variety of projects and finds OJB’s on-structure work the most challenging and satisfying. Ana is committed to continual learning and appreciates the opportunity to learn something new from the talented team she collaborates with daily. Ana is looking forward to this next chapter in her career at OJB.
Andrew Miller – Project Director
OJB congratulates Andy Miller on his recent promotion to Project Director in our Solana Beach office. Over the last eight years, Andy has been instrumental in several of OJB’s largest and most complex projects and has a wealth of technical expertise that underpins his design ethos. Andy specializes in detail-level design and enjoys the puzzle of integrating thoughtful details cohesively into the site. Andy particularly enjoys designing areas for children’s play and appreciates the joy that well-designed play spaces bring to children and their families. He is inspired by traveling and discovering places like Landschaftspark which transformed industrial ruins into places of play and adventure. Andy used to be an avid runner, clocking several 4-minute miles, however these days his children keep him in shape.
Alex Nagel – Associate Project Director
OJB congratulates Alex Nagel on his promotion to Associate Project Director in our San Diego office. Alex specializes in solving the technical aspects of design and is extremely proficient in 3D applications. He is influenced by the work of Lawrence Halprin and is passionate about enhancing lives through accessibility to nature and the built environment. Through his background in plant sciences and evolutionary molecular genetics research, Alex brings valuable insights and perspective to the OJB design team.
Over the last four years, Katie has consistently delivered creative design solutions on numerous important projects for OJB; we welcome her to her new position as an Associate at OJB. Katie firmly believes that clearly communicating the story behind the design to our clients is a critical part of the design process. She enjoys using bold colors and graphics to help relay key themes and excels at corralling a multitude of ideas into a cohesive project design. Katie is passionate about the impact of design on how individuals experience the outdoors and carefully considers the user perspective when developing outdoor spaces. In her spare time, Katie enjoys cooking and experimenting with new recipes and feeding her friends and colleagues.
Kezia Ofiesh – Marketing Manager
OJB congratulates Kezia on her promotion to Marketing Manager in our Boston office. Trained as a professional landscape architect, with a background in architecture, Kezia brings a wealth of contextual design experience to OJB’s marketing team and has been instrumental in expanding OJB’s marketing efforts on the east coast. Kezia is interested in how materials, patterns and cultural elements can be integrated in landscape design to reveal the rich history of a site. Kezia is inspired by Venetian architecture and is a very accomplished pencil sketch artist. She also enjoys baking sourdough bread (a hobby that she started long before the pandemic baking craze).
Sean Passler – Associate Director
Sean’s tenure at OJB began with an eight-month spring and summer internship while he was attending LSU. Sean’s contributions during his internship were impressive and he and was offered a full time position immediately after graduation. Sean has grown quickly over the last few years and has become a critical part of the leadership team at OJB. He consistently demonstrates his enthusiasm to work on OJB’s projects and is passionate about the relationships he has fostered with our clients. Sean is excited about continuing to find common ground through great design with our clients and collaborators. Congratulations to Sean for his promotion to Associate Director.
Drew was recently promoted to Principal in OJB’s Boston office. Drew’s emphasis on the both the craftsmanship and storytelling aspects of design have distinguished him as a talented designer and leader in the firm. Drew believes that weaving enduring details and textures that leave an indelible impression on the user is key to translating big picture ideas into successful spaces. Drew has collaborated with some of the best designers, engineers and clients in the country and is inspired the by thoughtful discourse and innovative solutions these collaborations have yielded. Drew is currently renovating and restoring a 120-year-old home just outside Boston and is enjoying balancing the historic character of the home with modern design and functionality.
Abbey Wallace – Project Designer
Abbey joined OJB in August 2019 and has played a significant role in contributing unique design solutions that address sustainability, equity, and the human experience. OJB welcomes her to her new position as a Project Designer in our Houston office. As an urban designer, her skill sets lie in systems thinking, yet her passion is centralizing design on the human scale. She enjoys working with playful textures, patterns, and colors and crafting landscapes of retreat and exploration.
Yangdi Wang – Project Designer
Yangdi joined OJB’s Philadelphia office two years ago and is highly proficient in graphics and 3D modeling. Yangdi has been promoted to Project Designer and will continue to play an integral role in various design projects, ranging from large-scale open space master plan to site-scale landscape design and implementation. With a background in urban planning, Yangdi is passionate about creating sustainable and aesthetically beautiful spaces that promote interaction and enrich people’s lives. Along with painting and reading, Yangdi enjoys traveling to explore new places during her free time.
Yiqing Wang – Project Designer
Yiqing was recently promoted to Project Designer in OJB’s Boston office. Since joining OJB in 2019, Yiqing has demonstrated her skills by addressing challenging site conditions through sustainable materials and construction methods. She is passionate about urban open space design and envisions urban parks as a precious sanctuary for both people and urban wildlife. She enjoys observing how people use built outdoor environments in unexpected and unintended ways and integrating those observations in her work. Yiqing is influenced by Maya Lin’s broad impact on the field of design as an artist, architect and sculptor. Yiqing and enjoys playing the piano in her free time.