Chingwen Cheng, who assumed the role of director at the Stuckeman School on July 1, 2023, has an impressive background in landscape architecture, urban design, and environmental design. Prior to her current position, she served as the program head and associate professor at the Design School at Arizona State University. Cheng is a passionate advocate for climate justice, emphasizing co-designing nature-based solutions with communities.

Her research has been well-funded, with grants from organizations such as the National Science Foundation and Wells Fargo Foundation. As a Landscape Architecture Foundation Case Study Investigator, she documented landscape performance in sustainability outcomes. Cheng also founded and directed the Hydro-GI Lab, which evaluates the design process and outcomes of nature-based solutions for climate justice. Her work includes assessing social-ecological landscape performance, investigating sustainable urban water systems, and developing the “Climate Justicescape” assessment framework for green infrastructure investment.

Cheng’s interdisciplinary collaborations have contributed to our understanding of green infrastructure and stormwater control measures. She has published extensively in peer-reviewed journals and participated in global research networks. Notably, she chairs the Nature-Based Solutions for Urban Resilience in the Anthropocene Design for Justice thematic working group and is involved in the Association of Pacific Rim Universities (APRU) Sustainable Cities and Landscapes (SCL) initiatives.

As a Registered Professional Landscape Architect and LEED-Accredited Professional, Cheng integrates co-design processes in watershed planning, stormwater management, and community design. Her accolades include the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) Illinois Chapter Honor Award, and her students have received recognition as well. Cheng actively contributes to climate action-focused groups within ASLA, demonstrating her commitment to environmental justice.

With a doctorate in regional planning, a master’s degree in landscape architecture, and a bachelor’s degree in horticulture and landscape architecture, Cheng brings a wealth of expertise to her leadership role at the Stuckeman School.

Gini Lee is a landscape architect, interior designer and pastoralist and is Professor at the University of Melbourne, Australia and was the Elisabeth Murdoch Chair of Landscape Architecture (2011- 2017). Prior to this she was the Professor of Landscape Architecture at Queensland University of Technology (2008-2011) and Head of School at the University of South Australia (1999-2004), moving to academia after many years in Landscape Architecture and Interior Design practice and consultancy based from her Melbourne studio.

Ramón Pico Valimaña.He was born in El Puerto de Santa María, 1966, Spain. He has been an architect since 1991 and has a doctorate in 2011 from the ETSA of Seville. He is a PhD Professor at the Department of Architectural History, Theory and Composition of the University of Seville, to which he has been attached since 1997.

He has been invited to the universities of Lund (Sweden), Nancy (France), Milan Polytechnic (Italy), Tongji (Shanghai) and SUJUST (Miangyang, China).

Since 2003 he is co-director of the Master's degree in design Design for Society organized by the Pablo de Olavide University (Seville) in collaboration with the Glasgow Polytechnic and the Glasgow School of Arts.

He has received numerous distinctions, his work being collected in numerous exhibitions and publications, among which are Bauwelt, Garten + Landschaft, Arquitectura Ibérica, Detail, METALOCUS, Quaderns, On Diseño, AV, Pasajes, Arquitectura, Diseño Interior... He has been dean of the College of Architects of Cádiz from 2007 to 2011.