SESSION ONE
The Gessner Center: Building with Nature for Resilience and Renewal
Catherine Callaway, AIA, Director of Sustainability and Building Performance @ Kirksey Architecture
Catherine advocates for resilient, sustainable, equitable design. Her experience as an architect and community leader enhances Kirksey’s design acumen and informs her role as Director of Sustainability and Building Performance. Catherine leads a team of specialists who help integrate sustainable design strategies across Kirksey’s portfolio. Her dedication to green building advocacy and advancing sustainable design in Texas and the industry has garnered multiple awards, including the young architect awards from AIA Houston, Texas Society of Architects, and the American Institute of Architects. Catherine is a native Houstonian deeply committed to encouraging thoughtful development and enabling healthy communities for future Texans.
Blake Coleman, Principal @ TBG Partners
A Principal based in TBG’s Houston office, Blake provides invaluable leadership in the design process while leading a team of landscape architects and planners. Blake has more than 20 years of professional experience encompassing all aspects of project management and design responsibilities from conceptual phases through construction.
AFFILIATIONS: Bayou Preservation Association – board member and vice chair; Urban Land Institute – management committee and chair of ULI Next
EDUCATION: Bachelor of Landscape Architecture, Clemson University, 2005
Polytechnic University of Catalonia, Barcelona, Spain
REGISTRATION: Professional Landscape Architect – State of Texas, No. 3085
From COVID to Civil Legacy: The Life-Cycle of a Downtown Promenade
Alex Ramirez, PLA CDT @ Design Workshop
Alex is a Principal in the Houston studio at Design Workshop, with expertise as both a landscape architect and urban designer. His diverse experience spans across the private and public sectors, involving every phase of the design process—from conceptual planning and site analysis to construction documentation and detailed observation. Alex is dedicated to delivering top-tier work by crafting innovative design solutions for plazas, streetscapes, parks, and open spaces. His approach integrates social, cultural, economic, and environmental considerations, ensuring that each project enhances the surrounding neighborhoods and communities in meaningful ways.
Tarana Hafiz, AICP, Associate & Project Manager @ Design Workshop
Tarana is an Associate and Project Manager at Design Workshop’s Houston studio, with nearly 15 years of experience in planning and urban design. Her work focuses on advancing equity through community development, placemaking, and strategic and participatory planning. Tarana brings a deep commitment to creating inclusive public realms that reflect the needs and aspirations of the communities they serve. She believes in the power of parks and streets as platforms for civic life, wellness, and cultural expression, and integrates meaningful public engagement into every project. With a collaborative, multidisciplinary approach, she translates complex challenges into clear, actionable strategies using visual data, storytelling, and design to drive lasting impact.
Culture, Climate, and Community: Landscapes of the Ismaili Center, Houston (Walking Tour)
Jeff Aten, ASLA, PLA, Principal @ Nelson Byrd Woltz Landscape Architects
Jeff Aten joined Nelson Byrd Woltz in 2004 after earning master’s degrees in architecture and landscape architecture at the University of Virginia. He has worked on private projects varying in scale from small residential gardens to large conservation agriculture farms. In the public realm he has worked on municipal parks of just a couple acres up to 1,500 acres, and higher education teaching landscapes to master plans. His work, and his team’s work, has received accolades at the highest state, national and international levels. He has led the award-winning master plan for Memorial Park in Houston, TX and its implementation; the selected winning entry for the Ismaili Center Gardens in Houston, TX and the project’s construction; and various landscape gardens at the University of Virginia. He has served as the Vice-chair and Chair of the Charlottesville Tree Commission and loves to bike on the rural roads at the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains.
Recent work includes leading the broad design team implementing work as part of the Ten-Year Plan at Memorial Park that builds off the 2015 master plan. Completed to date are the award-winning Eastern Glades, Land Bridge and Prairie, and the Timing Track and Running Center. The design for Memorial Groves, a landscape honoring the park’s history as a World War I military training camp — Camp Logan — is underway.
Additionally, Jeff is the Principal in Charge for the Contemplative Commons project being constructed at the University of Virginia, and the Ismaili Center Gardens in Houston TX, the first Ismaili cultural center in the United States.