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.
Bob Stokes, President & General Counsel @ Galveston Bay Foundation
Bob Stokes is President and General Counsel of the Galveston Bay Foundation in Kemah, Texas. He has served in that role since June, 2004. The Galveston Bay Foundation’s mission is to preserve, protect, and enhance the natural resources of Galveston Bay and its tributaries. Bob had served on the board of the Foundation for five years prior to taking over as President and had served as the board’s chair for the previous two years. Prior to that, Bob practiced law for 10 years, most recently in the Environmental Division of the Harris County Attorney’s Office. Bob is a 1990 graduate of Yale University and a 1994 graduate of the University of Texas School of Law.
Bob has served on the Board of Directors for Restore America’s Estuaries since 2004. He is a past member of the board of directors of the Texas Land Trust Council and EarthShare of Texas. He was awarded the “Environmental Professional of the Year” award in 2011 by the Texas Association of Environmental Professionals.
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.
Ariel Wright @ Design Workshop
Ariel is a landscape designer and project manager in the Houston Studio with over five years of experience shaping thoughtful, place-based environments. Driven by curiosity about the relationship between people and place, Ariel is passionate about designing places that promote healing, connection and ecological balance. She aspires to capture the beauty of nature, creating spaces that enhance both communities and individuals. A collaborative team member and creative thinker, Ariel values inclusive design processes that draw on diverse perspectives to develop meaningful and lasting solutions.
Ariel holds a Bachelor’s and Master’s in Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning with an emphasis in child development-oriented design in playgrounds from Utah State University.
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.