Joni Emmons has been named chair of the newly formed American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) Student Advisory Committee. Emmons is a second-year Master of Landscape Architecture candidate in the LSU Robert Reich School of Landscape Architecture.

The national committee was created in May 2016 to advise ASLA leaders and staff on key policies and programs that impact student members and student chapters of the organization. Members draw on their own experiences and those of their fellow students to provide input and feedback to set priorities and inform annual program development. The committee is focused on recruiting and retaining student members, providing support to the student chapters and student chapter presidents, and developing content for publications and social media.

Each state chapter of ASLA had the opportunity to nominate one student for the advisory committee, and the Louisiana chapter nominated Emmons. Six students from around the country were chosen for the committee, and of those six, ASLA President-Elect Vaughn Rinner selected Emmons to serve as the inaugural chair. As committee chair, Emmons also serves as the student representative to the ASLA Board of Trustees and as the liaison between the board and the committee.

When asked about the position Emmons said, “It is an honor to be named chair of the committee. I hope we will be able to provide a valuable perspective to the ASLA and encourage meaningful communication within the community of students. I am grateful for and humbled by this opportunity, and I look forward to representing my colleagues around the country.”

Emmons represented the committee at the recent ASLA Annual Meeting and Board of Trustees meeting in New Orleans. In April, the entire committee will attend the ASLA mid-year meeting in Washington, D.C., to participate in training and Advocacy Day, an annual effort to raise legislative awareness of issues related to landscape architecture. She will also represent the committee at the society’s 2017 Annual Meeting in Los Angeles.

Online nominations for 2017–18 Student Advisory Committee members are open now through June 2017. Visit asla.org/land/LandArticle.aspx?id=4875 for more information about ASLA committees and the nomination process.