Denisha Williams, RLA, LEED AP, ISA CA, ENV SP, Principal, is a Registered Landscape Architect, a LEED Accredited Professional, an ISA Certified Arborist, and an Envision Sustainability Professional. Drawing on her previous career in downtown revitalization management and community-based planning, she also offers expertise in leadership, strategic planning, and interdisciplinary collaboration.
Denisha is a leader in training design professionals in sustainable and resilient design and climate-change challenges. She served as President of the American Society of Landscape Architects New York Chapter (ASLA-NY) in 2012, and as a ASLA-NY Board Member from 2009 to 2013. Since 2012, she has also served on the AIA-NY Design for Risk and Reconstruction Committee. Through these affiliations, she has brought together design professionals, climate change experts, ecologists, and others to raise awareness of sustainable and resilient design challenges and solutions. She has presented sessions regionally on the multiple benefits of green infrastructure, on “Placemaking in a Changing Climate,” and on the challenges facing shrinking cities within the U.S. and internationally. Denisha is also an Assistant Adjunct Professor at Fordham University, where she teaches interdisciplinary courses in environmental and urban design.
Jeff Byles, AICP, Partnership Director, is a community revitalization consultant deeply committed to the belief that communities can be inspired and renewed through the power of place. A certified planner, Jeff draws on twenty years of experience in planning, writing, research, program development, advocacy, and public engagement. He works collaboratively with public and private-sector partners to help people and places create ecological, social, and economic vitality. Jeff’s planning and community revitalization expertise includes leadership roles at Van Alen Institute, where he oversaw research initiatives in program areas exploring urban form and well-being, and helped lead design competitions devoted to transforming the built environment for partners including the U.S. National Park Service and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Jeff's publications include Rubble: Unearthing the History of Demolition (2005), and A History of Design from the Victorian Era to the Present (2011, with Ann Ferebee). Jeff has lectured internationally on architecture, landscape, and the future of the city. Since 2014, Jeff has championed the role of public design as a Director of The Fine Arts Federation of New York, an advocate for design excellence in the public realm.
Patrick Weisel, RLA, ISA CA, is a Registered Landscape Architect, Certified Arborist, artist, and designer who holds a Master of Landscape Architecture degree from the City College of New York. Raised in the wooded Ozark foothills, he has a deep love, appreciation, and understanding of natural systems and ecology.
Now serving as a Senior Landscape Architect at Being Here, Patrick began his professional career in New York City as a graphic designer and illustrator, but over time followed his love of nature to maintain and administer urban parkland for a variety of nonprofit entities associated with the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation. Patrick studied under legendary native plant expert Darrel Morrison, FASLA, and has designed and planted dozens of native plant gardens with tens of thousands of plants spanning nearly a hundred species. As an ISA Certified Arborist, he has expansive knowledge of native plant populations. His work has encompassed a great variety of designed open spaces, including school gardens, community gardens, dog runs, parkland, tennis courts, plazas, multi-residential grounds, terraces, roof decks, and courtyards.
Patrick Alford, ISA CA, is a Certified Arborist and Landscape Designer who provides project support for Being Here’s arboricultural and environmental surveys, planting plans, site designs, and construction documentation. With a background in environmental science and strong interests in native flora, fauna, and ecological systems, Patrick has field experience in a variety of conditions across the New York City region, assisting in tree and plant inventories and construction inspections. Patrick’s prior role as a leader of school farm projects has given him extensive experience with sustainable agricultural practices including soil health and amending, irrigation, seedling propagation, vegetable production, and crop planning. He has designed, planned, and managed the construction of new school gardens and outdoor classrooms, as well as infrastructure for garden spaces, gaining additional experience with planting, harvesting, irrigation system management, biothermal compost systems, and garden maintenance. Through his experience as a field researcher in New York State, he has worked with NYSDEC to study genetic variation among fauna of the Adirondack Region. Patrick’s interests also include fostering stronger relationships between buildings and their ecological surroundings, as well as promoting public awareness of local environmental issues and conservation efforts.
Natalie Galarza, ASLA, Landscape Designer, holds a B.A. in Environmental Policy from Fordham University and a Master of Landscape Architecture from the City College of New York. In Spring 2020, Natalie was awarded the ASLA-NY Designing in the Public Realm Scholarship and the LAF Honor Scholarship for Inclusive Community Design for her MLA work, including her capstone project that sought to connect solar power, communities, and the ecologies of Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria. At Being Here, Natalie works on public realm projects ranging from green infrastructure monitoring to community-driven brownfield remediation. She’s especially passionate about connecting communities with native ecologies and building thriving urban ecosystems.
Mia Yashin, Landscape Designer, has broad experience in landscape architecture, arboriculture, and field research across the New York region. Mia earned her Master of Landscape Architecture from the City College of New York. Prior to joining Being Here, she spent two summers interning with the Natural Areas Conservancy, where she and her teammates collected and organized data on forest metrics, verified the location of wetlands, and performed ecological site analyses throughout the five boroughs. Mia has also studied arboriculture at the New York Botanical Garden. She credits her experience monitoring migratory birds—work she undertook as an NYC Audubon volunteer citizen scientist—with having sparked her passion for urban ecology and design. She plans to devote her career to protecting urban natural areas and bringing plant life into cities and suburbs. Mia is also an avid watercolor painter with a particular interest in plant and animal subjects.
We are proud to partner with an interdisciplinary network of professionals across the fields of design, planning, engineering, and the social and environmental sciences according to the needs and opportunities of our projects.
Being Here is a certified WBE for New York City, New York State, and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, and a certified DBE with the NJ/NY Unified Certification Program.