Mia Lehrer, FASLA founded Studio-MLA with a vision to improve quality of life through landscape. Her courageous approach to landscape design—distinguished for its advocacy of sustainable and people-friendly public places and catalytic work for a climate-appropriate future—has defined her as one of the great voices of modern-day landscape architecture. Inspired by geology and natural process, she sparks the team's inventive thinking to create places that inspire human connection, unite communities, and restore environmental balance. From the master planning of cities to the design of intimate plazas and gardens, the studio is recognized for creativity, pragmatism, and responsibility across a range of scales and geographies. Recent works include the Hollywood Park Racetrack redevelopment and its new LA NFL Stadium, the LA County Natural History Museum Gardens, Vista Hermosa Park, and dozens of Los Angeles River-related projects. With offices in Los Angeles and San Francisco, the 50-person practice earns diverse and award-winning commissions in California and across the world.
Ms. Lehrer has served on numerous academic and professional advisory boards, and she has extensive public sector experience including serving on the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts appointed by President Barack Obama, and in Los Angeles, as a member of the Cultural Affairs Commission, the Zoning Advisory Committee, and the Mayor’s Design Advisory Panel. She has lectured widely on landscape and urban design, including environmental and sustainability issues and the public process. Her work has been exhibited in the U.S. and abroad, and she has contributed to several books on design, landscape architecture, and the historical development of Los Angeles. She has won numerous local and national awards for her work, including design awards from the U.S. General Services Administration and the National Park Service, as well as the LaGasse Medal from the American Society of Landscape Architecture. A native of El Salvador, Ms. Lehrer received a B.A. from Tufts University and a Master of Landscape Architecture degree from Harvard’s Graduate School of Design. She was named a Fellow of the American Society of Landscape Architects in 2010.