Jordan Phemister

Jordan Phemister, PLA, ASLA, came to the field of landscape architecture from a background in environmental conservation. She worked for O’Shea + Wilson Siteworks in Charlottesville, Virginia for five years before moving into independent private practice and joined UK’s faculty in 2017.

Jordan combines her time spent in practice and passion for the profession to engage and inspire future generations of landscape architects. In practice, she worked on a diverse range of residential gardens; K-12, university, and corporate campuses; as well as public parks and urban design. At UK, she has explored a wide range of interests including the integration of native plants, natural play, and sustainable stormwater management into children’s outdoor environments (preschool and K-12); climate change adaptation and resiliency for communities impacted by natural disasters; and landscape performance – the ability to define and measure the sustainability impacts of a design on environmental, social, and economic goals. Jordan enjoys working alongside her students, colleagues, and community partners to explore, educate, and demonstrate how landscape architecture can positively engage and shape the communities, public spaces, and ecological systems which sustain us all.

"Landscape architecture provided me with a way to combine my passion for the environment and conservation with opportunities for creativity and service. LA has connected me to a diverse range of people – as colleagues, clients, collaborators, and community partners – through an incredible range of project types and scales – from someone’s backyard to urban streetscapes, community parks, and regional plans. As landscape architects, we are charged with analyzing, understanding, advocating for and sustainably designing everything outside of buildings, ideally in ways that enhance and enrich human experience as well as the environment. What an incredible responsibility and opportunity that is, and it is very rewarding to see the energy and excitement that students bring to our classes and studios and take out into the world once they graduate."

Service: 

• Faculty Advisor to Student Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects
• Member of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences Steering Committee
• Member of Gray Design Building Community Agreements Committee
• Sustainability Community Partner for Fayette County Public Schools