AILA elects new national president

The Australian Institute of Landscape Architects (AILA) has elected Claire Martin as its national president.

Martin is associate director of Oculus’s Melbourne studio and a contributing editor with Landscape Architecture Australia magazine. She is a member of the Office of the Victorian Government Architect’s Victorian Design Review Panel and frequently lectures within the landscape architecture program at RMIT’s School of Architecture and Design.

Following constitutional changes in 2019, AILA’s national board is now elected through a process of split elections. In 2020, three positions were open for election. Claire Martin (VIC) and Katharina Niebler-Walker (QLD) were re-elected, joined by Jasmine Ong (VIC) as a new director. Peta-Maree Ashford and Chris Tidswell will continue as vice president and company secretary respectively, with their positions up for re-election in 2021. Shaun Walsh retired from the national president position after three terms on the board.

National president Claire Martin said: “I am honoured to have been re-elected to the board by AILA members, alongside incumbent Katharina Nieberler-Walker and new director Jasmine Ong, and to have the support of my fellow directors for the role of president. The three things that I would like to define my presidency, and our term as a board, are: collaboration, communication and representation to ensure strong corporate governance and the prioritisation and implementation of AILA’s renewed strategic plan.”

Vice president Peta-Maree Ashford said she was pleased to continue in her role for another term: “After one term on the AILA National board there is still so much to contribute, to have the opportunity to continue to serve our members in the role of vice president remains an privilege and an honour. We believe the majority of returning executive roles will continue to provide the stability and continuity AILA needs in a year of global disruption and dynamic change.”

Company secretary Chris Tidswell said he was also pleased to see a mixture of continuity and change: “I am thankful for the support of AILA members and the chance to continue to serve as an AILA national board director and company secretary. AILA has had a remarkable 2020 – continuing to prosper through hard work, many volunteer hours, passionate members and hardworking AILA staff. We all look forward to the challenges and success ahead.”

In a media statement, the board indicated it was keen to pursue a distributed leadership model to inform AILA policy and strategic direction. Claire Martin said “Climate change and biodiversity loss are the twin global challenges of our time, and the COVID-19 pandemic has further highlighted the importance of the relationship between climate, people, and nature. I firmly believe in strength in numbers. By working across Australia, regionally and globally with our executives, committees and membership we will increase our capacity to implement change, raising the profile of landscape architects across all sectors.”

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