Mahan Rykiel Associates is excited to welcome Katherine Ackerman, Anthony Dye, Luke Early, Aaron Lewis, Mia Quinto, Bradley Reuschling, Mohan Wang and Binyu Yang to our design teams. These talented new staff members bring an array of skills from a diversity of backgrounds that will be invaluable in our continued effort to produce excellent design solutions.
“We are proud to include such a talented class of designers to our team and I am excited to see how each will contribute to furthering our commitment to creating a more beautiful world.” – Mahan Rykiel President Jingpeng Gu
Katherine earned a Master of Landscape Architecture from Cornell University in 2021, where she received the E. Gorton Davis Travel Fellowship to study coastal landscapes in Northern Norway. She has worked as a research assistant on multiple climate adaptation projects, focusing on coastal retreat and flood-prone communities in both rural and urban regions of New York.
Anthony earned a Master’s Degree in Landscape Architecture from Morgan State University in 2022, where he was the recipient of an ASLA Merit Award in his last year of study. As a final project, he created site selection and design guidelines for urban farming in Baltimore City, applying knowledge and insight from his 10-year career in urban agriculture. His hands-on experience in farming has contributed to an interest in constructability and the technical aspects of the Landscape Architecture profession. Anthony’s other interests include the longevity of built landscapes, and how what is built in our cities today will be used and interpreted by people of the future. At Mahan Rykiel, Anthony assists with CAD, BIM, Rendering, and other digital design tools.
Luke graduated from Penn State University in 2022 with a Bachelor’s of Landscape Architecture, where he received an ASLA Student Honor Award, as well as several Department Excellence Awards. As a research assistant at Penn State, he studied the effects of farmland preservation policy on rural communities in the Mid-Atlantic, and the potential for solar energy infrastructure in struggling coal mining regions of Pennsylvania. Luke’s approach to design is based on the premise that good design and human connectivity are co-dependent – nurturing one another through the creation of places that allow compassion, creative joy, and community to flourish.
Aaron Lewis received his Bachelor of Landscape Architecture from Iowa State University in 2020. In the same year he was recognized as an Olmsted Scholar Finalist. He’s a fan of all things urban with a particular interest in urban revitalization with a consideration of equity and justice for present and future communities. This is work he has been involved in from his time working with rural communities in central Iowa as well as Baltimore City. In his free time, he enjoys reading about Urban design and development as well as exploring Baltimore and the surrounding area on his bike and taking in the history of the area.
Mia Quinto is a recent Master of Landscape Architecture graduate from Morgan State University, with a lifelong love for Baltimore and its various nuances. Mia will be working at Mahan Rykiel as a landscape designer collaborating with peers, rendering, and engaging with the community on a multitude of projects. Mia received her Bachelor of Science degree in geography and environmental planning from Towson University in 2018. Her studies included learning about how humans interact with their environment and vice versa, the disparities that face humans based on their geographic locations in the world, and how to arrange cities to make them accessible, walkable, and generally more livable.
Mohan’s background in art informs her design ethos. She values the engagement and diverse functions of landscape architecture and the formation of genius loci. Her craft approach enables her work across various disciplines considering the nuanced connection between humans and nature. Mohan holds a master’s degree in landscape architecture from Rhode Island School of Design and a bachelor’s degree in landscape architecture from the China Academy of Art. As a multidisciplinary designer, she’s well qualified with technical, graphic, and communication skills, working innovatively within the team.
