Lisa Baker
ArchNative meet Lisa Baker!
Lisa is the Managing Principal at Vita Planning & Landscape Architecture. Lisa leads a team of multidisciplinary principals, project managers, and designers and oversees the firm's financial, strategic, and operational objectives. Her team collaborates with high-profile clients to create thoughtful destinations around the globe! Lisa holds a Master of Science in Real Estate from the University of London, a Master of Landscape Architecture from the University of California Berkeley, and a Bachelor of Environmental Design in Landscape Architecture from NC State.
ArchNative sat down with Lisa to discuss how traveling has changed her career trajectory, her approach to her role and daily responsibilities, and what she sees for the future of landscape architecture.
You studied Environment Design in your undergraduate program and Landscape Architecture for your Master’s program. What initially attracted you to those fields?
I was not a particularly creative child (in the more traditional fine arts/musical way), though looking back now I know that my creativity showed itself in a more physical way – I was very spatially aware and liked to solve things: puzzles, mysteries, etc. In high school I took a technical drafting class that introduced me to the concept of architecture and design, and my instructor was a landscape architect who introduced the profession to me. My undergraduate program was a broad environmental design program with a concentration in landscape architecture which taught me fundamental design principles, as well as how to begin to think about solving design problems creatively. NC State had an incredible horticulture department and an on-campus arboretum that allowed me access to a huge variety of plant material, but more importantly, the relationship between the natural and built environment. I initially thought I wanted a career in academia, so chose to go to graduate school immediately after undergrad. It was the right choice for me at the time and having the undergrad degree in landscape architecture allowed me a lot of flexibility in curating my grad school program. But looking back, I think I would have benefited from a few years working in the industry so I could have been more focused in how to apply the theory of design to professional practice. The best part of the Berkeley program was the interaction between the LA, Architecture and City & Regional Planning departments. I was particularly drawn to the larger scale of community planning and spent a lot of time studying suburbanization and creating optimal neighborhoods and communities.
What would you say are the most important take always from your time in school? What lessons do you still utilize today?
Design school studios (essentially a 3-4 hour long design labs, 3 times a week) are an excellent workshop for learning creative problem solving and developing a thick skin. A huge part of my current job is identifying alternative/creative ways to come at a problem and executing that solution.
Design school critiques of your work are typically done before your professor, a design jury and classmates. It’s one of the best ways to learn how to communicate: speaking before a group, persuasive techniques, delivering ideas in a succinct way and learning how to take feedback and criticism. I’ve used all these things in every job I’ve had.
You spent the majority of the start of your career at Divney Tung Schwalbe + Provident Design Engineering. Tell us a little bit about your time at the company, your role, and how you navigated career growth while remaining in the same company?
I landed at Divney Tung Schwalbe (DTS) after working for a few years on the municipal side of urban design and planning as a private consultant, where I had started to develop experience in community planning and the environmental review process. I started as a landscape architect and eventually was the senior associate managing most of the planning/environmental review efforts in the office. There were so many great things about DTS, and I always intended to spend my career there. It had one of the best company cultures I’ve ever experienced, and I remain close to many of the people I had the pleasure of working with for 14 years, especially my mentor. A few take aways for navigating career growth while at a company for more than a decade:
DTS was a multi-disciplinary firm (environmental planning, landscape architecture and civil engineering). Early in my career I didn’t realize how important that was but do now. Working with planners, designers and engineers gave me an opportunity to really see how development projects are conceived, designed and built from start to finish. Constantly moving from the macro scale of planning to the micro detail of design and engineering gave me a broad perspective that helps me now move from thinking about issues from 50,000 feet to 5,000 relatively easily. Honing that skill every day was important in developing the muscles to think comprehensively about problems or strategy but most importantly, how to implement next steps and follow through.
Taking initiative and being curious. DTS was a relatively small firm (less than 50 people on average). In a small firm, you likely have an opportunity to wear multiple hats and learn more than just the job you were hired to do. I operate from an “improvement” mindset – trying to identify ways to make a process or system more efficient or streamlined, so I was always proposing ideas, or testing new software, etc. I also saw value in continuously developing my skillset: I got my certification as a city planner, I read project management books and took courses, I went to leadership seminars, etc. Having a diversified skillset (landscape architect + city planner + project manager, along with being effective at building client relationships and representing the firm before city councils) was critical during the 2008-2009 GFC when the firm had to lay off 1/3 of our team. Being a multihyphenate was an important part of why I was able to stay at that firm for 14 years and grow into a more senior role. No person is truly indispensable, but having a toolkit of different skills made it possible for me to jump into different business functions wherever I was needed.
Mentorship is everything! I was incredibly lucky to be mentored by one of the Partners in the firm, for the 14 years I was at DTS…and the last nine years as well. He is also a multihyphenate: engineer + city planner + entrepreneur (he started the firm) and his guidance, encouragement, and perspective has been a huge part of my career for the last 20+ years. He is highly respected as a professional, but more importantly is an extraordinary human. His mentorship has played a significant role in my career trajectory: from providing opportunities to enhance my technical skills to exemplifying stellar leadership skills, he’s always someone I strive to emulate and make proud. He invested in me as a young professional and I’m grateful to have him guide me as a more seasoned leader in my current role.
You obtained your Master’s degree in Real Estate at Cass Business School in London, tell us a little bit about this experience?
I moved to London in 2014 when my husband had a job opportunity we couldn’t refuse. I was 14 years into my tenure at Divney Tung Schwalbe and believed I would spend the remainder of my career there in a leadership role. I often say that move was the hardest professional choice I’ve had to make, but also the best personal decision I’ve ever made. Living abroad and traveling the world changed my entire world view and I thrived in the three years we were overseas. Changing my career narrative, taking the time to step back and think about what I wanted the next half of my professional life to look like, and explore other options was crucial to me finding my current path. I even went to school to become a sommelier (I loved the design of vineyards and the thought behind how and where grapes grow in the landscape), but in the end landed at Cass Business School because I knew I needed to create options for myself once I returned to the US after three years abroad. I worked freelance while we were in London, but also knew I needed to open some doors for myself and getting that MSc in Real Estate allowed me to leave consulting and go in-house to a developer to see how things get built from the inside out.
I’ve always loved school and learning, so this program made a lot of sense for me. I had the design skills and the ability to think creatively from my previous studies and my work experience consulting for developers allowed me to expand my interest in the financial elements of large, complex development projects. Understanding the full life cycle of a development project – from inception and financing to design and construction – allowed me to shift my career from design consultant to project management within a large development company, overseeing a 3,000-acre resort and master planned residential community. Completing that second master’s degree at a business school (20 years after my first masters!) helped me broaden how I defined myself and what tools I had in my toolkit to offer future employers.
How have your travels shaped your career trajectory? How have they shaped your approach to the work that you do?
I didn’t grow up traveling with my family, and only got my passport and left the US for the first time when I was 26, so I recognize what a valuable education it can be both personally and professionally. I recommend traveling as much as possible early in your career because it provides critical reference points and expands your world view. As a designer, seeing the gardens, public spaces, plazas, parks, streetscape that I studied in books in person was important to connecting the dots on culture, context, scale, materials, detailing, etc. So much of what makes great landscape and urban design is how the space “feels”: is it exposed to the elements providing sweeping views, or is it protected under a tree canopy? Is the space rooted in its history and cultural context? Does the design enhance the site and integrate into the natural landscape, or does it overpower the site and simply sit on the land? Landscape architecture is a unique form of design because we create landscapes that can reach all five senses: sight, touch and sound are obvious, but taste and smell are also accessible since plants, trees and flowers are part of the design palette. I’ve traveled a lot as an adult, especially the three years when I was based in London, and the place that impacted me the most in terms of historical context and sensory overload was India. The warm spices in the food, the concentration of smells, the riot of saturated color, the cacophony of sounds, and the variation in textiles was so intense each day that I found I needed a white room with no noise each night to balance the intensity. India also changed my world view and expanded how I think about the use of public spaces. The poverty in India is more extreme than any other place I’ve been and public spaces in the cities must accommodate the needs of all people. As landscape architects, designing environments that are inclusive and diverse, welcome multi-generations, and accessible by all is critical to the success of creating spaces that endure and where people want to spend time together.
You are the Managing Principal at VITA Planning & Landscape Architecture. Tell us a little bit about your role and your day to day?
VITA is a 20-year-old master planning and landscape architecture firm of about 45 people, with offices in Northern California and Scottsdale, AZ. As the Managing Principal, I oversee the firm’s strategic, financial, and operational objectives to provide excellent client experience and exceptional design. I lead a multi-disciplinary team of principals, project managers and designers that, in collaboration with our clients, create luxury resort destinations and master planned communities throughout the world. My role is very different from my past roles, primarily because I’m not designing or managing projects directly. Instead, I lead the business side of the firm. I spent 25 years on the design or development side of projects, and it’s been an awesome experience to shift my career path in a direction that focuses more on how to make our firm its most successful in the present, and sustainable for the next 20 years. Like many design firms, VITA grew slowly for the first 10 - 12 years and then quickly in the last decade. The systems and processes that worked for 10 people don’t work for 40 people; I think a lot about our strategy for creating a solid infrastructure so that we can build the next version of the company on a firm foundation. I also think a lot about what our clients need and want – both now and in the future. I have an unusual vantage point since professionally I’ve been on both sides of the table, both as a design consultant and as the developer client. Fun fact: I was VITA’s client for a resort/master planned residential community project for three years prior to taking the Managing Principal job. Which just goes to show how important building relationships and maintaining your professional network really are.
My day-to-day is pretty varied: typically some high-level financial or outstanding AR review with our CFO and Controller, some proposal review or client contract negotiation, one-to-one meetings with our owner and Principals, and some granular coordination of operations(we’re planning a third office opening in the fall), project finance software evaluation or training for project managers, or interviewing potential new hires. A nice part of moving to the Bay Area for this job is that I can ride my bike to work most days and we have a casual and collaborative culture (with several office dogs) that makes the environment a really fun place to work.
What do you see for the future of VITA? What do you see for the future of the Landscape Architecture field in general?
We’re at such an exciting time for the company! A key part of my role has been planning for and leading the transition of the firm from the founding owner (still very much involved but wanting to focus his efforts on design and not the business) to the next generation of leaders. The team I’m working with is incredibly talented and I love being able to plan for the next iteration of the firm. We’ve recently updated our strategic plan, made some targeted hires and are in the midst of evaluating new office locations. Our clients and projects are located all over the world, but we think about our physical offices in terms of how to service those clients, access our project sites and attract extraordinary talent. The next generation of leaders at the firm are currently in leadership roles, but my goal is to mentor generation three and younger so that we develop a broad and deep bench of people who can take the firm to the next level in five to ten years.
My take on the future of landscape architecture is about placemaking and sustainability. Placemaking because my sense is that, particularly post Covid, we humans crave community and environments that let us experience each other and the uniqueness of the places we live or visit. Drawing inspiration from history, culture, local and regional context and weaving them into the fabric of a new neighborhood is what creates community identity and a sense of place. As community master planners, one of our areas of expertise is around creating real estate value for the client through great design – taking advantage of views, sun aspect, access to exceptional natural elements, and designing amenities that bring people together on a trail, at fire pits, on the water, etc.
Thinking about sustainability as the future of landscape architecture is a bit turned around since the fundamental principles of environmental sustainability are taught in LA programs simply as good design. But, as we’ve come to know, sustainability includes more than just environmental conservation; it also includes human, economic and social sustainability. Thinking more broadly for any type of development project through the lens of those four pillars will be important if we, as a society, want to create projects that are enduring and last for generations.
What is one piece of advice you have for women just starting their career in the field?
Always, always, always negotiate – salaries, terms, fees for consulting work, PTO days, deadlines, you name it! Read books, take courses, learn everything you can and practice it in daily life until it feels second nature. One of my best friends grew up with a mom who negotiated mortgages, house prices, credit card rates, utility fees, car loans, etc. all the time. She is a powerhouse when it comes to the skill and it’s because it’s second nature to her. There should be no emotion in the conversation – it’s a business transaction. Come to the conversation confident and prepared with research and supporting documents, and do not apologize for pushing back on the first (or second) offer. This field is still male-dominated, and the reality is that women are impacted early in their careers with lesser salaries (and often fewer promotions/raises if they take time off to have children) so the financial impact of not negotiating for as high a salary as possible is compounded over their career.
What is one resource you would recommend? It can be a podcast, a book, an organization.
Urban Land Institute (and in particular, the Women’s Leadership Initiative) is the organization I think makes the biggest impact for networking in the real estate industry.
For design consultants or professional service providers: The Trusted Advisor 20th Anniversary Edition by David H. Maister, Charles H. Green and Robert M. Galford has made a big impact on how I view myself and the product I deliver. In my business, relationships are everything. I read this book 20 years ago at DTS and it was fundamental for understanding how to create trust-based relationships with clients. I have my teams read it and always recommend it to young professionals starting out.