About

Kate Cholakis

Current Position

Senior Faculty, The Conway School

Graduate Program in Ecological Landscape Design and Planning

Northampton, MA

Designer's Statement

A “reader” of the built environment, I explore landscapes with curiosity and scrutiny. Seeing the world through multiple lenses, across disciplines, and over time grew in part from spending my childhood exploring the edge of a lake and wetlands. My curiosity in the edge between the textured murk of the swamp and cultivated land evolved into an academic interest. I developed a passion for the relationship between people and the land.

I explored this passion in undergraduate school (B.A. Architecture & Urbanism + Landscape Studies, Smith College) and graduate school (M.A. Ecological Landscape Design, The Conway School; M.S. Landscape Architecture, Penn State University) and applied it to real world problems working in the private sector for a firm and as a consultant. I have worked in higher education since 2015 teaching both undergraduate and graduate students in landscape architecture, ecological design, planning, and landscape studies. I am a licensed landscape architect in the state of Maine, and also engage in research about environmental behavior, aesthetics, and ecological systems. 

Publications

Cholakis-Kolysko, Katherine; Mihyun Kang, and Negar Dehghan. “Sustainability Teaching in Higher Education: Assessing Arts and Design Faculty Perceptions and Attitudes.” International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education (February 2024).

 Cholakis, Kate, and Eliza Pennypacker. “Ecological Amenity or Weedy Pit? Green Street Rain Gardens, Aesthetics, and Social Values.” Ecological Landscape Alliance (June 2022).

Cholakis, Kate. “Pit or Paradise: Rain Gardens and Civic Responsibility.” Places Journal (Fall 2021).

Charde, Seth (Green Infrastructure Manager, DC Water), and Kate Cholakis. “More Than a Rain Garden: Green Infrastructure Addresses Environmental Problems Across Scales.” Ecological Landscape Alliance  (December 2019).

Cholakis, Kate. “Make it a Meadow: Exploring the Nuances of Meadow Design, Installation, and Management.” The Conway School’s Field Notes Series (February 2018).

Outreach

Presentations (Selection)

• Fábos Greenways Conference | Beloved Places: Exploring the Link Between Emotions and Urban Greenway Pedagogy with Carolina Aragón. 
• Northeast Organic Farming Association (NOFA)
  Massachusetts Annual Conference | Overcoming Resistance to Ecological Landcare.
• Ecological Landscape Alliance Webinar | Social-Aesthetic Barriers to Green Infrastructure in the Public Realm. 
• Penn State University Sustainability Roundtable Series | Land Use, Environmental Behavior, and Cultural Sustainability. 
• International Conference on Sustainable Development | Transformation and Innovation for Sustainability in Arts and Design in a Research University with Mihyun Kang and Mallika Bose.
• Plan it Native Annual Conference, Kansas City | Green Street Rain Gardens, Aesthetics, and Social Values. 
• Pennsylvania State University Extension | Public Reactions to Rain Gardens. 
• Council of Educators in Landscape Architecture (CELA) Annual Conference | Not in My Front Yard: Social-aesthetic Barriers to Green Infrastructure in the Public Realm.
• Ecological Landscape Alliance (ELA) Annual Conference | Not in My Front Yard: Social-aesthetic Barriers to Green Infrastructure in the Public Realm.
• Keene State College | Defining Ecological Design: Historical Context & Current Projects. 
• Cultural Landscapes & Heritage Values Conference | Reconciling Narratives in Design: Seeing Polish Landscapes through a New Lens. 

Critic Panels and Juries

• Critic, Smith College, Advanced Architecture Undergraduate Studio (Redevelopment Project Adjacent to High Line)
• Critic, Smith College, Advanced Architecture Undergraduate Studio (Response to Philip Johnson's Glass House)
• Critic, Smith College, Intro. to Architecture Undergraduate Studio (Waterfront Pavilion)
• Critic, UMass Amherst, Undergraduate Studio (Boston Riverfront Park )
• Critic, UMass Amherst, Undergraduate Studio (Rural Vermont Design Interventions)
• Juror, Boston Society of Landscape Architects (BSLA) Annual Design Awards (Professional + Student)
• Juror, Maine’s inaugural Green Home + Design Awards