Eric Kramer is a Partner and Principal of Reed Hilderbrand. He has designed numerous landscapes associated with the renewal and enrichment of campuses, cities, and institutions. Eric brings a commitment to communicating design knowledge, rooted equally in rigorous scientific field research and the engagement of people and communities. His works include Boston’s Central Wharf Plaza, the Alamo Plaza Interpretive Master Plan in San Antonio, Texas, Pier 4 Waterfront Park and Plaza in Boston, Massachusetts, and the Clark Art Institute in Williamstown, Massachusetts. His interest in urban tree planting began at Central Wharf, extended to independent research on urban soils health, and then to the leadership of the Cambridge Urban Forest Master Plan. Eric has served as an adjunct professor at the Harvard Graduate School of Design, teaching a data-driven research seminar on urban forest planning with Geneva, Switzerland as its site. He serves on the board of The Cultural Landscape Foundation.

Max Piana is the Visiting Lecturer in Plant Science and Forest Ecology. He is an ecologist specializing in urban ecosystems and applied research. Max maintains a research program in collaboration with the USDA Forest Service’s Northern Research Station that aims to advance evidence- and community-based strategies for natural resource and green infrastructure planning, design, and management in cities. Specific research topics include urban and climate adaptative responses in plant populations and communities, forest assisted migration in large forest parks, urban restoration techniques, green infrastructure performance, global urban biodiversity trends, and community-based science and workforce training in underserved neighborhoods. Max is Co-Lead of the Urban Silviculture Network, an international network of urban forest ecologists and practitioners that is advancing methods in forest mapping, inventory, and management. He is also a Team Lead for the Updated Silvics of North America (USNAP), a collaborative effort by the US Forest Service, Canadian Forest Service, and the National Forestry Commission of Mexico to produce a comprehensive reference for tree species of the continent.

Andrew Schwartz is a third-year Master of Landscape Architecture candidate at the GSD, where his thesis investigates how layered histories and latent memories of site can be revealed within a specific post-industrial landscape on Detroit’s east side.

Prior to enrolling at the GSD, Andrew lived in Detroit for several years following his undergraduate studies. There, he worked with a small architectural development firm while actively engaging in the city’s vibrant electronic music scene.

This past summer, Andrew lived in Zurich, where he interned at a renowned landscape architecture bureau and spent his evenings floating along the Limmat.