In celebration of National Park and Recreation Month, this month’s Employee Spotlight features RVi’s Director of Parks + Recreation, Lacey Lawrence, who is based in our Naperville, Illinois office. In this Q&A, Lacey shares her passion for creating parks and public spaces that connect people, strengthen communities, and inspire a lifelong appreciation for the natural world.

With more than 20 years of experience planning parks, trails, and recreation spaces, Lacey combines collaboration, environmental stewardship, and technical expertise to create places where people and nature thrive together.

What first inspired you to pursue a career in landscape architecture, and what drew you specifically to parks, recreation, and environmental planning?

I’ve always loved being outdoors—hiking, camping, kayaking—and I also had a creative side that loved drawing and design. I explored a variety of career paths before starting college in Forestry and working as a Natural Resource Specialist with the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality. While I enjoyed the environmental focus, I realized I wanted a career that combined nature, creativity, engineering, and design. An academic advisor suggested landscape architecture, and it immediately clicked. It brought together everything I was passionate about and ultimately led me to parks, recreation, and environmental planning, where I can help connect communities with nature through thoughtful design. 

Looking back on your career, was there a particular project, mentor, or experience that confirmed you had chosen the right profession?

The experience that had the biggest impact on me was participating in my university’s study abroad program. Spending nine weeks traveling through Europe and studying iconic landscape architecture expanded my world and perspective immensely. But what stayed with me most wasn’t just the landscapes, it was experiencing different cultures and their ways of life.

Seeing how different countries design and care for their public spaces, while also experiencing their history, traditions, and daily life, gave me a much deeper appreciation for the connection between people and place. It sparked a lifelong love of travel and learning, and it continues to influence how I approach design today. It reminded me that every community has its own unique story, and great landscapes should reflect and celebrate that identity.

National Park and Recreation Month celebrates the spaces that bring communities together. In your view, what makes a park or public space truly successful?

A successful park/public space is one that becomes part of people’s everyday lives. It’s a place where children create memories, neighbors gather, families celebrate milestones, and individuals find moments of respite. You know a park is successful when it feels like it belongs to the community, when people return time and again, because it has become part of their routine and identity. The best parks/public spaces aren’t defined by their amenities or iconic design; they’re defined by the experiences and memories they help create.

What is one park, trail, or recreation project you’ve worked on that had a particularly meaningful impact on the surrounding community?

One project that stands out is the Elizabeth Morse Genius Children’s Garden at the Garfield Park Conservatory in Chicago. Its vision was to create one of the country’s most inclusive nature-based spaces that gave children and families of all backgrounds and abilities a place to connect with nature, play, learn, and feel a true sense of belonging.

Working within a historic conservatory presented unique design challenges—from the tropical plant palette to constructing everything under glass—but it was also an incredible opportunity to grow as a landscape architect. Extensive community engagement and strong public-private partnerships shaped every aspect of the project, and our role was to translate that shared vision into an inspiring design.

Seeing the garden come to life reinforced for me that the most successful park projects are built through collaboration. When community voices, strong partnerships, and thoughtful design come together, the result is a place that will serve and inspire people for generations.

What role do you believe parks and natural areas play in helping communities become more resilient in the future?

Parks are some of our most valuable community infrastructures. Beyond recreation, they help manage stormwater, reduce urban heat, support biodiversity, improve public health, and provide gathering spaces during times of need. As communities face changing climate conditions, thoughtfully designed parks will continue to play an increasingly important role in both environmental and social resilience.

You’ve worked on everything from native landscape restoration to riverfront master plans and green infrastructure projects. How have you seen communities’ priorities around sustainability evolve over the years?

Early in my career, sustainability was often viewed as an added benefit. Today, it’s become the baseline expectation, and increasingly, communities are looking for landscapes that go beyond sustainability to be net positive and give back to the environment. There is a growing emphasis on solutions that address stormwater, habitat restoration, resilience, and long-term maintenance while still creating beautiful, functional public spaces. There’s also a much greater appreciation for native landscapes, not only because they’re environmentally beneficial, but because they create a stronger sense of place.

As Director of Parks + Recreation, what do you enjoy most about leading teams and helping shape projects across the country?

One of the most rewarding parts of my role is mentoring others and helping them grow in their careers. I enjoy bringing together talented people with different perspectives and watching those ideas evolve into stronger solutions than any one person could develop alone. Seeing younger designers build confidence and take ownership of projects is incredibly fulfilling.

What advice do you often give younger landscape architects who are interested in pursuing a career in parks, recreation, or environmental design?

Stay curious and never stop learning. Some of the best ideas come from experiences outside of landscape architecture, such as traveling, volunteering, visiting parks, studying ecology, or simply observing how people use public spaces. Also, spend as much time listening as designing. Great projects begin with understanding people, places, and the stories that make each community unique.

When you’re not working, how do you personally enjoy spending time outdoors?

One of my favorite places to spend time outdoors is our own backyard. We’re fortunate to have several mature oak trees, and we’ve intentionally designed the landscape with native plants that support a diverse ecosystem of insects, birds, pollinators, and other wildlife. It’s incredibly rewarding to see the landscape come to life throughout the seasons.

As a family, we also enjoy traveling to national parks, forests, and rivers to hike, explore, and experience nature together. Sharing those adventures with my husband and our two children is one of my favorite ways to recharge and reminds me why creating memorable outdoor spaces is so important.

What is one lesson that nature has taught you, that you apply to your work every day?

Nature has taught me that resilience isn’t about resisting change; it’s about adapting to it. Ecosystems are constantly evolving, responding to new conditions, finding new pathways, and rebalancing themselves to thrive. I think that’s a valuable lesson, both personally and professionally. In a world that’s always changing, I’ve learned the importance of staying curious, being adaptable, and looking for creative solutions rather than trying to force things to stay the same.

What trends or opportunities are you most excited about in the future of parks and recreation?

I’m excited to see parks being recognized as essential community infrastructure rather than simply amenities. They’re expected to support public health, strengthen communities, improve environmental resilience, manage stormwater, and preserve habitat, all while creating memorable places for people to gather and connect.

What excites me most is the growing focus on nature-positive, regenerative design. Instead of simply minimizing our impact, we have an opportunity to restore ecosystems, improve biodiversity, enhance water quality, and leave the land healthier than we found it. I also appreciate that communities are placing greater value on restoring native landscapes and creating authentic places that reflect their local history, ecology, and identity.

I think the future of parks is designing spaces that not only serve people but also actively regenerate the environment. That’s an exciting challenge and one I’m eager to be part of.

If there is one thing you hope people take away from the parks and places you help create, what would it be?

I hope they feel like they belong and that they have fun. Parks should spark curiosity, encourage play, inspire discovery, and create moments of joy. Those experiences are often what build lifelong connections to nature. Whether they’re making memories with family, finding a quiet place to reflect, exploring with their children, or simply spending time outdoors, I hope the spaces become places they return to throughout their lives. If a park becomes part of someone’s story, then I feel we’ve done our job well.