On 7 April 2022, President Joseph Biden appointed landscape architect Lisa Delplace to serve a four-year term on the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts in Washington, D.C. She replaces Rodney Mims Cook, Jr., who was appointed to and served as Vice Chair of the Commission in 2021.
Lisa E. Delplace, FASLA, is a director and CEO emeritus of the Washington, D.C.-based landscape architecture firm Oehme, van Sweden | OvS. She has led design efforts for a wide range of projects in the Washington area, including the rehabilitation of the Anacostia and Potomac River shorelines, the revitalization of multiple neighborhood areas surrounding historic Eastern Market, master planning for the historic Congressional Cemetery, and additions to the World War II National Memorial and the German-American Friendship Garden on the grounds of the Washington Monument. Her work also includes commissions throughout the U.S., such as the Tippet Rise Art Center in Fishtail, Montana; the Chicago Botanic Garden in Glencoe, Illinois; the U.S Fish and Wildlife Conservation Training Center in Shepherdstown, West Virginia; and the recent update to the University of Maryland Facilities Master Plan. Under her leadership, OvS was awarded the 2014 Landscape Architecture Firm Award by the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA).
In addition to her landscape design practice, Delplace’ s work includes landscape research for projects such as Thorndale Manor in Chicago, Illinois, a legacy garden of Jens Jensen; the Hill Center (formally the Old Naval Hospital) in Washington, D.C.; and contributions to the cultural landscape report for the White House Rose Garden. She is a frequent visiting critic and lecturer at universities and professional organizations, and her work has been featured in national publications, books, and periodicals; these include A Clearing in the Woods by Roger Foley; The New American Garden, edited by James Grayson Trulove; Architectural Digest; Landscape Architecture Magazine; Gardens Illustrated/UK; Mountain Resort Magazine; and the Washington Business Journal, which honored her with its “Women Who Mean Business” Award in 2019.
Delplace holds a Bachelor of Science in Park Planning and Design from Michigan State University and a Master of Landscape Architecture from the University of Michigan. She is the former chair of the Visiting Committee for the University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability, and she currently serves as a trustee for the National Building Museum. In 2018, she received the District of Columbia Historic Preservation Review Board Chairman’s Award in recognition of her exemplary work and commitment to historic preservation, and she received an Honor Award for General Design by the ASLA. In 2019, she was elevated to the ASLA’s Council of Fellows.