Karen Fitzgerald has over 25 years of experience as a landscape architect. She has demonstrated expertise in public process and team synthesis, earning her the respect of local leaders, citizen groups, and public agencies. As part of the professional team at Northeast Farm Access, LLC, Karen works with prospective farmers and farm owners on land planning and farm transition. Her knowledge of planning and development policy, design and construction, and agriculture are critical elements in the work of preserving farmland for future farmers.
Karen has completed many highly successful projects, ranging from village master plans and neighborhood parks and playgrounds, to complex multimodal streetscapes and urban waterfront projects, as well as international projects. Recently Karen has been involved in the design and planning of sustainable development projects and LEED certified construction. In 2005, she started her own landscape architecture and planning consulting company, FitzDesign, that focuses on sustainability and placemaking while delivering services from master planning to design implementation.
Her previous roles include Senior Landscape Architect with Nobis Engineering, Inc. in Concord, NH, since 2006; Chief Landscape Architect at the Waterfield Design Group from 2000-2004; Project Manager for Pressley Associates, Inc. in Cambridge, MA; and in various roles at the Bechtel Corporation and The Planning Collaborative, both in San Francisco, CA, and the Halvorson Company in Boston, MA.
Karen’s approach to her work is grounded in the principles of community involvement and design through consensus-building and maintaining the identity of place. Her experience has required the design oversight and management of multidisciplinary teams and expert consensus building skills.
Karen holds her Masters of Landscape Architecture from State University of New York, Syracuse, and is a graduate of University of Massachusetts in Amherst. She is licensed in Massachusetts, and an affiliate of the American Society of Landscape Architects, Boston Society of Landscape Architects, and the Cornucopia Project in Peterborough, NH.
