Our team.
Jonathan Alderson
Principal
Mr. Alderson, the founder and Principal of the firm, is the design leader. He will be involved from conceptual development to construction documentation and will help to incorporate the clients’ goals and expectations throughout the whole design process. Mr. Alderson brings a wealth of design and construction experience to the team. Project experience includes: the creation of an 85 Acre Meadow Garden for Longwood Gardens including bridges, boardwalks and pavilions; the design of an elevated ADA walk way for Chanticleer Gardens; the design of bike corrals for the University of Pennsylvania; and the design a Healing Garden and Landscape for Lancaster General Health. Mr. Alderson has won several significant design competitions including Reimagine Broad Street, the Avenue of the Arts, Philadelphia.
Mr. Alderson has a BA from the University of Reading, United Kingdom, and holds a Master of Landscape Architecture with Certificate in Urban Design from the University of Pennsylvania. Mr. Alderson, who has taught at Temple University, is a registered Landscape Architect in Connecticut, Delaware, Indiana, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Virginia and is a member of the Council of Landscape Architecture Registration Boards.
Grace Herman
Landscape Architect
Ms. Herman is a project manager who contributes to the development of design concepts, presentations, and construction documents. She has overseen projects such as Penn Medicine Radnor, the Whiting Forest at Dow Garden, and Swarthmore College’s Sharples Dining Hall. She holds a Bachelor in Landscape Architecture from Philadelphia University as well as a Master of Landscape Architecture from the University of Texas at Arlington. She has been a team member at Jonathan Alderson Landscape Architects, Inc. for eleven years and is a registered Landscape Architect in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
Matthew Nelson
Landscape Architect
Mr. Nelson brings over a decade of design and project coordination experience in the Greater Philadelphia Region in higher education, healthcare, commercial, institutional, and residential markets. He holds a BS in Landscape Architecture from Temple University where he had the opportunity to study Urban Design and Architecture while abroad in Rome, Italy in 2011. Mr. Nelson is responsible for conceptual design development, 3D modeling, graphics, technical documentation, and construction administration. He is a registered Landscape Architect in Pennsylvania and has contributed to a variety of projects, including residential estates, Chanticleer Gardens’ Elevated Walk, Reading Hospital’s Green Roof Healing Garden, and Dow Gardens’ Whiting Forest.
Yuan Li
Landscape Designer
Ms. Li joined Jonathan Alderson Landscape Architects in the Fall of 2020 after receiving her Master of Landscape Architecture from the University of Pennsylvania. She previously received a Bachelor in Landscape Architecture from Northeast Forestry University in Harbin, Heilongjiang Province, China, and spent the summer of 2017 studying Ecological Conservation and Modern Forestry at the Chuncheon National University of Education in South Korea. Ms. Li brings a passion for horticulture and gardening, and continues to express her creativity through drawing, photography, visual art, and animation. Her practice is also influenced by the natural and cultural discoveries from her family’s frequent travels during her youth. Ms. Li is a critical asset to the team in the graphic communication of projects and proposals, including the development of renderings, digital models, and construction documents and details.
Leslie Hendricks
Landscape Designer
Ms. Hendricks joined Jonathan Alderson Landscape Architects in the Spring of 2021 after receiving her Masters of Landscape Architecture from Penn State University. Her graduate research focused on bioretention landscape design for pollutant removal. She received her Bachelor of Science in Environmental Studies from the University of Vermont and spent a semester abroad studying New Zealand ecosystems. Ms. Hendricks brings experience working with non-profit organizations in Philadelphia including the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society where she worked to stabilize and convert vacant land to green space in underserved neighborhoods. Ms. Hendricks contributes to the team’s visual communication of projects throughout all stages of the design process. Her work incorporates her passion for native plants and the natural environment.
Gabby Rowe
Landscape Designer
Ms. Rowe received her Bachelor of Landscape Architecture from the University of Florida in 2019, where she became a Landscape Architecture Foundation Olmsted Scholar. She had the unique experience of working in Longwood Gardens’ yearlong internship program as a Display Designer, where she worked directly with leadership across departments to produce planting plans and presentations as well as implemented new programs through research and design. Ms. Rowe brings a passion for landscape design, ecology and horticulture. She contributes to the firm’s communication of projects from concept through construction, where she assists in the development of presentation graphics, digital models, renderings, proposals and construction documents.
Jerri Wei
Landscape Architect
Ms.Wei brings 7 years of experience designing public parks, institutional campuses, and other urban spaces in the US and in China. Joining JALA in 2023, she split her time between the office and Chanticleer Garden, where she immersed herself in caring for a public garden in all seasons as a part-time assistant horticulturalist. She is excited to weave in-field knowledge into her designer life. She holds a Master of Landscape Architecture degree from University of Pennsylvania (2016) and Bachelor of Engineering in Architecture degree from Sichuan University (2013). She is a registered Landscape Architect in Pennsylvania and a LEED BD+C accredited professional.
Zoe Goldman
Landscape Designer
Ms. Goldman joined the firm full time in the Summer of 2023 after receiving her Masters of Landscape Architecture from the University of Pennsylvania. She received her Bachelor of Environmental Design from University of Manitoba, where she developed her passion for winter ecologies and urban design. Ms. Goldman contributes to the firm’s development of projects, where she assists in the creation of schematic, design, detail and construction drawing sets.