Laura Schwanof, RLA

As GEI’s Ecological Practice Leader for the northeast, Ms. Laura Schwanof collaborates with multiple GEI branch offices, mentors junior staff and lends support in ecological inventory, endangered and threatened species surveys, wetland assessment and delineation, environmental permitting, conservation planning and site restoration services. She has 36 years of related work experience and is licensed and registered as a Landscape Architect in New York State. Laura is adept at preparing landscape restoration designs, technical specifications and details, oversight of field installations and development of stormwater management, erosion and sediment control plans. She has also prepared Environmental Impact Statements and conducted Environmental Quality reviews for several municipalities.

Laura is intricately familiar with the NY-NJ-CT tristate coastline and the associated estuarine ecosystems, as well as the erosion, water quality and flooding problems facing coastal communities in the dynamic marine environment. Her professional design skills have been acutely focused on wetland restoration and coastal stabilization projects that protect rare species, promote indigenous plants and incorporate innovative bioengineering techniques wherever practical and feasible. She has conducted several training programs for universities, professional organizations, Land Trusts and the Cooperative Extension Program focused on habitat analysis, wetland restoration and living shorelines.

Laura has a B.S. in Forest Biology from SUNY Environmental Science and Forestry.