Pashek+MTR Reflections on 2025
Are your playgrounds safe, accessible, and ready for play?
Each year, there are an estimated 200,000 playground-related injuries in the U.S. that result in emergency room treatment, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.
At Pashek + MTR, we offer professional playground audit services to help communities, schools, and parks maintain safe, inclusive, and enjoyable play environments. Our Certified Playground Inspectors (CPSIs) and our Accessibility Specialist can identify potential hazards, assess compliance with ASTM, CPSC and accessibility standards, and provide clear recommendations for maintenance and upgrades.
Regular CPSI audits are an important part of a comprehensive playground risk management plan that should also include a program of frequent and systematic preventive maintenance. Playground audits can help identify issues early, to help reduce the risk of injury and extend the life of playground equipment—ensuring these cherished spaces remain fun and safe for years to come.
Some of the areas that our CPSIs typically review during a playground audit include:
- Proper surfacing
- Adequate equipment use zones
- Accessible routes
- Protrusion, entanglement and head entrapment hazards
- Crush and shear hazards and sharp edges
Let us help you keep your playgrounds safe, inclusive, and ready for play.
Contact Heather Cuyler, our lead Certified Playground Inspector, at hcuyler at pashekmtr.com to discuss your needs further.
Intern Experience: Ella Strzempek
We have been pleased to have not one but two interns at Pashek+MTR this year! A 2025 Penn State graduate with a degree in landscape architecture, intern Ella Strezempek has been a great help to our designers and planners over the past few months. We sat down with Ella to find out how her internship was going so far.
Kara: We try to have our interns work on a variety of projects and activities at Pashek +MTR. What kinds of things have you been involved in so far?
Ella: So far this summer, I have had the chance to work on a wide range of projects at Pashek + MTR, which has been one of the best parts of the internship. I recently graduated from Penn State with a degree in Landscape Architecture, and since there are so many different routes and niches within the field, getting to test them out here post-grad has been so helpful. One of the most rewarding projects I’ve worked on has been the Parks Master Plan for McCandless Township, working with Pashek+MTR’s Recreation Planner Heather Cuyler. I grew up in McCandless, so it means a lot to me to help plan for the same parks and neighborhoods that first got me interested in landscape architecture. I have gotten involved with public engagement and putting together concept maps, tapping into my creative side and my people side, further seeing how design ideas connect directly with the community. I have also spent time working on the North Park Latodami Nature Center project, which is basically right in my backyard. I have been hiking and exploring on this site since I was a kid, so it’s super exciting to be part of the team restoring and reimagining the site. The work ranges from marketing and branding to mapping and trail planning, and it has been great to collaborate with Allegheny County again after having worked for them in the past in various roles, including as a landscape architecture intern. Overall, it has been so valuable to work on projects that not only are interesting but also personally meaningful to me and my connection to the Pittsburgh area.
Kara: Has anything surprised you or been different than what you expected?
Ella: I was surprised by how quickly I got to jump into real projects that have a direct impact on communities. Coming straight from school, where projects are not always tied to real outcomes, it feels so different to see the work we are doing here actually move forward and make a difference.
Kara: What are the aspects of the job that you find most interesting and rewarding?
Ella: One of the aspects I find most interesting and rewarding is the community involvement side of work. It is incredible to see how people’s input directly shapes the projects we work on, from design ideas to the final layout of the space. Being able to talk to the community members, hear their experiences, and see their needs reflected in our plans really brings work to life. It is so fulfilling knowing that the space created will be used and enjoyed by people in their everyday lives.
Kara: Lastly, what do you see yourself doing five years from now?
Ella: Career wise, I see myself working for a firm where I can continue to grow as a landscape architect while contributing to meaningful community-centered projects. Personally, I hope to have continued to check off places from my travel bucket list, including Asia, and bring the inspiration I gain into my perspectives and approaches to work and life.
Proclamation Honors Jim Pashek for Work in Fox Chapel
On August 15th Jim Pashek was asked to provide Fox Chapel Borough council with an update on the Comprehensive Plan that we are preparing for the Borough. Little did he know it was a ruse so Council could present him with a Proclamation honoring his many years of dedicated service to the Borough.
Jim served on the Fox Chapel Park Commission for 14 years and volunteered for numerous activities from planting trees and picking up trash, to creating video grants to help fund new pedestrian-bicycle bridges, and writing grants for park improvements. He also donated his time as a planner and landscape architect to Pashek + MTR projects serving the Borough, such as the Hardie Valley Master Plan, the Joint Comprehensive Plan with O’Hara Township, and the McCahill Park Improvements.
The Park Commission members know him as a steady, dependable community service volunteer and friend who takes pride in his work and this community, and who is always ready to lend moral support or a helping hand when needed. Jim continues to make a significant positive contribution to bettering the environmental and community conditions of the Borough.
Congrats Jim for being honored for all your hard work to help make the Borough of Fox Chapel a better place to live! We at Pashek + MTR feel privileged to have the founder of our company be such an important role model, community volunteer, and leader.
Heather Cuyler Receives the 2021 PRPS Distinguished Member Award
The Pennsylvania Recreation and Park Society awards are presented annually to those individuals who have demonstrated professional leadership, contributions having a lasting value to the parks and recreation profession, and a commitment to the advancement of the Society. The winner of the 2021 PRPS Distinguished Member Award in honor of Robert D. Griffith, from Pashek + MTR, Heather Cuyler.
The Distinguished Member Award is named in honor of Robert D. Griffith, the longtime Executive Director of PRPS, and seeks to recognize those professionals who have consistently contributed to the advancement of the Society, affiliated organizations and the parks and recreation profession.
Heather began her career as a part-time Director and quickly became the first ever full-time Director of Parks and Recreation in Marshall Township. Over the next 20 years, her passion for our field has guided her career, both professionally and as a volunteer. Her efforts and significant achievements as an advocate, volunteer and professional have advanced public recreation and parks and have had tremendous impact on the quality of life in her region and across the state. She has been involved with the Moraine Preservation Fund for more than 20 years, is the co-founder of the Recreation Alliance of North Pittsburgh and is now a Recreation Planner for Pashek + MTR. Heather is a Certified Parks and Recreation Professional, Certified Playground Safety Inspector, & Certified Pool Operator.
Heather is deeply committed to PRPS having served on numerous Annual Conference Committees, and the Membership, Governmental Affairs, and Recognition and Awards Committees, as well as holding leadership positions throughout her very active years in District One. As her nominator stated in her application for this award, “Heather has consistently contributed to the advancement of the Society, affiliated organizations, and our profession in countless ways, and been a champion for parks, trails, greenways, and open space preservation throughout the Commonwealth”. Certainly, appropriate words befitting a Distinguished Member.
Welcome Eric Brightman to Pashek+MTR!
We are pleased that Eric Brightman has joined the Pashek+MTR team. Prior to moving to Pittsburgh, Eric honed his design and project management skills through his work for public and private landscapes in the New York City area. His understanding of materials, historic landscapes, playground safety, accessibility, water features, custom detailing, and construction administration for high profile public projects enriches Pashek+MTR’s practice.
Eric’s fifteen years of landscape architecture practice include five years as a project manager for the Planning, Design, & Construction team at the Central Park Conservancy (CPC) as well as ten years with Michael Van Valkenburg Associates (MVVA).
While at CPC, he played a fundamental role in the documentation and management of projects ranging from rehabilitation of historic landscapes to complex multi-million dollar renovations of iconic Central Park playgrounds, totaling nearly $18 million in Park improvements during his tenure.
Eric’s experience at MVVA included the planning, design, and construction of a 350-acre upstate New York residential estate. He also led the construction documentation and construction observation phases for the Novartis Pharmaceuticals campus expansion project in central New Jersey, which required close collaboration with architects, engineers, ecologists, and arborists.
Since relocating to Pittsburgh, Eric enjoys exploring new neighborhoods, parks, playgrounds and looking for the perfect pierogi. He also spends time volunteering at the Tree Pittsburgh Heritage Nursery and is a member of the gardening committee at his daughter’s school where he is helping to connect children with nature through establishing and maintaining gardens on school property.
Heather Cuyler Receives Park and Rec Certifications
The next time you see Heather Cuyler, congratulate her!
Many of you know Heather Cuyler. If you don’t, please read this anyway, as we want to share her good news. Heather joined Pashek+MTR a little over a year ago as our recreation practitioner. In that role Heather is responsible for working with and advising many of our clients on park and recreation matters, from long-term planning to day-to-day operations and management.
With her extensive experience as a municipal director of parks and recreation, Heather decided to validate her abilities this year by garnering credentials. She has acquired new certifications, passing both the National Park and Recreation’s Certified Parks and Recreation Professional (CPRP) and their Certified Playground Safety Inspector (CPSI) exams.
What does this mean to you?
- The Certified Park and Recreation Professional certification is the national standard for all parks and recreation professionals who want to be at the forefront of their profession.
- The Certified Playground Safety Inspector certification program provides the most comprehensive and up-to-date training on playground safety issues, including hazard identification, equipment specifications, surfacing requirements and risk management methods.
All of this means Heather is recognized by her peers and in the industry for leadership in the parks and recreation profession, and more importantly, that she is extremely qualified to guide you in your park and recreation endeavors.
Please contact Heather if you would like to:
- Prepare or update your community’s Comprehensive Park, Recreation, and Open Space Plan, Active Transportation, Trail, or Greenway Plan;
- Prepare a master plan for a new or existing park;
- Determine whether your playground meets current safety requirements; or
- Design and build a new play area.
She would love to speak with you!
Contact info:
Heather Cuyler
412-321-6362 Ext. 116
hcuyler@pashekmtr.com
“Good for You. Good for All,”
This brief essay is from Pashek+MTR’s founding partner, Jim Pashek. It is excerpted from “Good for You. Good for All,” Pennsylvania Recreation & Parks, Spring 2018.
GOOD FOR FAMILIES
Every summer we enjoy the beauty of Moraine State Park. We have been going to the park for more than 20 years as a family and have many fond memories. Our sons love to ride on the bike trail through the woods and along the lake each time we go to Moraine. We drop them off at the beginning of the bike trail and then drive along the north shore to the marina to get the boat ready. The joy on their faces when they arrive at the marina at the end of their six-mile ride is very special to me. This summer, we have introduced a new generation to the bike trail. Our grandson, who is six, took his first bike ride on the Moraine trial. It was a great success, and we know that he will be excited to try a bike ride again this coming summer.
My wife and I have an older Flying Scot sailboat that we store though the summer at Moraine. We also bring kayaks with us so everyone can enjoy the lake. The lake is really beautiful, and we love to both sail and kayak. There is something very therapeutic in watching the wind fill the sails and feeling the warm sun. Any tensions we bring to the park seem to melt away as we drive along the park road into the marina and picnic area. We explore the shore habitats as we kayak, and see great blue heron, green heron, osprey, eagles and other lake birds. Even a very lost seagull is spotted from time to time. For the first time this past summer, our sons sailed the boat on their own. They were very proud of their achievement, and I was glad no one sustained a concussion as they “came about.”
Our lives are very busy. However, when a family trip to Moraine is planned, everyone works their schedules to be able to join in. Food is shared, memories are made, and there is a lot of laughter. Like most families, we have had our challenges. But when we arrive in the park, our cares seem to disappear. Even leaving the park can be a very special time. As we leave at dusk, the animals are out, and we have fun identifying them. Going to Moraine is a wonderful family tradition that we hope to continue for a long time.
Jim Pashek, founding partner, Pashek+MTR,
PRPS member since 1987