Pashek+MTR Reflections on 2025
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.
Intern Experience: Lola Hodgins
Over the past few months we have been pleased to have a new addition to our planning team, intern Lola Hodgins. A 2025 graduate of the University of Pittsburgh, Lola has taken on various roles during her time at Pashek + MTR. We sat down with Lola 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?
Lola: As a Planning Intern, I have worked on a variety of projects, namely Implementable Comprehensive Plans for municipalities in both Southwestern P
ennsylvania and Western New York State. Since Planning is such an interdisciplinary field, I get to do many fun tasks (fun to me anyway!), such as designing branding and websites, research, using different ESRI tools, interviewing stakeholders, and more. Besides that, I have been helping with branding and mapping for various active and public transportation plans around Allegheny County. This has been especially exciting to me because in college, my friends and I had a group chat called “Future Transportation Planners of America.” Now, that is true!
Kara: Has anything surprised you or been different than what you expected?
Lola: One thing that surprised me was how writing style is a key part of our planning work. In our Implementable Comprehensive Plans framework, we try to convey the information in a way that tells a story and that is easy to digest, using plain language, not technical jargon. This is so that every person reading the Plan can understand it, not just planners or politicians. In college, I was taught technical writing for Fancy Official Planning Documents, so it has been different from what I expected in school, but much more fun.
Kara: What are the aspects of the job that you find most interesting and rewarding?
Lola: The part of my job that is the most rewarding is going to public meetings and engaging with people. I love meeting new people and making their voices heard. To me, that is the most essential part of equitable planning, and being able to do it on a regular basis is a huge privilege. I always leave events and one-on-one interviews knowing I made an impact on not only the plan we are working on, but the people themselves.
Kara: What do yo
u see yourself doing five years from now?
Lola: What I would most love to do five years from now is very similar to what I do now! I would love to be a consulting Community Planner. I find it so fun, interesting, and rewarding. It is what I’ve wanted to do since my first year of college, and I’m so grateful to have a taste of it now.
Sarah Rizk passes AICP Exam!
Congrats to Sarah Rizk for passing the AICP exam! (She didn’t tell us about taking the exam so we didn’t tell her about decorating her desk after she casually mentioned that she passed.)
Sarah joined Pashek+MTR’s community planning studio in 2023. Her contributions to Pashek+MTR have included working with Mt. Lebanon, Pleasant Hills, and Brentwood on their implementable comprehensive plans. As an urban planner focused on resiliency planning and sustainable transportation in communities, Sarah is passionate about finding the intersections between science, planning, and equity.
Welcome Sarah Rizk!
Welcome Sarah Rizk to the Pashek+MTR planning team!
Sarah is an urban planner focused on resiliency planning and sustainable transportation in communities. She is passionate about finding the intersections between science, planning, and equity. She believes in the power of building local capacities through local knowledge and collaboration. Sarah has experience in the areas of GIS, climate resiliency, and consensus building. Her equity and climate focused work has greatly impacted the way she believes planning should be integrated into communities. She uses mapping and data-informed processes and thoughtful community engagement to influence her work.
Her educational background consists of an undergraduate degree in Environmental Science and a graduate degree in Urban and Environmental Planning. Prior to joining the team at Pashek+MTR, Sarah worked in environmental education and in the planning department at Pittsburgh Regional Transit. She has worked on a wide variety of projects including natural resource management, urban and community forestry communications, and transit-oriented development.
Congrats to Heather Fuller for passing the LARE!
Congrats to Heather Fuller for passing the Landscape Architecture Registration Exam! Heather is now a Registered Landscape Architect in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
Welcome Nick Sisco!
We are excited to announce that Nick Sisco will be joining Pashek + MTR as a community planner! Nick will join Adriana Bowman, Jenni Easton, Elaine Kramer, and Jim Pashek in advancing the firm’s work in community planning.
Inspired by Ian McHarg and as both an outdoor thrill-seeker (climbing and whitewater kayaking) and passionate urbanite, Nick envisions communities that can balance both the built and natural environments while meeting the needs of all residents (human or otherwise). He specializes in GIS analysis, cartography, and graphic design. He believes that complex concepts and data can be easily translated through minimalist design aesthetics.
Nick has over five years in the planning profession in the public, private, and federal sectors. He has conducted planning efforts in communities across the US and in Germany. He has a breadth of experience in the fields of green infrastructure and resiliency planning.
Nick holds a Master of Community Planning degree from the University of Cincinnati; a Bachelor of Science degree, Major: Geology and Environmental Science, Minor: Geography, from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville; and a GIS Certificate recognized by the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency. He holds certification through the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP) and is currently pursuing his Geographic Information Systems Professional (GISP) certification.
When not at work, you can find Nick climbing at Seneca Rocks, WV, kayaking the Lower Youghiogheny River, or at a concert near you.
Welcome Adriana!
We are pleased to welcome Adriana Bowman as a planner at Pashek + MTR. Adriana will join Jenni Easton, Elaine Kramer, and Jim Pashek in advancing the firm’s work in community planning.
Adriana has a passion for policy, urban planning, research, and sustainable economic and community development. These areas of interest have taken her from her own backyard to countries around the world as she has immersed herself in local cultures and languages and assessed and synthesized information to develop programs that can be analyzed and quantified. Adriana brings creativity, technical skills and knowledge of planning processes and policy to all her projects.
Her internships with the City of Pittsburgh and the non-profit Regional Industrial Development Corporation (RIDC) have contributed to her skills in research, analysis, and community development. She has collected and analyzed data for improving housing and zoning policy and interviewed residents and stakeholders to collect crucial perspectives. Adriana’s presentation skills center on crystalizing findings and translating those into policies for helping places become more sustainable, equitable and enjoyable.
Adriana holds a Bachelor’s in Economics from the University of South Carolina and will be receiving her Master of Public Administration with a concentration in Urban Affairs from the University of Pittsburgh in May of 2021.