Cassie Nichols is a licensed Landscape Architect with broad experience ranging from expansive park and greenway master planning to highly detailed natural playgrounds. Though her work spans scales, her passion for connecting people with their natural and built environments is a consistent influence in her designs from early concept phases through construction.

She has recently obtained a master’s degree in landscape architecture from North Carolina State University, where her research focused on incorporating design and policy solutions to help coastal communities combat hazards such as hurricanes, extreme heat, coastal erosion and sea level rise. As a research assistant, Cassie was part of a multi-disciplinary team developing the Coastal Hazard Transect Overlay District Guide, facilitating how smaller coastal communities incorporate measures that reduce the impacts of these hazards. As a graduate student, Cassie participated in LSU’s Coastal Sustainability Studio where her project focused on designing nature-based solutions to reduce threats from sea level rise and increasing storm intensities throughout the Mid-Barataria Basin in Louisiana.

Cassie worked extensively with the Center for Neighborhoods, the City of Louisville and community stakeholders to develop a comprehensive neighborhood plan for California and Victory Park. The area in Louisville is one of the nation’s worst heat islands, with low tree canopy coverage, high rates of asthma and consistent urban flooding. This experience help build Cassie’s foundation for facilitating resident-driven community engagement design process.