Team

Esther Margulies

Esther Margulies, ASLA, is the president and founder of The Office of the Designed Landscape (OotDL). She is also a professor of practice in the University of Southern California's Master of Landscape Architecture program in the School of Architecture. She is a licensed Landscape Architect in California and Massachusetts. As a practice leader at nationally recognized firms, she has led multi-disciplinary integrated teams on LEED-certified public realm and private sector projects, including urban transit, park, and mixed-use projects. Her work has included award-winning cultural heritage, urban stormwater, education, and park projects. She is a long-time advocate of a revitalized Los Angeles River, serving on the City of Los Angeles River master plan team, as the co-chair of one of the first professional design charrettes to re-imagine the river in the Studio City area in 1997, and as the co-founder of The Los Angeles River Public Art Project (LARA).

Ms. Margulies received her undergraduate Bachelor of Science in Landscape Architecture from Cornell University and her Master of Landscape Architecture degree from the Harvard University Graduate School of Design. She currently serves as a commissioner on the West Los Angeles Area Planning Commission, where appeals on projects in the California Coastal Zone are heard.

Yixuan Li

Yixuan Li is a graduate of the USC Master of Landscape Architecture + Urbanism program. She earned her undergraduate degree in Civil Engineering at the University of Science and Technology Beijing, China.  Ms. Li serves as a project designer and coordinator for a wide range of projects for OotDL.  She has supported projects from the conceptual design/entitlements phase through construction administration.  

Jaime Yamashita

Jaime Yamashita is a licensed landscape architect in California with over 15 years of practice experience.  She earned her Bachelor of Art from Pomona College and a Master of Landscape Architecture degree from California Polytechnic University. She is a part-time faculty member at Cal Poly, teaching courses in construction documents and technologies and site engineering.  She has contributed to numerous projects at OotDL, including K-12 campuses, public parks, and multi-family housing projects.