Creating Home: Access to Nature Webinar Series Presenters
Susan Rodiek, Ph.D., NCARBThe Ronald L. Skaggs Endowed Professor in Health Facilities Design
College of Architecture
Texas A&M University
Susan Rodiek is a nationally registered architect with over 20 years' experience. She teaches design studio at Texas A&M University, where her research has focused on healthcare and the role of therapeutic gardens in long-term care settings. She has published widely in scholarly journals, and has won two "best paper of the year" awards from Seniors Housing and Care Journal. Dr. Rodiek has edited two books on design for aging: The Role of the Outdoors in Residential Environments for Aging (Haworth Press, 2005), and Outdoor Environments for People with Dementia (Taylor & Francis, 2007). With funding from the National Institute on Aging, she developed Access to Nature for Older Adults (2009), a research project and set of three educational videos that translate evidence-based principles into applicable design solutions for industry professionals; this project won the 2009 "Environment & Design" Award from the nationally-based Center for Excellence in Assisted Living (CEAL).
Susan Rodiek will be joined by guest panelists:
Marni Barnes ASLA, LCSWLandscape Architect
Principal, Deva Designs
Palo Alto, CA
Barnes is Principal of the landscape architecture and consulting firm Deva Designs. She consults on and creates therapeutic landscapes in public and private settings. Drawing upon ten years experience as a psychotherapist and social worker practicing in the USA and in Great Britain, as well as more than 25 years as a landscape designer, Barnes researches and writes about emotional health and outdoor environments and has been the joint recipient of awards from the American Society of Landscape Architects (1996), the American Institute of Architects (1997) the Environmental Design Research Association (2000) and the American Horticultural Therapy Association (2007). She has taught and presented her research throughout Europe, Australia, Mexico and the United States. Barnes' Healing Gardens: therapeutic benefits and design recommendations (co-authored and edited with Cooper Marcus, 1999) is, to date, the preeminent resource book on therapeutic gardens in health care facilities. Recently Barnes has written a professional standard for what constitutes a "Therapeutic Garden" in John Wiley Publishers' Landscape Architecture Graphic Standards. (2007). Her recent design work includes the central courtyard for the Kaiser Medical Group's ongoing expansion. This space will be the primary healing garden in their new acute care hospitals throughout California.
Patrick Smith, ASLA, LEED AP
Landscape Architect
Vice President, Pi Architects, Austin, Texas
Patrick Smith is a landscape architect based in Austin, Texas. He has had the opportunity to work on projects across the nation for the past 18 years. His experience ranges from resort spas to cemeteries but his primary focus for the last seven years has been creation of living environments for seniors. From master planned communities for active adults to gardens for memory care residences Mr. Smith concentrates on designs that encourage the increased use of outdoor spaces in our daily lives. He is a graduate of Texas A&M University and the founder of Botolph Design.
Shanae Wilbert, LNFA, CALASulik Health Care Services/Sheridan of Navasota
Director of Compliance
Shanae Wilbert is licensed to operate Skilled Nursing Facilities, Nursing Health Care Facilities, and Assisted Living Facilities. Prior to working in the healthcare industry, Shanae was an educator for three years. She entered the Long Term Care Industry in 2003 as a Recreational Programs Director for Sulik Health Care, where she discovered her passion for the residents, operations, and the industry. While mentored and nurtured by the Sheridan operators and senior members, industry leaders in their own right; she gained the hands on experience of helping nursing homes reach their extraordinary potential to improve the quality of life for not only the residents and their families, but the facility staff as well. She participated as an interviewee in the Award winning Access to Nature for Older Adults (2009), a set of three educational videos that translate evidence-based principles into applicable design solutions for industry professionals. Through the knowledge and experience gained in operating facilities, she has gone on to work specifically in the area of Compliance relating to Medicare and Medicaid in Long Term Care. She holds a Baccalaureate of Science degree in Health from Texas A&M University has completed the McLennan Community College Nursing Home Administrators and Assisted Living Administrators Program and is a licensed by the Texas Board of Nursing Facility Administrators. She has a love and passion for people and service.
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