Our Team
Dani alexander
PRINCIPAL, LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT
Dani Alexander is Founding Principal of Studio AKA, leading all aspects of the firm’s creative and management processes. Her work is imbued with the belief that putting people in touch with nature brings about a deep sense of well-being. She is passionate about transforming the public realm to be more equitable, resilient, and compelling.
Her experience spans residential, hospitality, campus, and institutional realms. She specializes in providing an intimate design experience for clients and stakeholders, engaging in a narrative and conceptual approach on all projects.
Dani’s commitment to communicating the impacts of design, climate change, and resilience efforts is additionally supported through volunteering, teaching, and writing. Her work has appeared in various print and digital publications. She served as Editor and Contributor for the book Food Urbanism by Craig Verzone and Cristina Woods, published 2021. In 2019, she was the Urban Wild Writer in Residence for Freshkills Park. She has sat on multiple academic and professional design juries, including the 2023 Illinois ASLA Awards Jury. Her projects have won national and state level ASLA awards as well as APLD awards.
Dani earned her Bachelor of Arts at Harvard University and her Master of Landscape Architecture from University of Virginia, where she was a William R. Kenan Fellow and Editor of the design publication lunch.
CARSON GERMAN
LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT
Carson is interested in all of the creative efforts that bring artistry into landscapes, whether through collaborative design or transformation from natural living systems.
Before joining Studio AKA, Carson worked with Oehme, van Sweden, where she managed an array of residential projects within the mid-Atlantic region, as well as a few commercial, urban-site site overhauls. She learned to approach each project with a sensitivity to site history, attention to local and regional ecosystems, and always with a four-season garden in mind.
Carson’s background in design-build and design-contracting work at Oehme, van Sweden and previously in Atlanta instilled her with an appreciation for craftsmanship throughout every step of building gardens and landscapes. She has guided smaller-scale projects through bidding and construction, and takes a hands-on approach to complex planting installations.
She loves and finds inspiration in spending time outdoors, whether on project sites or out in nature, in her Capitol Hill garden, or on a bike ride. Carson has a Bachelor of Landscape Architecture from the University of Georgia.
Monica Nichta
LANDSCAPE DESIGNER
Monica is passionate and curious about ways that design can strengthen communities and ecosystems through intentionally establishing attractive habitats for wildlife as well as humans. She has a deep appreciation for how ecologically informed planting can create beautiful, functional spaces that support living systems, connect people with nature, and develop over time. She engages her projects with an inquiry-led approach, a sense of collaboration, and an eye for ways to invite fun and play into gardens.
Prior to joining Studio AKA, her experience included working with people, design, and the environment in a range of capacities, including community engagement, user experience design, contract management, resilience planning, and environmental stewardship.
Monica loves to spend time walking outdoors throughout the year. Whether in her wildlife garden, neighbourhood, a city park, a hiking trail, or a new place, she finds endless inspiration and delight from observing how different living beings occupy space...particularly birds. Monica has a Master of Landscape Architecture from the University of Virginia.