Peta-Maree Ashford

Peta-Maree Ashford is a dedicated Principal Landscape Architect with an unwavering passion for and advocacy of her profession. As the Owner, Director, and Principal Landscape Architect at Emerge Associates, a private consultancy based in Perth, Western Australia, she leads design teams and projects, blending innovation with construction expertise to execute urban, regional, and greenfield projects across Western Australia. 

In 2016, she emerged as a finalist for the inaugural Urban Development Institute of Australia (UDIA) Women in Leadership Award and was recognized with a Fellowship from the Australian Institute of Landscape Architects (AILA) in 2017 for her distinguished practice and leadership. 

Peta-Maree is committed to creating places for people within urban developments and actively seeks roles that foster her professional growth and positively impact community well-being. She is the immediate past president of the Australian Institute of Landscape Architects (AILA), serves as a Director on the Urban Development Institute of Australia Enviro Development Board, and is an active member of the IFLA Corporate Governance Review Working Group and the IFLA Australian delegate. Her recent jury experience includes serving as AILA National Jury Chair in 2019 and 2021, and as the National Head Judge for Parks and Leisure Australia since 2021. 

Peta-Maree thrives in these roles, and the extensive cumulative knowledge from this professional exposure enables her to address generational challenges with progressive thinking within her profession and projects.