Our people are the heart and soul of every landscape we design, and devoted to making each project exceptional from start to finish.
John Black, RLA, CPLD
Principal
A California native and Palo Alto homeowner, John established Verdance in 2002 to bring more beautiful, healthy, well-designed landscapes to the Bay Area and beyond. He is a licensed Landscape Architect (CA #6506), certified by the Association of Professional Landscape Designers (APLD), and a member of the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA). He has served the Bay Area District of APLD as Treasurer and President, and is active on both the district and national committees on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. John graduated with distinction from the Landscape Architecture program at UC Berkeley Extension, and earned his graduate and undergraduate degrees from Stanford University. He has been an instructor in Foothill College's Environmental Horticulture and Design department, where he also has served on the Advisory Board since 2013.
Kaitlin Hammersley
Operations Manager
Kaitlin loves working to bring imaginative, inspiring and functional landscapes to life for Verdance’s clients. While serving as an Agroforestry Peace Corps volunteer in Senegal, West Africa, she was drawn to pursue a career in landscape design as a way to combine her passions for art, science and the outdoor built environment. A member of the Association of Professional Landscape Designers (APLD), Kaitlin joined Verdance in 2016 as a Landscape Design Intern while enrolled in Foothill College’s Environmental Horticulture and Design program. She earned her undergraduate degree from Bowdoin College in Maine, with a coordinate major in Environmental Studies and Visual Art, and a Biology minor.
RAN RAN
Landscape Architect
In keeping with the Taoist tradition, Ran believes in the power of nature to nurture, inspire, and transform. This idea, coupled with a love of sketching and painting since childhood, led her to pursue a Bachelors Degree in Landscape Architecture at Southwest University in China, a Master’s Degree in Landscape Architecture at Auburn University, and ultimately her Landscape Architect license (CA #6697). Ran appreciates the design process and loves creating functional landscapes that honor the principles of landscape design in both the overall vision and the details. She believes successful landscapes inspire people to find grace, peace, and harmony.
Project Consultants
Verdance collaborates with surveyors, contractors, engineers, architects, designers, and other specialists to ensure that every project receives the expertise it deserves.
If you’re the best at what you do, please contact us to be considered as a consultant for future projects.
EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES
Verdance believes exceptional places welcome everyone… and we’re no exception.
Our best work emerges from diverse perspectives, experiences, and approaches; so our employment opportunities recognize and reward individual talent regardless of age, country of origin, ethnicity, gender identity, race, religion, physical ability, or socioeconomic class.
If Verdance Landscape Architecture sounds like a place you could do your best work, please look into our career opportunities.