Lawrance M. Lesser, PLA, LEED AP, ISA Certified Arborist, started his career in southern California. Beginning as a landscape designer (and later, Certified Arborist) with the City of Claremont, he expressed a passion for designing beyond the ordinary by experimenting with uncommon drought-tolerant plant species, many new to the trade. Before completing his Bachelor’s degree, Mr. Lesser brought his passion to life as licensed contractor and owner of a residential design/build firm, emphasizing water conservation and year-round aesthetic appeal. Soon afterwards, he completed his Bachelor of Science in Landscape Architecture at Cal Poly Pomona. Mr. Lesser has been a Registered Landscape Architect since 1999, and continues to bring decades of experience to a wide variety of landscape architectural projects in locations across the country. His design work reflects year-round appeal – foliage, flower, and paving colors, variety in forms and textures. His designs for both public and private spaces merge built elements with landscape features, using living systems and resource conservation to provide environmental benefits. His extensive experience designing complex irrigation systems allows him to offer in-house irrigation design and water-capture/re-use systems. A passion for sustainable design led him to become a LEED AP. While with other firms, he has designed and/or provided consulting services for numerous high-profile LEED projects, including Drew School (San Francisco), Tremco HQ (Ohio), the Transamerica Pyramid LEED-EB recertification (San Francisco), and Bank of America branches across Texas. As an arborist, Mr. Lesser’s consulting work has included large-scale tree inventories, evaluations, and construction management/preservation plans, including an evaluation of oak trees at the Greek Theater in southern California. He has had several articles published on tree planting and trends in southern California's urban forest. While with the City of Claremont in the early 1990's, he played an integral role in developing the city's Urban Forest information package, and consulted on several high-profile (and controversial) tree issues throughout the city. His work has also included an analysis of salt-spray damage to newly planted Eucalyptus trees in the La Mesa area of Fort Ord (Monterey, CA), and research into the benefits and mechanics of trees and storm water interception/pollutant uptake.