Donna Walcavage is a Principal at Stantec, Donna has led key initiatives that have had a lasting impact on the social and physical fabric of New York City. Her belief that designing truly resilient cities requires a broad, landscape-scale vision is evident in all her projects, whether a streetscape, urban waterfront redevelopment, public open space, bikeway or pedestrian facility. She thoroughly understands how cities work, from the design of essential infrastructure to the creation of social connections that encourage communities to come together.
She believes that public work demands public input, and that drives her dedication to ensure that community groups and public agencies play a critical role in her projects. Further, she has advanced the quality of public spaces by collaborating with artists to make art an integral component of Stantec’s projects.
During the East Midtown Greenway project on New York City’s East Side, our integrated team created a major in-water structure that fills in a critical missing link in the greenway that encircles Manhattan. The master plan, begun in 1995, envisioned this type of solution for this stretch, where the FDR Drive is directly at the water’s edge. The design uses the structural system to help to provide enough topsoil for trees and the use of soil cells allows collection of stormwater to irrigate the native planting areas.
Donna joined Stantec as a Principal in May of 2013 after five years as a Vice President/Principal at AECOM. She previously was Principal of Donna Walcavage Landscape Architecture + Urban Design and Principal of Johansson & Walcavage Landscape Architects. She received her BSLA degree from Penn State University. Since June 2021 she has been Co-Chair of the AIA New York Chapter Design for Risk and Reconstruction Committee.