Clara Couric Batchelor, Founder and principal Emerita, RLA, ASLA, LEED AP
The founder of CBA, Clara Batchelor established the firm as a leader in the design of urban open spaces; her portfolio includes city plazas, schoolyards, playgrounds, and passive parks. Ms. Batchelor's projects have been published in the New York Times, Landscape Architecture Magazine, Garden Design, Design New England, New England Home Magazine, Great Backyards, Landscape Architect and Specifier News, and on the television shows Restore America with Bob Vila, Bob Vila’s Home Again, and People, Places, Plants. Ms. Batchelor has received numerous awards for her projects, including the BSLA Merit Award for the Harriet Tubman Park in Boston’s South End and the Massachusetts Historical Commission Preservation Award for the Warren House in Newton, MA. She presented at ABX/Greenbuild 2017, as well as at the New York Botanic Garden, Smith College, and has taught at Harvard Graduate School of Design’s Evening Courses for Professional Development. Ms. Batchelor holds a BS from Smith College and she received her MLA from the Harvard Graduate School of Design. She is a registered Landscape Architect in Massachusetts, and serves as a Parks and Recreation Commissioner for the Town of Brookline.
Denis J. Chagnon, Principal, RLA, CPSI, ASLA
D.J. Chagnon joined CBA in 2002, and has been a Principal since 2010. He brings a keen attention to detail to all phases of the design process, from public meetings through design development to construction administration. He is trained as a Certified Playground Safety Inspector (CPSI), which makes him a valuable asset for CBA's public park design work. Highlights of his work in numerous communities include: Oakland and Choate Parks in the Town of Medway; Almont Park in Boston; Woburn's Clapp Park; Cremin Playground in Somerville; Chelsea's Veterans Stadium and the Burke Schoolyard; Wayland Town Center; and the Lanterns in Ashland, MA, an award winning multi-family housing development. Mr. Chagnon is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, has an MLA from Cornell University, and is a registered Landscape Architect in Massachusetts. He also serves on the Somerville Historic Commission.
Megan N. Tomkins, Principal, RLA
Megan Tomkins has been a core team member at CBA since 2011 and became a Principal in 2016. Recently, she has lent her expertise to the Andover West Elementary and Shawsheen Preschool, Rockland’s Phelps Elementary School, Salem's Charlotte Forten Park, Boston's Walnut and Crawford Playgrounds, and several Boston area pre-k/childcare and community center properties. Her extensive experience in public park and historic site design has informed her work on projects such as Coppens Square, which included exploration of historic fountain replicas, contemporary water features, and neighborhood connectivity for an urban plaza in Dorchester. Ms. Tomkins received her BS in Landscape Architecture from Cornell University, is a registered Landscape Architect in Massachusetts, and sat on the City of Cambridge Urban Forest Masterplan Taskforce during the Masterplans’ active development period in 2019. She grew up in rural upstate NY, and has developed an advanced knowledge of Northeastern US native plants; she always enjoys problem solving in the fields of horticulture, wetlands, and invasive plant management. In her free time she enjoys knitting and spending time with her family.
Kaila Bachman, Principal, RLA, LEED Green associate, ASLA
Kaila Bachman joined CBA in 2013 after beginning her career in residential landscape design, and has been a Principal since 2017. She is passionate about creating multi-purpose, dynamic spaces and enjoys the challenge of finding technical solutions to programmatic needs. Ms. Bachman is a clear communicator and analytical designer with broad horticultural knowledge. Her avid interests in the outdoors and travel allow her to incorporate both foreign and familiar landscape observations into her work. Some of Ms. Bachman's notable projects include a Vision Plan and Phase 1 design for Carr Park in Medford, the Proto Apartments at 88 Ames Street in Kendall Square, Cambridge; MassAudubon's Broadmoor Sanctuary in Natick, Everett's Gramstorff Park, and the new Paula Titus Park in Roxbury, Boston. She has a BLA from the University of Rhode Island, is a registered Landscape Architect in Massachusetts and Maine, and is fluent in Spanish. Her diverse personal interests complement her enthusiasm for the ecological, historical, and cultural facets of landscape architecture.
Preston Holleman, Landscape Architect, RLA
Preston Holleman is a seasoned professional with extensive knowledge in all phases of the profession; from schematic design, master planning, and design development to project management, permitting, and construction administration. His key projects include his work on the new Andover Elementary School, the Drumlin Farm Environmental Center for MassAudubon; Oakland and Choate Parks in the Town of Medway; Clapp Park and Ferullo Field Dog Park in the City of Woburn, and Harold French Square and the surrounding streetscape for the City of Winthrop's Centre Business District. Mr. Holleman is a registered Landscape Architect and he holds a BLA from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst; he began his tenure at CBA in 2015. His personal interests include hiking, sustainable foraging, permaculture, historic food preservation and exploring the native cuisines of various cultures.
VERONICA CHUDIK, Landscape Designer
Veronica Chudik joined CBA in 2022 with a deep appreciation of natural processes that she developed from her experiences as a Boston area farm manager. She brings an academic background in environmental health and her interest in regional ecologies led her to obtain a Master of Science in Ecological Design from the Conway School of Landscape Design. Veronica’s studies centered on sustainable design that focused on understanding a landscape in its contemporary form through the research of the ecological and social history of the region. In her spare time, she enjoys bicycling through the city, expanding her horticultural knowledge of Northeastern US native plants, and exploring the diversity of cuisines that Boston has to offer.
amy foster, Landscape architect, rla, LEED AP BD+C
Amy Foster joined CBA in 2022 after several years of working on diverse project types for a firm in New York City. She has a keen interest in publicly accessible designs that accommodate a wide range of users. Amy is a registered landscape architect in New York and a LEED Accredited Professional. She earned a Bachelor of Landscape Architecture from Pennsylvania State University with a double minor in International Studies and Environmental Inquiry. In her personal time, Amy enjoys staying active by playing volleyball and tennis and by exploring Boston and Cambridge neighborhoods on foot.
Polly sinclair, Landscape Designer
Polly Sinclair brings a perspective shaped by farming experience and an academic background in art history to the CBA team. Polly holds an MLA from the Harvard Graduate School of Design, where her research focused on the knowledge exchange between working landscapes and landscape architecture, and ways that design can engage issues of marginalization and land sovereignty. Originally from central Massachusetts, Polly is excited to be working with local communities and regional ecologies. Since her start at CBA in 2021, she has played a critical role in the Carr Park Vision Plan for the City of Medford, Phase 3 for Chelsea’s Garden Cemetery, and several public space studies and residential projects. Outside of work, she enjoys experimenting in the kitchen, printmaking, and exploring the mountains.