California New Hire Spotlight
By Dani Backman
Expanding our ability to support our California clients starts with our people. As we continue to build our work across the state, we are excited to welcome two new staff members to our California team. Tim Brown, PE and Nicole Stern, PLA bring deep experience in water resources, landscape architecture, and nature‑based design. We asked them to share more about their backgrounds, what drew them to Herrera, and what they are most excited to work on in California.
What brought you to Herrera?
Tim – “My last role at USACE Los Angeles District gave me a lot of great technical experience on large scale projects but left me wanting to work closer to local communities and on projects where the connection between technical work and community benefit felt more direct. Earlier in my career, I worked on green infrastructure projects in New York City that retrofitted public streets to manage stormwater and improve neighborhood conditions, and that work always stuck with me. Herrera felt like the right fit because the firm’s work in restoration, stormwater, and nature‑based solutions lines up with the kind of locally relevant, multi‑benefit work I’m most interested in. There is also strong alignment with company values and my own personal ones.”
Nicole – “I have worked in landscape architecture for more than 25 years, with a focus on sustainable, regenerative, and nature‑based design and integrated water systems across California and many other regions of the United States. I joined Herrera to evolve my practice within a larger, multidisciplinary team environment. I’m excited to collaborate with and learn from colleagues across a wide range of technical disciplines, while also applying my diverse background and experience to the many interconnected service areas and project types at Herrera.”
What experience or perspective do you bring that will help our California clients?
Tim – “I’ve spent most of my 17‑year career working on water resources projects that involve rivers, infrastructure, and the communities they affect. That included river restoration studies, flood risk management, bridge and culvert hydraulics, stormwater and green infrastructure, and watershed planning. I’ve also worked on a lot of multidisciplinary teams, which has shaped how I think about projects. The engineering must work, but it also needs to fit the bigger picture: planning, permitting, ecology, maintenance, funding, and the people who will actually live with the project after it is built.”
Nicole – “As a California native who has lived and worked in the Bay Area, Southern California, and the Central Coast, I bring a broad, multi‑regional perspective to landscape architecture and environmental design in the state. In addition to living in Pennsylvania, Maryland, and New Mexico, I have worked on projects across the United States and internationally – experiences that continue to inform and enrich my design approach. My work emphasizes native planting design, multifunctional landscapes, and integrated systems that support habitat, nature‑based stormwater management, and other site‑specific ecological solutions. I have contributed to a wide range of ecological restoration, watershed planning, and landscape architecture projects, with a particular interest in constructed wetlands, water filtration and reuse, and innovative combinations of sustainable infrastructure and landscape systems.”
Tim assists with WQ testing of the LA River at an LA Waterkeepers community event.
What kinds of California projects or challenges are you most excited to work on, and why?
Tim – “I’m especially excited about work tied to the Safe Clean Water Program because I think it is going to have a huge influence on what the future of Los Angeles looks like – how we manage stormwater, improve water quality, create open space to be enjoyed, and build more resilient communities. I’m also interested in coastal resilience projects, because the need is imminent. Sea level rise, shoreline erosion, and compound flooding are already starting to affect infrastructure, access, habitat, and access to recreation. In the past, a lot of our infrastructure solutions worked against nature, or in spite of it. With a stronger nature‑based solutions approach, we have a chance to solve these problems in a way that works better with natural systems and creates healthier outcomes for communities.”
Nicole – “School greening work is especially exciting to me because it presents a meaningful opportunity to retrofit campuses to be more climate resilient, healthy, and community‑centered. By depaving asphalt and transforming heat‑absorbing surfaces into multifunctional green spaces, schools can improve thermal comfort, stormwater performance, biodiversity, and outdoor learning opportunities. Herrera is already a leader in school greening and I’m excited to add my contributions to these important projects; which not only enhance the daily experience and well‑being of current students but also help foster environmental stewardship and climate awareness across multiple generations.”
Looking ahead, what do you hope to help build or grow over the next year?
Tim – “I hope to grow Herrera’s restoration practice, particularly for municipal clients in Southern California. I’m also looking forward to strengthening relationships (and establishing new ones) with community partners.”
Nicole – “I’m excited to help expand Herrera’s capacity for school greening and climate‑resilient campus projects, multifunctional public open spaces, and integrated landscape infrastructure that combines stormwater management, native habitat, and diverse community engagement. I also look forward to translating Herrera’s deep technical expertise and interdisciplinary experience from the Pacific Northwest into innovative, California‑focused projects across a range of practice areas.”
What is your favorite part of your job and why?
Tim – “So far, my favorite part of my work here at Herrera is brainstorming with colleagues and finding new opportunities. I have enjoyed the early stage of a project or pursuit, when we are thinking through a problem, connecting different perspectives, and figuring out where Herrera can bring actual value.”
Nicole – “My favorite part of this job so far is helping to lead the Herrera landscape architecture team, collaborate on pursuing new project opportunities within California, and meeting a wide range of colleagues with various expertise to learn from.”
Nicole attending the last ASLA Conference in New Orleans with other Landscape Architect conference attendees marching down the street from the Convention Center behind a Second Line Band.
Welcoming Tim and Nicole reflects Herrera’s commitment to building multidisciplinary teams rooted in local context and community impact. With our growing dedication to helping California clients and partners address today’s most pressing environmental challenges, their experience and perspective will help shape projects that are resilient, connected to place, and grounded in collaboration.
Posted In:
California, Environmental, Landscape Architecture, People, Water