Our Staff
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Kate Kennen
Owner
Having spent her childhood at her family’s garden center in central Massachusetts, Kate is well versed in the plants and ecological systems of the Northeast. A registered Landscape Architect with degrees from Cornell University and Harvard’s Graduate School of Design, she founded Kennen Landscape Architecture in 2004 and Offshoots, Inc in 2012 to create practices focused on productive planting and ecological planning. Kate’s current research and teaching concentrates on planting design and applied phytotechnologies that utilize plants to clean up contaminated sites. Her recent book, PHYTO: Principles and Resources for Site Remediation and Landscape Design (co-authored with Niall Kirkwood) received a national ASLA honor award and was named one of the top 10 new landscape books by The Dirt in 2015. Kate has been honored with numerous awards for her recent and ongoing projects including Cape Cod’s Downtown Hyannis Revitalization Project, Plantworks at 725 Main Street, a phytoremediation installation on a former gas station site, and Bouyed Coasts, an environmental art installation project in Barnstable.
Joe Shafner
Founder & Chief Operating Officer
Joe graduated from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst with a Bachelor of Landscape Architecture. He is a Massachusetts Certified Horticulturist (MCH), Massachusetts Certified Landscape Professional [MCLP #1626], an Accredited Organic Land Care Professional [AOLCP] with the New England Organic Farming Association [NOFA], earned a Permaculture Design Certificate [PDC] through the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association and has worked in the nursery business and landscape design and construction fields for over two decades. Having been involved with all sides of the industry, Joe has extensive knowledge of plants, design and installation, thereby ensuring successful collaborations with clients, designers and trade professionals. He strives to create symbiotic relationships between clients, landscape and natural ecologies.
Will Q. Smith
Senior Associate
Will is a licensed landscape architect with 12 years of professional experience working on a range of project types, from high-end residential to large-scale public landscapes. He is fluent at shepherding projects through all stages of the design process and finds satisfaction in questioning norms, testing assumptions, and translating creative ideas into built work. His undergraduate degree in Environmental Studies from Lewis and Clark College and Master of Landscape Architecture from the University of California, Berkeley provides a unique skill set for understanding the art of making landscapes through observing, interpreting, and navigating the social, economic, and ecological systems influencing public and private landscapes.
Shelby Chapman-Hale
Senior Associate
Shelby received a Bachelor of Environmental Science with a concentration in Ecological Design from the University of Vermont and a Master of Landscape Architecture from the University of Oregon. Her graduate thesis, which investigated the impacts of conventional parking lot design on urban sustainability (economic, ecological, and social implications) and explored site scale solutions to reduce potential disturbance in new parking lot design, was presented at CELA in 2014. Prior to joining the team at Offshoots Shelby worked in high-end residential design, taught planting design at UO, taught native plant identification at UVM, worked at a nursery in Vermont, and earned a Permaculture Design Certificate (PDC) through the University of Oregon. Shelby is a registered Landscape Architect in Massachusetts and Vermont.
Terry Kinsler
Senior Associate
Terry Kinsler, RLA, has over 12 years of experience working on a multitude of planning, design and construction projects. He brings a strong set of design skills to both the conceptual design and construction document phases, crafting details that hold the design’s concept together. Terry came to Offshoots from Halvorson Design, where he worked on detailed design interventions on a wide-range of projects over a 5 year span. Prior to Halvorson, Terry was with Carol Johnson Associates, focused on fast-paced international mixed-use development projects.
Jack Beresford
Senior Designer & Installation Operations Coordinator
Jack has spent his life working with plants and surrounding himself with the world of nature. He earned his Bachelor of Landscape Architecture from Northeastern University, after spending several years working at a wholesale nursery and farm. Jack brings to Offshoots his years of experience working on residential design projects at his father’s firm, both onsite and in the office. Jack’s work combines fine gardening sensibilities with strong focuses on ecological performance and production. He is passionate about promoting harmony between the built and natural environments and strives to do so by innovatively hybridizing natural systems with both contemporary technologies, and with traditional practices.
Cristian Umaña
Senior Landscape Architectural Designer
Cristian holds degrees in Landscape Architecture from Harvard’s Graduate School of Design and Cornell University. Prior to Offshoots, Cristian worked at Crowley Cottrell Landscape Architecture and interned at Agency Landscape + Planning. Drawing from his academic and professional experiences, he aims to create spaces that react and build upon to their social and ecological context. His down-to-earth approach in working with people and the land brings clarity to complex design challenges across scales in public and private realms. Off the clock, Cristian enjoys biking and photography.
Elizabeth Quintero
Landscape Architectural Designer and Project Coordinator
Elizabeth received a Bachelor of English from the University of Chicago and a Master of Landscape Architecture from Harvard’s Graduate School of Design. With prior experience at Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture and Edible Schoolyard NYC working to build sustainable food systems, as well an internship at the historical research institute, Dumbarton Oaks, Elizabeth designs holistic landscapes that incorporate innovation and sustainability. Her dedication lies in creating adaptive and impactful landscapes that cater to both human and non-human needs. In her free time, Elizabeth enjoys hiking, biking, and exploring new musical pursuits.
Mark Delaney
Director of Horticulture
Mark brings his love of plants and horticulture to the Offshoots team in 2017. He is currently accredited as a Massachusetts Certified Arborist and MA Certified Horticulturist. Having studied Horticulture and Forest Management at North Shore Community College and the University of Maine, he has formal education in soils, plant biology, and arboriculture. In 2009 he was an intern at the Arnold Arboretum where he studied modern horticultural practices. His background consists of working at traditional landscape and tree care companies and has managed his own small business. Mark stays connected to nature and industry standards through extension lectures and workshops as well as working with his hands. In the winter season, Mark enjoys nature outings and visiting foreign landscapes.
Kit Ganshaw
Lead Horticulturist
Kit grew up on Cape Cod working with her father in his landscape business. At Rutgers University she earned a degree in natural resource management and applied ecology. In the summers she helped maintain vegetable and cutting gardens, annual, perennial and shrub borders on an estate in Oyster Harbors, MA. After graduating, Kit joined the staff of the Somerset County Park Commission’s Leonard J. Buck Garden in Far Hills, NJ, maintaining 33 acres of woodland gardens at one of the premiere rock gardens in the northeast. Next she became a horticulturist at the Arnold Arboretum; amongst other work. Kit is a Mass Certified Horticulturist, ISA Certified Arborist and holds a Umass Extension certificate in Invasive Plant Management.
Alex Walsh
Field Associate
Alex is passionate about working with plants and the concepts of sustainability and permaculture. His love of this line of work started 7 years ago at his hometown Bartlett office as a ground person and plant health care assistant. Since then he has worked in outdoor & greenhouse agriculture, landscape maintenance and install, and fine gardening. Alex is also passionate about conservation, having participated in several Trout Unlimited habitat restoration projects. He has helped design and create a community garden at Beverly High School and briefly ran a small CSA operation out of Ipswich utilizing rain collection, gravity powered irrigation, and solar power. Outside of work Alex enjoys canoeing, fishing, and playing music. One of his favorite plants is Mountain Laurel.