Upland Staff
Michelle A. Kelly, ASLA | PrincipalLandscape Architect registered in Illinois and
Michigan Certified Playground Safety Inspector (CPSI)
Michelle established Upland Design Ltd in 1998 to bring excellence in landscape architecture to public and private clients. She brings a wealth of experience in planning outdoor spaces from extensive plant knowledge to a profound understanding of construction methods. Her work centers on bringing great outdoor spaces to communities to get everyone outside and recreating. During spare time, Michelle is often kayaking, biking, gardening, and listening to the Cubs play!
Heath A. Wright, ASLA | PrincipalLandscape Architect registered in Illinois and
Michigan Certified Playground Safety Inspector (CPSI)
Heath has been with Upland Design since 2005 and is a principal partner. His past and current work centers on outdoor public space with a specialty in construction methods. Having been the Landscape Architect and Project Manager for two public agencies, he is well versed in the public process, municipal budgeting, and planning.When outdoors he can be found biking, canoeing, gardening or helping with youth sports.
Maria Sovan | Landscape Planner, CPSI
Maria received her Bachelor of Landscape Architecture from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2008 and joined the Upland Design team in 2011. Her past and current work is focused towards creating public spaces. Her project experience also includes comprehensive district-wide master planning as well as site design through construction for playgrounds and sports fields. In her free time, Maria actively volunteers within the community and appreciates spending time with family and friends.
Mindy Jackson | Horticulturist
Mindy has been with Upland Design since 2002 and received Bachelors in Ornamental Horticultural from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Her natural talent for putting plants together and understanding maintenance issues in public settings make her an asset to each project. Her past work includes horticultural maintenance at the Brookfield Zoo and plant selection in streetscapes, parking lots and gardens. Of course you can find her in the garden on any given weekend, but she also loves playing with her kids and going for bike rides.
Jim Utterback, Jr. | Landscape Designer
Jim has a Bachelor of Landscape Architecture from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign where he won numerous awards. Jim has been with Upland Design LTD since 2008, when he started as an intern. Jim is a LEED Accredited Professional. Jim’s project experience includes planning, design and technical support at various scales for public parks, forest preserve sites, gardens and integrated landscape management projects. Jim enjoys jogging, biking, hiking and in-line skating at local and regional parks and forest preserves. He frequently visits local off-leash dog parks, where he plays Frisbee with his two dogs.
Liz Dafoe | Landscape Designer
Liz has a bachelor in Landscape Architecture from Michigan State University. For the past five years, she has been creating great places for people to play outside. From mini-playgrounds to multi-field artificial turf sports areas and community parks, Liz enjoys planning recreation for communities. When not designing parks, she is using them playing softball, biking and swimming. She joined Upland Design in 2011.