Jiali Li and Rachel Katzman Join MRA

“We are excited to continue the growth of the firm with these talented young women,” said Jingpeng Gu, President of Mahan Rykiel Associates.

Jiali Li has a Master of Landscape Architecture degree from The Rhode Island School of Design and a Certificate in Collegiate Teaching in Art & Design. She also has a Bachelor of Landscape Architecture from Hefei University of Technology in China. In 2018, she was the recipient of the Rhode Island Chapter of ASLA’s, “Individual Student Honor Award”. She joins our Civic team and will be assisting Isaac Hametz with his research and design with dredge projects. She was an intern with MRA in 2018 and worked on research for the Hart Miller Island Project. Jiali enjoys musical theater, especially Hamilton and the work of Lin Manuel Miranda, watching movies and hiking.

Rachel Katzman ASLA, PLA, SITES AP, LEED Green Associate joins our Mixed-Use Studio and comes to Mahan Rykiel from Hawaii where she worked for Belt Collins in Honolulu .  At her previous firm, she worked on hospitality, retail, housing, school and park projects. She is passionate about incorporating sustainable design techniques and public engagement to enhance her projects.   Rachel graduated in 2014 from Ball State University with a Bachelor of Landscape Architecture degree and a Minor in Sustainability and was the 2018 recipient of the Hawaii ASLA Chapter’s “Recognition of Outstanding Service to the Profession”. She served as the Chapter Secretary and Public Awareness Representative for the ASLA Chapter there. In her free time, Rachel enjoys camping and hiking.