Sara Padgett Kjaersgaard

Sara is a Registered Landscape Architect and Fellow of the Australian Institute of Landscape Architects (AILA). She is Senior Lecturer and Director of the Landscape Architecture Program at the University of New South Wales (UNSW), Sydney. Sara has practiced in Denmark, Europe and Perth, Western Australia and taught Bachelor and Masters Programs at the University of Western Australia (UWA) and UNSW. Sara has held leadership positions with AILA including State President of the WA Chapter and has served two terms as Director and Company Secretary on the National Board. She is the current National Education Committee Chair for AILA. Sara is a member of the international steering committee and co-convenor of the ‘Urban-rural linkages’ working group of the Association of Pacific Rim Universities (APRU) Sustainable Cities and Landscapes (SCL) Hub based out of the University of Oregon, Eugene alongside Editorial Board Member of international journal Landscape Review. Her current research interests focus on landscape performance; peri-urban and rural-urban linked landscapes and Indigenising curriculum in collaboration with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People. Sara is an inspiring educator and nationally recognised leader in education who is energised by the changing role that landscape architects play in the wider community through advocacy and policy development.