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Brian Nicholson, senior landscape product specialist at global design and BIM software developer Vectorworks, Inc., has passed the Sustainable SITES Initiative accredited professional exam. Nicholson is among the first group of SITES Accredited Professionals (APs) to pass the exam and receive the resulting designation. First announced at the October 2016 ASLA Annual Meeting in New Orleans, the SITES AP exam uses the expertise of leading practitioners to assess a candidate’s competency in sustainable landscape design and development. For landscape professionals who successfully pass the exam, this new designation allows them to exhibit their knowledge and commitment to the profession, promote the value of landscape architecture and educate the public about how SITES can play a role in a more sustainable and healthy environment. The Sustainable SITES Initiative (SITES) is the first program of its kind to offer a systematic, comprehensive rating system designed to define thoughtful land development and management. SITES aligns land development and management with innovative design—defining what a sustainable site is and, ultimately, elevating the value of landscapes in the built environment. Land is a crucial component of the built environment and can be planned, designed, developed and maintained to protect and enhance the benefits we derive from healthy functioning landscapes. The four overarching goals of the SITES rating system are to create regenerative systems and foster resiliency; ensure future source supply and mitigate climate change; transform the market through design, development and maintenance practices; and enhance human wellbeing and strengthen the community. “It’s an honor to be in the first cohort of landscape professionals to earn this important and distinguished credential,” said Nicholson. “Being a newly minted SITES AP, I’m looking forward to developing tools and workflows within Vectorworks to help streamline SITES documentation on projects for landscape architects.” In addition to earning the SITES AP designation, Nicholson is a professional landscape architect, maintaining licenses in multiple jurisdictions and is an accredited Green Roof Professional (GRP) and LEED accredited professional. He also serves as the ASLA Colorado chapter president, where he develops value-added programs for members and advocates for the chapter at the national level. Since their release, Vectorworks product specialists have worked with users to recognize and facilitate design workflows that adhere to the design and performance standards set forth in LEED and SITES. With Nicholson becoming an accredited professional for both rating systems, those using Vectorworks® Landmark software for their own site design projects will continue to see more SITES supported features and workflows to ensure their project documents meet or exceed these standards. For more information about Sustainable AP, visit http://www.sustainablesites.org/sites-ap.