Chris Merritt is a landscape architect and Founding Principal of Merritt Chase. Based in Indianapolis, Indiana, Chris leads Merritt Chase with a focus on the design of culturally significant public landscapes in Middle America. His work includes urban design master plans and detailed site plans for public agencies, community organizations, and institutions. Chris is a graduate of Harvard’s Graduate School of Design and Purdue University. Chris has received recognition for his work with awards from the Urban Land Institute, the American Society of Landscape Architects, the American Institute of Architects, and the Harvard Graduate School of Design. Chris is active in the local Indianapolis design community as a designer, advisor, and curator. He currently serves on the Curatorial Advisory Committee for Exhibit Columbus.

Nina Chase is a landscape architect and Founding Principal of Merritt Chase. She is committed to creating public spaces across Middle America. Born and raised in West Virginia, Nina graduated from West Virginia University and Harvard’s Graduate School of Design and spent her early career in Boston designing and planning notable public parks and open spaces. Today, Nina leads Merritt Chase’s urban work, planning and designing public parks, plazas, waterfronts, and cultural districts. Nina is dedicated to the design community through teaching, writing, and advocacy. She frequently lectures and serves as a design critic nationally and internationally. Nina is formerly an adjunct faculty member at Carnegie Mellon's School of Architecture and an emeritus board member of the Landscape Architecture Foundation. Nina is currently the Co-Chair of the Harvard Graduate School of Design Alumni Council and a member of the Harvard Alumni Association Board.

Alex is a landscape architect and Associate with Merritt Chase. Alex’s work expresses the natural and cultural histories of places. His designs strive to provide coherence with the past while creating equitable landscapes that meet the challenges of today. Before joining Merritt Chase, Alex was a project manager and design leader at Reed Hilderbrand, where he honed his design and construction administration experience on a variety of project types and scales with precision and sensitivity to meet the unique needs of each project. Recently he worked on two public parks that were federally funded by the Rebuild by Design and National Disaster Resiliency competitions. The parks seamlessly integrate into historic communities, providing opportunities for recreation and protection from chronic flooding. Alex’s professional work has been recognized by the Connecticut Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) and as a student, his work received an national honor award from the ASLA. As a graduate of The Ohio State University and resident of the Midwest, Alex is dedicated to revealing the stories of Middle American landscapes and beyond.

John is an Associate and registered landscape architect with Merritt Chase. He has experience managing a wide range of projects from strategic master planning design guidelines to small-scale design and construction administration of public spaces throughout the United States. Before joining Merritt Chase, John was an Associate at Oehme, van Sweden and a Planning Professional at HOK, in Washington D.C. In addition to being involved in ASLA and lecturing nationally, John teaches undergraduate and graduate level courses on digital design technologies and construction at the University of Maryland. John studied landscape architecture and urban design at Harvard's Graduate School of Design and West Virginia University. Raised on a farm south of Pittsburgh, PA, John's design sensibilities draw from a family history of craftspeople and his current experimentations with wood and metal ranging from architectural installations to tableware.

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Danica is a landscape designer with Merritt Chase. Her design work and research examine interconnected ecological and social systems in the public realm. Previously, Danica worked at Reed Hilderbrand and SCAPE, where she gained experience planning and designing vibrant places that build on the history, culture, and ecology of a site. Danica is a graduate of the Harvard GSD and the University of California, Davis. Her research on the agricultural landscape change of olive tree cultivation in Italy was supported by the Penny White Project Fund. Her work has received recognition from the Sierra Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA), and she is the recipient of the Peter Walker & Partners Fellowship for Landscape Architecture. Danica’s approach to landscape architecture is shaped by the synergy between practice, teaching, and service. She is a former Vice President of the Indiana ASLA and Co-Chair of the BSLA Emerging Professionals Committee.

Gabriella is a landscape designer with Merritt Chase. Her work has ranged from practice and research, across disciplines, scales, and mediums. Prior to joining Merritt Chase, Gabriella was a design leader and project manager at Eponymous Practice and Reed Hilderbrand where she worked on high-profile, large-scale projects. Gabriella holds both Master of Landscape Architecture (MLA) and Master of Landscape Architecture in Urban Design (MLAUD) degrees from Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design, and a BA in Environmental Design from the University of Puerto Rico’s School of Architecture, where she earned a certificate in historic preservation. Gabriella is a former Co-Chair of the BSLA Emerging Professionals Committee. She also created watercolor illustrations for Silvia Benedito’s book Atmosphere Anatomies and collaborated with Rosetta Elkin on the Tiny Taxonomy exhibition at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, contributing drawings and research.

Paityn is a landscape designer with Merritt Chase. Her design work focuses on communicating and interpreting complex ideas and translating them into simple designs and concepts. Paityn’s expertise includes master planning, design, and public outreach. Her interest in landscape architecture originates from her desire to use design as a tool for seeking equity and inclusivity in public spaces. Paityn is a graduate of the Ohio State University. While there, she was an active board member of the National Organization of Minority Architects Students and received a William A. Behnke ’51 Associates, Inc. Minority Scholarship and Knowlton Studio Award in 2018. Paityn has also been a panelist at the American Planning Association Pennsylvania Chapter 2021 conference; the panel discussion was Authentic Engagement is More than Outreach, how actively involving the community can achieve long-term and sustainable outcomes, relationships, dialogue, or action. Prior to joining Merritt Chase, Paityn worked at Environmental Planning and Design and The Neighborhood Design Center.

Craig is a registered Landscape Architect and Associate with Merritt Chase. He is nationally experienced, having worked on projects in over 20 states while working in offices in Indianapolis, Denver, and Nashville. Most recently, he worked with Anderson+Bohlander as a senior project manager, focusing on urban infrastructure and infill, historic industrial reuse, green roofs and neighborhood scale urban design. Early career roles in landscape construction equipped Craig with first hand knowledge of how sites are built, allowing him to troubleshoot design concepts before breaking ground. He earned his Bachelor of Landscape Architecture and Master of Urban Design degrees from Ball State University. As both an urbanist and naturalist, Craig’s work seeks to find connection and balance between the built environment and the natural world. He is active with the Indiana Native Plant Society, Indy Urban Acres, the Indianapolis Parks Alliance and INASLA, where he serves on several committees and volunteers his time. He is also a certified Indiana Master Naturalist and scout leader, where he works to inspire the next generation of outdoor stewards.