Two new colleagues have recently joined the RDG team: Daniella Portal and Maria Biello, both Associate Designers. Although they arrived at ecological site design through different paths, both share a conviction that thoughtful design can help people and ecosystems thrive together.
Daniella sees ecological landscape design as a powerful conservation tool: land will always be used, and design is what determines whether that use preserves ecological function or erodes it. That conviction took root while she studied Environmental and Ecological Studies at Quinnipiac University. Visiting a permaculture forest on the edge of Lake Atitlán in Guatemala, where a managed landscape served both people and the surrounding land, reinforced it. With a background in natural sciences, community agriculture, and graphic development, as well as an MS in Ecological Design from the Conway School. Daniella enjoys playing a role in every project stage, from site analysis to construction documentation, and looks forward to asking plenty of questions as she gets to know RDG’s projects and clients. Outside of work, she forages for seasonal finds, climbs indoor rock walls, and gets fiercely competitive about just about any game, whether it’s mini-golf, Tetris, or a thumb war.
Maria traces her path to ecological design to studying traditional western herbalism, which opened her eyes to botany, horticulture, and the habitat-building potential of home and community gardens. She’s drawn to how people interact with landscapes, like public parks, backyards, and gardens, and she loves talking with clients about what they hope to grow and learn from the land they steward. Her design philosophy merges technical detail with botanical and permaculture principles, and she’s especially energized by projects that think in decades: restoring disturbed sites, rebuilding soil profiles, and designing for a 50- to 100-year timeline. Maria holds a BS in Landscape Architecture from Temple University, and her skills span site analysis, master planning, and technical documentation alongside hands-on design-build experience. She’s also lived on eco-land projects in Mexico and harvested seaweed in Maine. Outside of work, she can often be found on the water: she’s been driving and docking boats since she was 12, and spends summers exploring the Great South Bay and Fire Island.
Daniella and Maria bring fresh energy, experience, and curiosity to our team. Their perspectives enrich our interdisciplinary work and strengthen our ability to design landscapes that are resilient, regenerative, and deeply rooted in place. Welcome, Daniella and Maria!
