Austin, TX • linkedin.com/in/beth-larkin
Elizabeth "Beth" Larkin
Herding Cats, Solving Problems, and Buttoning Up the Details
Beth is a project manager who brings extensive management, fundraising, and marketing expertise from her 13+ years of experience within Austin’s robust greenspace, parks, and active transportation nonprofit scene and 4 years of landscape design.
Prior to joining Studio Balcones, Beth was the Membership Director of the nonprofit coalition Austin Outside, which works to champion vibrant and thriving outdoor places for all in Greater Austin where she helped secure $460 million in local bond funding for bike lanes, urban trails, and sidewalks.
Previous to that, she served for 9 years on the senior leadership team as the Project & Creative Director for The Trail Foundation, now The Trail Conservancy, and helped develop and manage many iconic Butler Trail projects, like the Boardwalk, the Butler Trail Urban Forestry and Ecological Restoration Guidelines, the Seaholm Waterfront, the Boardwalk Benches, and 3 locally designed trail restrooms. She graduated magna cum laude from Texas A&M with a degree in Landscape Architecture in 2006.
She is an avid knitter, voracious reader, food lover, hiker, swimmer and accumulator of hobbies. She has run the Central Austin Book Club since 2008 and led the Dressember fundraising team, Dress Well, Do Good, to raise over $280,500 from 2015-2021 to help free people from human trafficking domestically and abroad.
- Project Management
- Technology Expertise
- Design & Creative
- Communication
- Strategic Planning
- Budget Management
- Project Scheduling
- Team Building & Supervision
- Consultant Management
Education
Bachelors in Landscape Architecture, Texas A&M University 2001 – 2006, GPA 3.71 / 4.0
- Graduated Magna Cum Laude, 1st in Class
- 2006 Recipient of ASLA Student Honor Award
- 2005 Chair for Aggie Workshop
- 2005 “Who’s Who” Among Students in American Universities and Colleges
- 2005 Department Head Award
- 2003 Distinguished Student Honor Roll for the College of Architecture
- 2002-2006 Tau Sigma Delta Architectural Honors Society
Career Experience
Marketing and Project Manager, Studio Balcones, Austin, TX | 03/2023 – Current
Studio Balcones designs landscapes that inspire and create connections between people, nature, and urban life. We design for the 21st century, creating spaces that are flexible, adaptable and enduring. We champion resilient plants and sustainable materials crafted with a modern, site-specific aesthetic.
- Manage landscape design services for Austin’s future light rail stations, working with the larger HUG Team (HKS, UN Studio, Gehl) to deliver project guidelines. The system will establish new sustainability standards for public transit worldwide.
- Manage the Construction Document and Construction Administration phase for the Roger Lavon Taylor Sr. Plaza. This one-acre Park Plaza celebrates historic Airport Tower and the spirit of travel. Project design includes sculptural landforms, a universally accessible “Flight Path” connected to a viewing deck 20 feet above grade, an amphitheater, open lawn space, and numerous gathering spaces.
- Lead Marketing and Business Development for the firm, creating and standardizing processes for RFQs and proposal submissions. Also planning corporate events, updating website, launching blog and external newsletter.
Membership Director, Austin Outside (AO), Austin, TX | 03/2020 – 03/2023
Austin Outside champions vibrant and thriving outdoor places for all in Greater Austin. Greater Austin will be known for its healthy outdoor culture and vibrant public places. We envision a future where everyone lives within a 10 minute walk of a high-quality outdoor park, greenspace, or natural area and that these green jewels are connected by a safe and comfortable network of trails, bikeways, and sidewalks.
- Lead and organize membership & committee meetings to promote collaboration, identify partnerships, share information, and to provide opportunities to build a collective voice.
- Launch, organize, and facilitate virtual training to educate 60+ coalition members on funding parks, active transportation and open space through ballot measures.
- Compile and send regular membership communications to support and amplify membership-led work and projects that align with AO mission and values.
- Grow organization membership from 20 to 60+ for coalition building to represent all of Greater Austin.
- Create and maintain policies and systems for operations to achieve maximum organizational efficiency.
- Facilitate creation of 3-year strategic plan to guide AO’s future work and relationships. Design final document.
- Form ~7 committees with annual work plans to achieve goals outlined in Strategic Plan.
- Recruit membership advocacy for 2020 Prop B: Safe Mobility for All, the Healthy Streets Program, Federal Funding, letters of support, and more.
- Set up and oversee all aspects of finances including annual budgeting, fundraising & development, accounting & bookkeeping, GL management, and tax filing.
Project & Creative Director, The Trail Foundation (TTF), Austin, TX | 09/2010 – 08/2019
In the heart of Austin, TX is the Ann and Roy Butler Hike-and-Bike Trail at Lady Bird Lake. With more than 4.4 million visits a year, the 10-mile trail is Austin’s most recognized and popular recreational area. For many citizens and visitors, it represents the best Austin has to offer: outdoor recreation; a scenic, natural environment; and a diverse, vibrant mix of people. TTF is the non-profit organization dedicated to protecting, connecting, and enhancing this 200+ acre space for the benefit of all.
- Planned and managed all projects and built scalable systems as spending increased from under $250k in FY09 to over $3M in FY19.
- Served on the senior leadership team setting the vision and long-term roadmap.
- Led strategic project planning to ensure initiatives and projects align with mission of the organization.
- Created and managed $2+ million annual project budget. Evaluated monthly financials for accuracy. Participated in annual budget setting and end of year financial review.
- Shifted project pacing from ‘one-at-a-time’, to managing and prioritizing 10+ projects simultaneously.
- Developed and maintained critical City of Austin departmental relationships.
- Collaborated and grew relationships with community partners to leverage additional resources to achieve over-lapping goals.
- Identified appropriate consultants, vendors and contractors, negotiated their contracts, and managed the project team to reach project completion.
- Built and stewarded sustainable project processes to ensure efficiency of implementation.
- Spearheaded Project Committee comprised of Board Members and volunteers, who help direct project prioritization, implementation processes, and vision for future projects.
- Vetted, hired, and managed part-time and full-time employees to expand project implementation.
- Designed, built, wrote copy, structured, and implemented new website.
- Built, launched, and trained staff on internal shared drive and new software to increase collaboration and efficiency as the organization continued to scale from 3 employees to 12.
- Created organizational identity and maintained brand consistency.
- Created and designed all marketing materials, internal, external, digital and print for events, mailers, website, social media, newsletters, fundraising.
- Developed strategies and collaborated on messaging, content, design, and production of marketing and fund solicitation materials (digital, print, social media, video and web) to highlight the work of TTF, our partners, stakeholders and donors. Worked with internal and external consultants to execute.
- Worked with national partners to co-host a variety of events for invited professionals from around the country. National partners included: Central Park Conservancy Institute for Urban Parks: Urban Practitioner Roundtable Spring 2019, Urban Land Institute National Technical Assistance Panel August 2019.
- Launched Trail-wide Ecological Restoration Guidelines and implementation for 199 acres of park and 10.1 miles of trail. Managed volunteers to support restoration goals.
Landscape Designer, LEED AP, TBG Partners, Austin, TX | 05/2006 – 06/2009
Over 100 visionary minds, reshaping raw space into livable places across the country and abroad. A critical combination of 30-year industry veterans paired with dynamic, young talent, collectively composing, calculating, and anticipating the tendencies of living systems.
- Designed landscape plans from concept to construction with a focus on native plants to meet project sustainability and maintenance goals.
- Created accurate construction documents and design details in AutoCAD demonstrating understanding of the relationship of design and constructability.
- Created hand and computer renderings to communicate landscape design concepts to clients and partners.
- Managed and created project presentations to ensure design concepts and goals were easily understood.
- Worked collaboratively with other disciplines to achieve project goals.
- Prepared detailed cost estimates at each phase of design to ensure budget goals were achieved.
- Worked under supervision of a project manager or senior-level team member.
Technical Proficiencies
Adobe Suite ● HTML/CSS ● Mailchimp ● WordPress ● CRM ● Monday ● Miro
Social Media Marketing ● cPanel ● Google Suite & Admin ● Microsoft Suite ● CAD ● GIS ● Bluebeam
Volunteering
Austin Outside, Board Secretary | 2024 – current
Austin Outside champions vibrant and thriving outdoor places for all in Greater Austin. Greater Austin will be known for its healthy outdoor culture and vibrant public places. We envision a future where everyone lives within a 10 minute walk of a high-quality outdoor park, greenspace, or natural area and that these green jewels are connected by a safe and comfortable network of trails, bikeways, and sidewalks.
Dressember, Team Leader and Top Fundraiser | 2014 – 2021
The Dressember campaign creates life-saving grants for 12 organizations in the United States and around the world who are on the frontlines battling modern slavery, all by wearing dresses and ties for the whole month of December. Dressember’s vision is a world without slavery where all people are free to live vibrant, autonomous lives.
- Top fundraiser and team leader for Dress Well, Do Good, dresswelldogood.com
- 2020 & 2019 top advocate; raised over $77,300+ total since 2014
- Led international team, Dress Well, Do Good, to raise $280,500+ total since 2015
Lamar Band Booster, President | July 2022 – July 2023
Vice President, August 2021 – July 2022
- Lamar Band Booster is a 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to supporting the band programs and Lamar Middle School and Fine Arts Academy in Austin, Texas. Band boosters are involved with fundraising, chaperoning trips (to include football games and off-campus performances), assisting with concerts, and organizing various band student events. Band Boosters work closely with the Band Directors and meet monthly to discuss upcoming events and information.
Austin Book Club, Founder & Facilitator | 2008 – Present
- The Austin Book Club gathers together women across Central Austin to foster strong community and stimulating conversation through the discussion of a variety of books.
Magnolia Montessori for All, Parent Design Committee Member | 2015-2016
- A volunteer team of design professions and parents of students that attend Magnolia Montessori for all, we advised the school leadership in the selection of an architect team to design the innovative Montessori campus in east Austin.