Our Team
Ben Ngan
Principal, Senior Registered Landscape Architect
Born and raised in Portland, Oregon, Ben Ngan is the youngest son of Chinese immigrants. He graduated from the University of Oregon with a Bachelors of Landscape Architecture and has more than 40 years of experience working on a variety of projects in urban and natural environments. In 1993, Ben co-founded Nevue Ngan Associates, which in 2017 became NNA Landscape Architecture.
He’s worked on several award-winning projects, including sustainable urban streetscapes, parks, educational campuses, and natural resource plans. Whether touring the Oregon countryside or commuting to work, cycling is a big part of Ben’s life and it carries into his work. His landscape architecture experience includes revitalizing urban main streets, creating public open spaces, increasing safety for all transportation modes, and improving neighborhoods through place-making. Ben is a careful listener who values others’ opinions, which he prioritizes when designing.
Ben’s appetite for traveling and experiencing different cultures inspires much of his work. He strives to create meaningful environments where people live, work, and relax. His 20-year involvement with the Lan Su Chinese Garden as an advocate, fundraiser, designer, and past board member demonstrates his commitment to preserving Portland’s cultural heritage, his vast professional talent, and his passion for creating special places for everyone to enjoy.
When he’s not working, Ben is likely bike touring, spending time with his family, or, when the weather cooperates, gardening. Ben and his wife, Julia, love traveling in the United States and abroad visiting gardens, museums and historic places.
Brianna Heese
Landscape Designer
Brianna Heese was born and raised in central Missouri. She earned a Bachelor’s of Fine Arts in ceramics at the University of Missouri, where much of her artistic work was inspired by conflicts of urban expansion with rural and natural resources.
Brianna moved to the West Coast, graduating with a Master’s in Landscape Architecture from the University of Oregon. Her master’s project explored adapting planting design for climate change.
Brianna’s work at TriMet gave her hands-on experience working for a public agency, where she focused on post-occupancy evaluation and ongoing maintenance and replanting efforts. She joined NNA Landscape Architecture in 2019. Brianna brings practical experience and interests in place making; urban food and agriculture; community sustainability; and landscape aesthetics to the projects that she works on with NNA. She has experience working on recreation, transportation and watershed restoration projects.
Outside of the office, Brianna is either developing her at-home art studio, hiking on the coast, or planning out the next garden season. Most of the time, though, she can be simply be found hanging out with her partner exploring Portland’s craft beer scene, listening to a record, or playing with their cat, Mordecai.
David Goodyke
Senior Registered Landscape Architect
David Goodyke grew up exploring the woods and lakes of Michigan before moving to the Pacific Northwest to attend the University of Oregon. After earning a Bachelor of Science in fine arts, David held numerous positions in construction and maintenance that provided him with a foundational understanding of construction and natural landscapes.
David went on to earn a master’s degree in landscape architecture from the University of Oregon. He began his career in Vancouver, B.C., where he worked as a landscape designer for ETA Landscape Architecture (formerly known as Eckford and Associates), a landscape architecture firm focused on high-quality sustainable design in dense, urban environments. There, he gained valuable experience in design and green infrastructure. In 2008, David and his family moved to Portland, Oregon, and he joined NNA Landscape Architecture (formerly known as Nevue Ngan Associates) as a landscape architect.
David brings creative problem solving and practical experience to every project, leading to strong relationships and collaborative, community-centered designs. David’s strong technical skills coupled with his fine arts background lead to place-based designs that incorporate history, culture, and nature. He truly enjoys the opportunity to meet and work with smart, talented people, learn what they care about, and incorporate their values into quality designs.
Away from the office, David spends time with his family in the myriad landscapes of Oregon hiking, biking, and skiing. He also enjoys landscape painting with his daughter, playing with his dog, Pippa, gardening, and cooking enormous Dutch pancakes for breakfast.
Jane Jewett
Landscape Designer
Jane Jewett grew up in Oakland and surrounding East Bay cities in northern California. She graduated with a Bachelor’s of Landscape Architecture degree from the University of Oregon and with an Undergraduate Merit Award from the Oregon Chapter of the ASLA.
Post-graduation, Jane’s position with multidisciplinary firm, The Urban Collaborative, gave her real-world experience with sustainable planning and collaborative design strategies. She is comfortable working at a variety of different scales and with public clients. She has worked on municipal and Federal projects, both in the Pacific Northwest and nationally.
Jane moved to Portland, Oregon in 2018 and joined NNA Landscape Architecture shortly thereafter. Her best days at work are when she engages with disparate groups and facilitates the design of place-based, practical landscapes that positively affect the surrounding communities. She is a skilled facilitator of public involvement, technical writer and designer. She applies her attention to detail from concept drawings to final construction document sets on many of NNA Landscape Architecture’s projects. She is pursuing her licensure as a Registered Landscape Architect.
In her free time, Jane and her boyfriend, Scott, enjoy eating their way across the City of Portland and camping in the diverse landscapes along the West Coast. She spends too much time doting on their fat cat, Bub, to realistically maintain that she is a dog person, but she stands by her convictions.
Jason Hirst
Senior Registered Landscape Architect
Born and raised in Central Washington, Jason Hirst graduated from Washington State University in 2009 with a Bachelors of Landscape Architecture. Following graduation Jason moved to Portland, Oregon, and joined NNA Landscape Architects (formerly known as Nevue Ngan Associates). Jason’s wide range of experience — from a prior enlistment in the U.S. Air Force to working with Seattle firm The Berger Partnership — led him to become a registered landscape architect in 2014.
Jason is a thoughtful, talented designer who is adept at taking creative concepts and developing them into detailed, practical plans. With a broad set of technical skills and creative talent, Jason is comfortable collaborating on projects ranging from small-scale planting plans to large-scale streetscape designs. He develops a sense of place for each site and translates important place-based concepts into designs. An attentive listener, he enjoys learning from others and incorporating diverse ideas into realistic, buildable designs.
“Jason thinks creatively about design challenges, is highly attentive to stakeholders’ interests, and comes up with solutions that the community can embrace. Bottom line, Jason delivers,” says Brant Williams, Lake Oswego Redevelopment Director.
When not in the office, Jason loves to work in the garden with his son, consume BBQ and beer, and spend time painting signs or drawing.