Christina Contreras

Biography: Christina N. Contreras, LEED AP –Principal & Founder, Living Ecology Studio. Christina N. Contreras is the Principal &Founder of Living Ecology Studio. She is the Urban Land Institute (ULI)/Martin Bucksbaum Senior Visiting Fellow exploring how third-places improve our health and well-being. Christina is an urban planner, landscape designer, and community involvement specialist. She is devoted to the design of urban landscapes because she cares deeply about communities and the planet and recognizes the tremendous power the built environment has on our lives and ecosystems. Christina offers a unique perspective as her Native American and Mexican American heritage are not often represented in the professional fields of urban planning and landscape design. Christina is particularly interested in supporting mutually beneficial symbiotic relationships between humans and land and creating opportunities for people to connect with generations past and future through places and plants in the landscape. Christina holds a Bachelor of Science in Geological and Environmental Sciences from Stanford University and a Master of Urban and Regional Planning from the University of Colorado, Denver.