Teska Associates, Inc.

"Your contributions to future generations will be your legacy." – Bob Teska ✨ Last month Teska celebrated our 50th year with an intimate gathering "al fresco”. It was a beautiful night and reunion with close family and friends spanning five decades. Our founder, Robert Teska shared reflections on starting the firm and the talented leadership team he had the honor of hiring -- Lee Brown (past President), Michael Hoffman (Vice President), and Nick Patera (past Senior VP). Bob also spoke of the importance of family, trusting in yourself and your team, and the distinction between happiness and success. Wise one, that Bob. 🦉 While what we do as planners, placemakers, and landscape architects is focused on guiding and enhancing quality of life, the resounding heartbeat of our work is PEOPLE. 💙 As we look ahead to the next chapter, passing the torch to our leadership team of Scott Goldstein (President), Michael Blue (VP of Planning), Jodi Mariano (VP of Design), and Sara Voelz (Principal Financial Officer), and our dedicated creative team, we acknowledge and appreciate all those who have contributed to making our first fifty years a rewarding experience. As Lee Brown stated: “This is a toast to all the team members who have made Teska what it is. This is a toast to our clients - you are the reason why we love coming into work, why we get up in the morning… and stay up all night. This is a toast to our collaborating partners who step in and make our projects stronger and more valuable. This is a toast to our partners and families who put up with endless night meetings. And ultimately, this is a toast to Bob Teska, who set such a high standard of integrity and values that continues to drive us forward.” 🥂 Cheers to the next chapter and shout-out to Becca Heurer for capturing the magic! ✨ ✨

🎉 NOW OPEN! 🎉 Congratulations to the team at Austin Harvest on opening the new permanent, year-round location! The youth-led market began operating in open-air seasonally, and with the support of a $250,000 Community Development Grant has officially re-opened in Austin. Austin Harvest provides fresh fruit, vegetables, and flowers to the Austin community at affordable prices. The market is open Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, 12-6 pm at 423 N. Laramie in Austin. Learn more about Community Development Grants at Chicago.gov/cdg. #communitydevelopment #builtbychi

Exciting news!🌿 Lincolnshire’s Village Board adopted their New Comprehensive Plan on Monday evening. This future playbook is chock-full of actionable strategies, illustrative renderings, and special area plans to guide the Village into the next decade and beyond. Huge shout-out to our steering committee, staff, community and all the many champions who aspired and shared to help create a plan that is truly “Lincolnshire.” Special thanks to our planning partners at Hey and Associates, Inc. and VSKA, and to Valerie Kretchmer for joining Teska for one last comp plan tour ahead of her retirement! #aspirelincolnshire Michael Blue Andrew Dunham, AICP Ben Roesler Tonya Zozulya Bradly Burke wally dittrich Jeff Wickenkamp Brian Bichkoff

🌿✨ Exciting News! 🌿✨ Please join us in welcoming Maly Sears MLA to the Teska family! With a Master of Landscape Architecture from Kansas State University, Maly is our talented new landscape designer with a passion for universal design and creating healing, restorative, and welcoming landscapes. Radiating a cheery, sunny, and oh-so-friendly vibe, Maly perfectly reflects her favorite color, sky blue. 💙 ☀️ 🎨 An adventure seeker at heart, she has hiked a cloud forest in Costa Rica 🥾☁️ 🌲, wielded a machete, and fell in love with Vietnam for its stunning, tranquil landscapes, cuisine, and people. She is now gearing up for her wedding this fall followed by a honeymoon in Spain where she plans to immerse herself in the architecture, cuisine, and relaxing siestas.🇻🇳 🇪🇸🥂 🍾 Prior to joining Teska, Maly worked at Olsson Studio in Kansas City on projects ranging from pedestrian oriented streetscapes to cultural plazas and senior living communities. Maly is delighted to apply these interests and background to enhance the experiences people have in Teska-designed landscapes. Outside of work, you can find her roller blading, checking out the Lincoln Park beaver, and reading a book by a window. 📖 🦦 😎 Join us in giving Maly a warm welcome and brace yourselves for some seriously awesome projects coming your way. 🌿🌟 #WelcometotheGreenTeam #TeskaTribe

We're thrilled to welcome Maggie Eickhoff to Team Teska! With a passion for creative visioning and empowering communities of all sizes, Maggie brings a fresh perspective and unique background to the planning scene at Teska. Armed with a Master’s in Urban Planning and Public Policy, alongside a Bachelor’s in International Studies, her professional background encompasses transportation safety policy, business development, and civic and political engagement within college environments. Maggie’s knack for simplifying complex data, coupled with her talent as a seasoned community engagement liaison helps drive her mission to make planning accessible to all. Her versatile skillset is evident in prior roles as a tour guide at the Frank Lloyd Wright Home and Studio, a tasting guide at an Indiana winery, and let's not forget her nose for success as a scent consultant at a custom candle bar in Chicago - talk about a multi-talented planner! 🏠🍷👃🕯️ When she’s not biking around the city or indulging in breakfast bagels by the lake, you can find Maggie flexing her improv skills and exploring old school bakeries. Please help us in welcoming Maggie to Team Teska.🥯🌊🚴♀️🎭

Party on! Exmoor Country Club members gathered in June for a grand opening gala to mark the completion of the new west patios, outdoor pavilion, and renovated social and dining rooms. After more than two years of planning, fundraising, bidding, and construction, the addition of the new terraces, pool, and outdoor pavilion has enhanced the historic 128-year-old club, one of Highland Park's oldest establishments. We are delighted to commemorate our 25-year continuous partnership with Exmoor on their projects and express our gratitude to the skilled teams whose efforts turned the vision into reality. #teska #teskaassociates #urbanplanning #planning #communityplanning #urbandesign #placemaking #landscapearchitecture #publicplace

Teska is elated to be spending Summer 2024 with Natalie Crown in our studio as our planning intern! ⛲🌻☀️ · Hailing from LaGrange, Illinois, Natalie loves baking, improv comedy, and believes movies are best enjoyed in the theater with popcorn. (We agree!) Fueled by a creative spark and background in the arts, Natalie began her college education in theater before finding her way to planning. A recent graduate and soon to be DURP Masters student at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Natalie is passionate about creating healthy, happy communities through a mix of art-based placemaking, sustainable design, and thoughtful preservation techniques. Prior internships at the Illinois Tollway and Village of Hinsdale have given her a wide range of perspectives that she is excited to be sharing and expanding at Teska. Please help us in welcoming Natalie to Team Teska! 🎬👏🍿 #teamculture #teamteska #bettertogether #communityplanning #pplwhoplacemake

Drumroll 🥁... ... ... Planners and designers often find themselves on the leading edge of change with the work we do and people we serve. And while change isn’t always easy, our work prepares us to tackle it head on – even when it happens in our own office. Lee Brown, Michael Hoffman, and Nick Patera have set a high bar for running our shop. While they’re not going anywhere just yet, a new group is taking the reins – Scott Goldstein, President; Jodi Mariano, Vice President of Design; Michael Blue, Vice President of Planning; and Sara Voelz, Principal Financial Officer. Read about Scott, Jodi, Michael, and Sara and how they comprise the new members of our leadership team: https://lnkd.in/gYJX6eWu #teamteska #fiftyniftyyears #teska #teskaassociates #urbanplanning #planning #communityplanning #urbandesign #placemaking #landscapearchitecture #publicplace

Lee, Mike, Nick... Brown, Hoffman, Patera. Their cadence keeps Teska inspired and focused on rock-solid ethics, giving back, investing in people, and designing meaningful places that positively impact lives for generations. As part of Teska's Nifty Fifty Anniversary & Social Series, we want to salute these placemaking giants and show gratitude. At Teska, our culture revolves around teamwork and is deeply rooted in collective mentorship. We arrive at solutions together, with our respective team, partners, and clients. This approach and mentality didn’t just magically happen, it’s a unique ecosystem crafted, fostered, and cared for by the leaders who worked alongside our founder Bob Teska and followed in his footsteps — Lee Brown, Michael Hoffman, and Nick Patera. Read about how Lee, Mike, and Nick made leadership, mentorship, and giving back essential characteristics of Teska Associates: https://lnkd.in/g_bMrSeX #teamteska #fiftyniftyyears #teska #teskaassociates #urbanplanning #planning #communityplanning #urbandesign #placemaking #landscapearchitecture #publicplace

“𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐝𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐬 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐚 𝐛𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬, 𝐢𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐚 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐟𝐮𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬, 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐞𝐧𝐯𝐢𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐜𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 - 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐟𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐚 𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐞 𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭, 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞.” - 𝐁𝐨𝐛 𝐓𝐞𝐬𝐤𝐚 The distinction between a job and a career lies in the feeling it evokes at the start or end of each day. Guided by that philosophy and emphasizing the importance of teamwork, trust, and innovation, Bob Teska’s model of how a firm serves public and private communities and all its clients began in 1975 and continues to this day. Read about Bob and the sustainable foundation he built for the firm. https://lnkd.in/gUchfuDF #teamteska #fiftyniftyyears #teska #teskaassociates #urbanplanning #planning #communityplanning #urbandesign #placemaking #landscapearchitecture #publicplace