Holding both credentials as a Professional Landscape Architect and NCIDQ Certified Interior Designer it is extremely important to uphold a professional standard for creating spaces that ensure the health, safety, and welfare of the public as a baseline for what these professions bring to the state. Each of these professions contribute to this standard of care but even more importantly they bring professionals into the process of creating distinctive spaces both interior and exterior to the places that make Virginia unique. Related to the concept of landscape architecture, this is more than just plants, but is instead about making places for people to experience the outdoors. During Covid pandemic times the importance of well designed parks, trail systems, plazas, sidewalks, places for reflection, views and most any exterior site planning is at the forefront of how sites and systems will add to the quality of life for Virginia residents. Removing these advocating voices from the conversation of planning and development will result in engineered functional spaces that stop at function and with a that's good enough level of effort.  

Personally removing the need for this licensure within the Commonwealth will likely result in my leaving the Commonwealth for states that truly value my chosen professions and the experience and knowledge that I possess to have become licensed. The projects that I want to work on professionally will likely not be developed in Virginia, if there is not even the concept of valuing the profession at the Commonwealth level.