Christopher Miller is an Associate Principal leading RVi’s Sarasota office with 20 years of experience in landscape architecture, urban design, and managing teams through a variety of project types. He was recently inducted into Leadership Sarasota’s Class of 2025 where he’s able to apply his leadership excellence, industry expertise, and commitment to community development to the city’s future growth while collaborating with other leaders in the community. He shares more about his background and experiences in this interview.

 

What inspired you to pursue a career in Landscape Architecture?

I got my bachelor’s degree in molecular biology and worked in a lab at Cornell University for about four years. It was a really cool position, but I realized doing experiments in the lab all day wasn’t right for me. I prefer being out and about, talking to people, and trying to build something. As I searched for something that could fulfill that, I discovered landscape architecture. I liked how the profession includes a lot of the science, ecology, and environmental knowledge I had learned in college, so I decided to pursue a master’s degree in landscape architecture.

 

What led you to RVi?

During the last year of my master’s program, I was able to secure a year-long internship in Germany with a Landscape Architecture Studio, Atelier Dreiseitl, focused on integrated stormwater management. We had projects across Europe and collaborated with U.S. firms for projects in Alexandria, Virginia; Washington, D.C.; and Portland, Oregon. During that time, I got connected to a firm in Portland and was ultimately hired by them full-time.

I worked at the firm in Portland for 10 years doing mostly public work, then moved to Raleigh, North Carolina and worked with both a multi-disciplinary engineering firm and a multi-disciplinary architecture firm from 2015 until earlier this year, when I joined RVi in April.

 

What do you enjoy the most about being a Landscape Architect?

I like that I can affect change and communities in a positive way by creating equitable landscapes. In our field, we have the opportunity to design for the “in-between” spaces that impact us and our communities each day. The public realm spaces between buildings and the parking lots we navigate before you get to your final destination are places we can design to be as equitable as possible. We can create spaces that allow all people to have positive experiences within their environment. I care about creating spaces that are environmentally, culturally, and socially well-rounded.

 

What are you most excited about doing as part of Leadership Sarasota?

The program is made up of about 10 sessions over the course of 10 months, and in that time, we get to focus on the various aspects that compose a community. We learn about topics that affect the public like education, law enforcement, and healthcare, and meet with leaders and personnel in those industries. Having gained such great insights during Leadership Raleigh a couple years ago, I’m looking forward to gaining a better perspective of the community in Sarasota and using that knowledge to create better community designs.

Which project or achievement are you particularly proud of in your career?

In Oregon, I worked on the historic Columbia River Highway. It was the nation’s first scenic highway in the 1920s and later a popular commerce route in the Pacific Northwest. A lot of the original landscape was destroyed when Interstate 84 was built in the 1970s. In recent years, Congress mandated the state to reconnect the historic highway in the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area, so I worked on that project to make it a multi-use trail. It’s really beautiful and has historic and cultural components for the public to enjoy. It was also featured on the cover of Landscape Architecture magazine which was pretty cool.

 

What’s a memorable moment or experience that solidified your passion for Landscape Architecture?

There are many, but here’s one: The historic downtown of Kinston, NC is called the Magic Mile. Many musical legends performed in the area, including James Brown as well as Maceo Parker, who still lives there. The main street is called Queen Street, and my previous firm in Raleigh was hired to redesign the street to provide more economic incentives for businesses to return downtown. Because of this, the chef Vivian Howard actually opened her restaurant in downtown Kinston, which was a huge draw. It was wonderful to see the community invest in itself and see people take pride in showcasing their city again, and I’m glad I got to be a part of that.