What We Do…
Trace is based in Charlottesville, Virginia yet we work throughout the United States. Our collaborative approach brings together a diverse array of experts, including architects, historians, archaeologists, and other preservation professionals, alongside artists, community advocates, and dedicated stewards from the regions we serve. This synergy allows us to infuse our projects with perspectives that are deeply rooted in the local context and culture, ensuring that our work resonates meaningfully with the communities we engage.
Trace’s process begins with an in-depth exploration phase, characterized by exhaustive research, site investigations, and interviews. During this phase, we meticulously search for clues that reveal the multiple layers of a site’s natural and cultural history. By engaging in thoughtful design and compelling storytelling, we seek to highlight and enhance the intrinsic qualities already present in the landscape, making them accessible and legible. Through this approach, we envision a site’s next iteration, creating meaningful connections between the past, present, and future.
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Master Planning
Conceptual Design
Design Development
Construction/Treatment Oversight
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Historical Landscape Architecture
Cultural Landscape Reports (CLR) and Inventories (CLI)
Preservation Treatment and Planning
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Interpretive Planning and Design
Landscape Research
Mapping and Inventories
Jen Trompetter, PLA, ASLA
Founder, TRACE
Jen is a licensed landscape architect and the founder of Trace. After twenty-five years in the field, she remains fascinated by site histories and how landscapes both shape and reflect our values, impacting how we move and relate to the world.
For over two decades, Jen has worked on projects across the US, from Hawaii to Puerto Rico, and at scales ranging from small, site-specific interventions to large, expansive national parks. While working at nationally reputable landscape architecture firms, she served as both lead designer and project manager, helping guide projects through all phases—from initial concept to construction. In addition to her design and construction experience, Jen holds expertise in the field of cultural landscape preservation on project types including cultural landscape reports, historic landscape studies, and large-scale master planning of significant urban and regional parks. She meets the Secretary of the Interior’s Professional Qualifications Standards in Historic Landscape Architecture.
Prior to starting Trace, Jen held leadership roles at D.I.R.T. studio and Nelson Byrd Woltz Landscape Architects, and served as Principal with Liz Sargent HLA. She has also taught in the landscape architecture and architecture departments at the University of Virginia. Jen holds a B.A. in the History of Art and Architecture from the University of California Santa Barbara and a Masters in Landscape Architecture from the University of Virginia.
Nell Boeschenstein Yager
Cultural Landscape Historian
Nell is a cultural landscape historian, interpretive planner, and narrative strategist. Her work emphasizes the complex networks of social, cultural, and environmental systems that shape places and their histories, causing narratives to overlap, intersect, and conflict. With past experience as a writer and journalist for national outlets, she brings a strong storytelling lens to bear on her cultural landscape work.
Nell has worked in the field of cultural landscapes, routinely teaming up on projects with collaborative teams of designers and preservation professionals. She has researched and provided narratives for cultural landscape reports (CLRs), cultural landscape inventories (CLIs), and historic structure reports (HSRs). She has also led interpretive planning and content development efforts for important historic sites, including at a UNESCO-designated Site of Memory. Nell meets the Secretary of the Interior’s Professional Qualifications Standards in Architectural History.
Nell received her B.A. in English from Dartmouth College and her M.F.A. in nonfiction writing from Columbia University. She received her Masters in Architectural History with a certificate in Historic Preservation from the University of Virginia.