Our People
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Drew Goetting
President and CEO
Drew Goetting founded the Restoration Design Group in 2003 after establishing a career in public lands management.
As a noted expert in the field of stream restoration, he has been in the vanguard of California restoration efforts. He brings his background in plant ecology, natural resource management, and community development to bear on each project. Drew oversees all RDG work, leads RDG’s public process facilitation, directs RDG’s grant writing efforts for local, state, and federal clients, and has been successful in acquiring over $10 million in grant awards for RDG’s clients. He is a regular lecturer on restoration and has conducted numerous workshops and community-based planning processes.
Drew grew up in the Mississippi River Watershed and currently resides in the Strawberry Creek Watershed.
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Erik Stromberg, ASLA
Principal Landscape Architect / Restoration Director
Erik Stromberg integrates science and design to craft environments that harmonize ecological and social dynamics.
As Principal Landscape Architect at RDG, he has led numerous multi-million dollar ventures for diverse clients, and as Restoration Director he spearheads RDG's ecological design and stream restoration initiatives, collaborating with consulting scientists to achieve state-of-the-art outcomes. His portfolio reflects a creative use of natural processes and a talent for navigating project constraints with refined, lasting solutions. He also mentors junior staff, contributing to the continued refinement of RDG's work. Erik also teaches graduate courses in GIS and Landscape Architecture and lectures on fluvial geomorphology, process-based restoration, fire ecology, and open space planning.
Erik grew up in the Cerrito Creek Watershed and currently resides in the Ross Valley Watershed.
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Rich Walkling, MLA
Managing Principal/CFO
Rich Walkling has been directing resource management and restoration projects for over twenty-five years.
He has managed watershed and estuarine projects in California, the Great Lakes basin, and southern Africa. His watershed planning work, particularly in environmental justice settings, has been studied by PhD students, featured in documentaries, and was the subject of an exhibit at the Oakland Museum of California. Rich has served as an appointed member of the East Bay Regional Park District Park Advisory Committee, vice-president of Golden Gate Audubon Society, and board chair of Urban Tilth in Richmond. Rich leads RDG’s fiscal management, business development, and environmental planning efforts.
Rich grew up in the Pennypack Watershed and currently resides in the Strawberry Creek Watershed.
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Matt Thomas, PE
Principal Civil & Hydraulic Engineer
Matt Thomas is a licensed civil engineer committed to creek and river restoration.
He holds an MS in civil engineering with an emphasis in water resource management from Colorado State University and a genuine passion for rivers. He brings nearly a decade of civil engineering consulting experience to RDG. He also has nearly thirty years of on-the-river experience as a whitewater river guide and professional whitewater kayaker. Through determination and hard work he is returning to the civil engineering profession following a spinal cord injury. Matt leads RDG’s hydraulic modeling and civil engineering projects.
Matt grew up in the Scott River Watershed and currently resides in the Rogue River Watershed.
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Kirsten Negus, ASLA
Associate Principal Landscape Architect
Kirsten Negus is a licensed landscape architect with over 10 years of experience planning, designing, and implementing Bay Area projects.
Her work focuses on city parks and urban habitat development. She holds a Master’s degree in Landscape Architecture from UC Berkeley, a certificate in urban horticulture from the Brooklyn Botanic Garden and is a Rescape Qualified Professional. Kirsten particularly enjoys projects at the urban-wildland edge and utilizes design to reflect, honor, and protect local cultural context and the surrounding natural landscape. Kirsten has also written multiple grant applications that have resulted in over $15 million awarded for parks, open space and urban greening.
Kirsten grew up in the Mission Creek and Santa Ynez River Watersheds and currently resides in the Cerrito Creek Watershed.
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Hannah Hansen
Landscape Architect
Hannah Hansen joined RDG following her graduate studies at UC Berkeley's College of Environmental Design in 2023.
Hannah earned her Bachelors degree in Civil Engineering from Arizona State University and moved to the Bay Area in 2017 to assist in managing large-scale site development projects as a general contractor. She received her EIT certificate in 2019 and her Masters degree in Landscape Architecture + Environmental Planning in 2023. Hannah is trained in GIS, surveying, and geomorphic and ecological monitoring. She has enjoyed getting to work at the intersection of engineering, earth sciences, and art, and loves being part of an interdisciplinary team at RDG.
Hannah grew up in the Salt River Watershed and currently resides in the Glen Echo Creek Watershed.
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Gary Roth, ASLA
Associate Principal Landscape Architect
Gary Roth is a licensed Landscape Architect who has worked with some of the field's leading educators and practitioners.
He brings a strong academic background alongside practical knowledge of landscape design and construction. He grew up in San Anselmo and has spent most of his life hiking and riding Bay Area trails. With more than twenty-five years of experience, his work includes nine years with Lawrence Halprin in San Francisco, handling design and management on major projects at Yosemite Falls, Stern Grove, and Letterman Digital Center. Gary's work focuses on connecting people with the landscape in their daily lives, integrating a client's programmatic needs with the ecology of a place, whether an ornamental garden, a trailhead, or a National Park.
Gary grew up in the Codornices Creek Watershed and currently resides in the Corte Madera Creek Watershed.
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Jessi Howe
Junior Restoration Engineer
Jessi Howe grew up in western Washington exploring the mountains and learning about native plants and ecosystems.
She earned a bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering Washington State University while simultaneously competing as a member of the WSU Varsity Women’s Rowing team. She loves wandering in new areas and aspires to make natural spaces more accessible for urban communities. Jessi began her engineering career in residential land development and is excited to shift her focus to restoration and environmental work. She assists RDG with hydraulic modeling and civil engineering projects.
Jessi grew up in the Sammamish River Watershed and currently resides in the Rogue River Watershed.
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Tressa Cummings
Landscape Designer
Tressa Cummings is a landscape designer with a particular interest in restoration as an avenue for ecological and social reconciliation.
She holds a bachelor’s degree in Studio Art and History from Graceland University and a Master of Landscape Architecture from the University of Oregon. As a graduate student, Tressa worked collaboratively on several real-world projects, earning a National ASLA Honor Award for Residential Design, an Oregon ASLA Honor Award for Community Service, and an ASLA Merit Award. She is a generalist who loves specialists and deeply enjoys working on an interdisciplinary team. Tressa joined RDG in 2025.
Tressa grew up in the Lower American River Watershed and currently resides in the Temescal Creek Watershed.
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Grayson Curtis
Landscape Designer
Grayson Curtis is a landscape designer drawn to work that repairs and stewards the natural systems that link us together.
He earned a Master’s in Landscape Architecture from the University of California, Berkeley, and a Bachelor’s in history from Reed College. With experience as a farmer, builder, and gardener, he values staying connected to the practice of land management in his role at RDG. A childhood spent exploring the Yuba and its tributaries instilled in him an abiding love for rivers and creeks. He derives deep satisfaction from helping care for these vital spaces as part of the team at RDG.
Grayson grew up in the Bear River Watershed and currently resides in the San Antonio Creek Watershed.
Grounded in how we work
RDG is a small firm that works like one - responsive and relationship-driven and genuinely invested in each project's success. Clients work directly with our principals throughout, which means fewer handoffs, better continuity, and a team that knows the landscape. We are as comfortable facilitating community meetings as we are reviewing hydraulic models, and that range makes it easy to bring us into complex projects and find collaborative solutions.
We are dedicated to creating accessible, diverse, and ecologically rich communities, and we offer the planning, coordination, design, and facilitation needed to reinvent and rehabilitate natural lands. We create places for people to play, observe, retreat, and relax, and to be reminded of the restorative and stimulating powers of the natural world.
Where good work finds good people
RDG is a good place for good people to do good work. We believe in professional excellence and in a healthy work/life balance, and we are selective about the projects we take on and the clients we work with, which leads to rewarding portfolios and rewarding careers.
To express interest, submit a resume, cover letter, and portfolio to rich@rdgmail.com.