Leadership Team

Charles Brenton, PLA
Charles Brenton is Brenton Landscape Architecture’s founder and design director. Growing up in the Baltimore region, he has a special affinity for the landscapes of the Piedmont and Coastal Plain region. The planning and design of green infrastructure and the restoration of wildlife habitat are areas of special interest to him. After working in the planning and design departments of leading engineering firms, Charles founded “Brenton Associates”. Working from a studio near Baltimore, Charles has designed landmark community open spaces, streetscape, and conservation projects. In 2001, Charles extended his practice to serve clients in Pennsylvania.
Charles’ design sensibility integrates a respect for Modernism’s clarity and grace with an appreciation of landscape as cultural memory, and as regenerative, life sustaining system.
In addition to his professional practice, Charles has served as an adjunct professor at Temple and Philadelphia Universities. His work has been recognized with design awards from the Montgomery County (PA) Lands Trust and the Neighborhood Design Center. When he isn’t designing landscapes, you are likely to find Charles running in a nearby park.

Laura Stella, mLA
Laura Stella is a landscape designer and community leader with a fine arts background. She holds an MLA from Morgan State University. Laura joined Brenton LA in the summer of 2020 and enjoys working with Charles on a wide range of projects.
Laura is active in her community, serving on the board of the 29th Street Community Center and chairing its Marketing and Outreach Committee. She organizes the Friends of Barclay group whose mission is to engage neighbors in the success of Barclay Elementary/Middle school and works with other parents on traffic calming initiatives through community advocacy. Laura also belongs to a group who tend the gardens at their community school. Since 2015 she has been a vendor coordinator for the Charles Village Festival.
Laura enjoys experiencing cities and urban landscapes, especially in a pair of running shoes