Who we are
Debra McPherson, Principle and Founder
I’ve always been interested in form and how humans engage with spaces. My first degree in higher ed was a Bachelor of Fine Art in 1994 from SUNY New Paltz in upstate NY. There, I fell in love with Sculpture and all things design. That led me to pursue Graphic Design post-graduation and landed a position as a Senior Designer for Marketing and Communications at Deloitte in L.A. for ten years.
Personal circumstances led me to Portland, Oregon in 2006. Embarking on a new chapter, I decided to further my education and enrolled at Portland Community College to pursue an additional degree in Landscape Design. There, I fell in love with horticulture and the natural environment combined with beautiful functional design.
While still in school, I was fortunate to land a position with an expanding residential Landscape Design/Build firm. Initially, I began as their first in-house designer and after the firm expanded to a team of 8 designers, I transitioned to Design Department Manager and was empowered to implement my vision for this department. Client satisfaction, use of space, presentation and 3D visualization were emphasized at the core of the service we provided.
Later on during COVID, I encouraged our group to expand our services to offer 3D Visualization designs nationally and internationally with the notion that most people find architectural plans difficult to understand. If the design concept is presented almost photographically in 3D, it’s helpful for the client and contractor to understand the design intent and bring everyone on the same page. This turned out to be useful and quite successful.
Meanwhile, in 2016 Portland Community College approached me to become part time adjunct professor with the Landscape Technology program. Thankfully, my employer agreed to let balance both positions and I grew to love teaching. I currently teach the senior level course in Landscape Design and the CAD software Vectorworks Landmark. I also offer training in this software independently as a consultant to individuals and companies.
In 2024, I felt it was time to make a go of it and start an independent practice, hence Mahonia was born.
At Mahonia, we love landscape design and redefine tradition by blending technology with good old fashioned design principles to reshape the landscape of possibility.
Mahonia is many things. It is the Oregon state flower. An elegant cultivar form of this plant called Soft Caress is favored by many modern designers. It’s fabulous for wildlife and a great solver of privacy, security, and slope issues. Mahonia is simply a lovely workhorse and represents the spirit behind our mission.