Nationally recognized expert in sustainable design Carol Franklin of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, will be the 2012 commencement speaker at the Conway School. A founding principal of Andropogon Associates and a Fellow of the American Society of Landscape Architects, she has been a leader in exploring sustainable landscape initiatives since 1975.

Carol was an adjunct professor in the Department of Landscape Architecture & Regional Planning at the University of Pennsylvania from 1972-2002, and in cultural landscapes in the Department of Historic Preservation. She has written and lectured on American traditions in art, landscape, and architecture.  She recently co-authored Metropolitan Paradise, a book on the social, political, and ecological history of the Wissahickon Valley, a 1,800-acre wooded stream valley that is part of the 9,100 acre Fairmount Park system in Philadelphia.