William D. Rieley, PLA

As the founding principal of Rieley & Associates, Will oversees all of the firm’s projects. In addition to serving for eight years on the Albemarle County Planning Commission, he taught at the University of Virginia for 20 years. His career as an educator continues through lectures at conferences and symposiums and participation in the Historic Landscape Institute (administered jointly by the University of Virginia and Monticello).

His other interests include fly fishing (because “you always do it in beautiful places”), and the study of proportion, garden structures such as dovecotes and bathouses, and classical architecture. He is known at the office for his recitations of Gilbert and Sullivan, poetry and an occasional anecdote from P. G. Wodehouse. In his honor, Rieley & Associates always celebrates National Bow Tie Day. His dog, Gus, a lab mix, enjoys coming to work every day because it means a lunchtime walk with his boon companion.

Roxanne S. Brouse, PLA

Roxanne graduated with a Masters degree in landscape architecture from the University of Virginia. After working with the National Park Service as the Landscape Architect for the National Capital Region in Washington, DC, she returned to Charlottesville to work at Rieley & Associates. She has been a partner since 1985. She describes herself as the firm’s factotum because on any given day she tackles assignments ranging from calculating curve data on a horizontal alignment to putting the finishing touches on a narrative for a master plan. She gets the job done. Her rescue dogs, Roscoe, a senior chihuahua, and Ginger, a lab corgi mix, are friendly office companions. Roxanne’s favorite pastime is following the exploits of her beloved University of Virginia baseball team. Go Hoos!

Jennifer Esser, PLA

Jennifer joined Rieley & Associates in 2007 to help produce line drawings and rendered aerial perspectives for Historic Virginia Gardens: Preservation Work of the Garden Club of Virginia. Her experience at that time included twenty years as a private consultant in south Florida for residential design, parks, and roadway beautification projects. Her tenacity and analytical skills shine brightest when tackling complicated construction details, layout and grading plans, and specifications for such diverse projects as a new plaza at the Historic Henry County Courthouse which included recreating Civil War cannon carriages, the restoration of Thomas Jefferson’s carriage turnaround at Poplar Forest, the Reveley Garden at the College of William & Mary, and an 18th century garden restoration at Stratford Hall. In addition to her design work, Jennifer is an artist with a regular studio practice and her oil paintings hang in private collections around the country.

Mita Tembe

Mita joined Rieley & Associates in July 2022. After graduating from the University of Virginia with a degree in Astronomy-Physics, she spent 3 years working on the APOGEE-2 spectrograph, installed at Las Campanas Observatory in Chile. Subsequently, she spent 4.5 years as the Bakery Manager at MarieBette Café, a beloved Charlottesville institution. She brings an unironic love of organization and enthusiasm for a new-to-her field to her work at Rieley & Associates. In her spare time, Mita enjoys baking and doing crosswords with her fiancé, and looking after their two dogs, Hummus and Clementine.