Cecilia (Lalla) Searle is a principal in the firm and a registered landscape architect. She founded Searle and Searle in 1975 with her husband after aquiring a degree in Landscape Architecture from Rhode Island School of Design and a B.A. in architecture and painting from Bennington College.

Cecilia's strong interest in preserving historical landscapes has resulted in many restoration projects throughout southern New England. She has attended seminars at the Radcliffe Seminars on historic landscape preservation and received a Certificate in Historic Landscape Maintenance from the National Parks Service. She has received a grant from the National Endowment of the Arts and one from the Rhode Island State Council of the Arts to research the evolution of residential garden styles in New England.

She is the co-author of The Rural Landuse Primer of Rhode Island and of a chapter in the book, Landscape for Living, as well as author of several magazine articles. She has lectured on garden styles for the Dublin Seminars on New England Folklife and teaches Plants and Design at Rhode Island School of Design.