Paola is passionate about connecting communities with design and cultivating collaborative agency. She serves in the alumni council through ambassadorship and creating connections among alumni and students by organizing events and opportunities for shared learning and continued exchange.
Paola is an urban designer and partner at BORDERLESS — design and research practice invested in spatial justice and equitable design based in Chicago and San Antonio. With emphasis on exchange and communication across disciplines, Borderless explores creative civic design and interventions that address the complexity of urban systems and social equity by looking at intersections between architecture, urban design, infrastructure, landscape, planning and community engagement processes.
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Fallon splits her engagement in Alumni Council affairs between the Ambassadorship Committee and the Diversity and Inclusion Task Force. With the latter, she helped the GSD’s Associate Dean for Equity, Inclusion and Belonging develop and launch the Racial Equity Fund. She also facilitates involvement of GSD alumni throughout the Gulf South in Alumni Council and GSD initiatives, programming, and curricula, e.g. Design Impact, and Design Critics.
Within academia, as a public official and through nonprofit consulting, Fallon analyzes hazards to heritage and adapts heritage to hazards. Her work in front-line communities threatened by climate change revolves around rehabilitation, revitalization, and recovery of real estate disproportionately impacted chronically and acutely by deterioration, disinvestment and disasters, especially structures and streetscapes of historically, economically, and culturally significant to Black, Indigenous and immigrant populations on the Atlantic, Pacific, and Gulf coasts. She also informs how we preserve and protect through community and public service, lending expertise to nonprofits such as the African American Heritage Trail of Martha’s Vineyard and public authorities such as New Orleans Redevelopment Authority, the Louisiana Governor’s Climate Initiative Task Force, and the national Advisory Council on Historic Preservation. For more than two decades she has worked to diversify built environment professions and address inequities of their practices, pipelines, and pedagogies from within professional organizations
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Biography coming soon…
Raised by a father from Italy who taught high school in California, and a mother who worked for the airline industry, Mari grew up with a passion for travel, and a curiosity about people, life, and the built environment in different parts of the world. This background, in turn, has deeply shaped her career in the hospitality industry. Mari loves this industry for its ability to make compelling design accessible. When we travel to celebrate weddings, reunite with family and friends, or discover new places, hospitality environments create the settings for some of our most memorable experiences.
Most recently, Mari joined Airbnb to lead the Environments Design team, the group within Airbnb responsible for the physical expression of the brand. A Global Director, Environments Designs, Mari oversees the team that designs Airbnb’s offices worldwide, and collaborates with real estate developers to create new models of housing design that can support Airbnb’s model of resident hosting.
Previously, Mari was Vice President of Design Services for Hyatt Hotels, where she oversaw design for Hyatt’s portfolio of full-service hotel brands, throughout the Americas region. As Senior Vice President of Design for the Morgans Hotel Group, Mari was responsible for multiple award-winning designs. She was also Global Director of Design for St. Regis Hotels at Starwood Hotels and Resorts. Before transitioning to in-house design roles, Mari got her start as Studio Director for Aero Studios Limited in New York City. There she oversaw new construction and renovation projects, both residential and commercial, including the hotel 60 Thompson and Giorgio Armani’s private residence in Manhattan.
Kaley Blackstock is a Sustainability Director in the Phoenix office of Gensler. Her projects include environmental design strategies, benchmarking management, and sustainable guidelines for developers and corporations. As part of the Gensler consulting studio, Kaley’s work focuses on the selection of healthy and sustainable building products and crafting spaces centered on wellness and occupant comfort. In working with clients, she advises on procurement practices, green building rating systems, and long-term sustainability goals.
Kaley graduated from Harvard College in 2010 with a B.A. in History of Art and Architecture, and from the Graduate School of Design in 2015 with a Master of Architecture. At the GSD, she often enrolled in courses on environmental design strategies and simulation tools. Her thesis, titled “Fitness” and advised by Kiel Moe, was a theoretical form that explored the synergies between one’s environment, architectural setting, and the body’s thermoregulatory abilities.
Anna begin as a member of Alumni Council in 2022 and currently serves on the S/AX committee and the AC Executive Committee.
Anna has dedicated her career to weaving nature, culture, and history into urban landscapes. At every scale, she is committed to engaging communities and striving to create designs that reflect both the current and future communities’ needs. Her work ranges from city-wide parks plans that engage communities in multiple languages, to designing historic landscapes to meet 21st-century needs, to building Europe’s largest urban waterfront.
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Justin is a Director with Skanska Commercial Development US, where he executes investment, entitlement, and implementation responsibilities on mixed use ventures in the Washington, D.C. region, including the 99M project in the Capital Riverfront District. He holds Masters Degrees in both Real Estate (MDes) from the Harvard Graduate School of Design, and Urban Planning (MCRP) from the Georgia Institute of Technology. While at the GSD, Justin focused on real estate and infrastructure finance, executing a capstone project regarding the PPP’s and the cost of capital in urban redevelopment. He also contributed to the development of the Harvard initiated Zofnass Rating System for Infrastructure Sustainability, (now called Envision) which is currently being implemented globally.
Prior to joining Skanska, Justin engaged in a range of planning and development projects including future land planning for Turner Field in Atlanta, New Balance’s Brighton Landing, the Washington 2024 Olympic Bid, and Howard University’s Interdisciplinary Research Building. Justin has been an adjunct professor at the George Washington University School of Business, where he taught a semester course in sport facility management and development.
Justin is an active member of the Urban Land Institute Washington DC Council, where he participates in the Urban Plan program, is a graduate of the Land Use Leadership Institute, and sits on the Regionalism Council.
Justin currently resides in Potomac, Maryland with his wife Randi, and son Brook.
Nina is currently co-chair of the GSD Alumni Council. In partnership with Riki Nishimura, she leads the Alumni Council and steers the Alumni Council Executive Committee. Prior to this role, she was actively involved in the S/AX Committee, helping to facilitate alumni and student connections through in-person gatherings, mentoring, and online panels focused on relevant, student-oriented topics.
Nina’s professional experience as a landscape architect is informed by a commitment to the design community through teaching, research, and volunteering. She lectures often and serves as a design critic, both nationally and internationally. She is a member of the American Society of Landscape Architects and a former adjunct faculty member at Carnegie Mellon’s School of Architecture as well as emeritus board member of the Landscape Architecture Foundation. Her work has received national recognition from the American Society of Landscape Architects, the Landscape Architecture Foundation, and the Architectural League of New York. As a member of the GSD Alumni Committee, she is an active ambassador of the GSD.
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Sekou Cooke is an architectural practitioner and educator based in Syracuse, New York. He is currently Assistant Professor at Syracuse University’s School of Architecture where he teaches design studios and seminars that value breadth of exploration over formulaic production. Through his professional practice, sekou cooke STUDIO, he brings thoughtful processes and rigorous experimentation to a vast array of project types from commercial and residential works in New York, New Jersey, and North Carolina, to mixed-use projects and tenant improvements in California, to speculative developments in Liberia and his native Jamaica.
Through his research, practice, and other academic endeavors, Sekou hopes to leave an equally lasting impact on ivory towers and underserved communities.
Sekou holds a BArch from Cornell University and an MArch from Harvard University, and is licensed to practice architecture in New York and California.
Peter has served as chair and co-chair of and also served as graduate school director of the HAA.
Peter is founding partner of a woman co-owned business that focuses on designing social infrastructure for New York City and other municipalities. actively collaborates with a diverse group of professionals in an effort to make its collective work more representative of the communities it serves.
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Biography coming soon…
As an Alumni Council member, John’s efforts focus on student engagement and support. He is a student mentor and co-chair, with Beth Roloff, of the Unsung Hero Award selection process.
An architect and educator, John is the founding partner of di Domenico + Partners, and an adjunct faculty member at NYIT. The work of his studio explores innovation and sustainability in the civic realm. Recent projects include the METRO Silver Line and the development of a sustainable landscape for the United Nations. He is an avid mixed media painter and his work is often visual commentary on current projects. John received a Bachelor of Architecture degree from The City College, and his MAUD at the GSD. He was a Fulbright Scholar in Rome. John serves on the Boards of The New York Transit Museum and Coney Island USA.
Biography coming soon…
Jennifer is a licensed architect with the Ontario Association of Architects and member of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada. Previously licensed with Nova Scotia Association of Architects. Associate at superkül (Toronto, Canada). Past Associate at MacKay-Lyons Sweetapple Architects (Halifax, Canada). Current Lecturer at Toronto Metropolitan University (formerly Ryerson University). Jennifer previously taught in the undergraduate and graduate level at University of Waterloo, Dalhousie University, and the GSD (Career Discovery). Current vice-chair of Building Equality in Architecture Toronto, Executive Committee (BEAT). Current mentor for Ontario Association of Architects Internship Program, past mentor for Nova Scotia Association of Architects Internship Program. She is also a Mentor with Harvard Women in Design (WiD), Harvard Mentor Collective, Carleton Alumni Program. Planning committee for International Landscape Collaborative (GSD initiated organization).
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Rickie Golden is Vice President, Real Estate Development at Alexandria Real Estate Equities, where she oversees the master planning and development of life science development projects in Greater Boston. Previously, Rickie was Vice President, Development at The Davis Companies and President of JECSP, a spin-off company of Corcoran Jennison Companies focusing on large-scale, mixed-use urban projects with a public benefit strategy. A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania (Bachelor’s, 2005, Art History) and Harvard University Graduate School of Design (Master’s, 2012, MDes Real Estate Development), Rickie worked in development in New York City and at The Museum of Modern Art prior to attending GSD. She is originally from outside Philadelphia.
She is a member of the Board of Directors of The American City Coalition, a member and former Vice Chair of the Urban Land Institute Responsible Property Investment Council and has held a variety of leadership positions at CJP. She has lectured and spoken on panels at Harvard College, Boston College, Boston University Law School, Harvard University Graduate School of Design, The Boston Society of Architects and the Urban Land Institute.
Gregory joined the Ambassadorship committee within the GSD Alumni Council and is focused on organizing events that will engage alumni and raise awareness of the GSD within the broader design community and the public. He hopes to leverage his involvement in a broad range of professional associations, including the NYC chapter of the AIA,, the NY Metro Chapter of the APA, and the Harvard Alumni Architectural and Urban Society (HAAUS) in order to reach, and to bring together, a broader audience for events highlighting the endeavors, achievements, and contributions of Harvard GSD alumni, faculty, and students.
Gregory is a New York based architect and urban designer and an Associate Principal with Henning Larsen. His work focuses on engagement with the public realm through civic, mixed-use, and urban design projects. Previously, he worked with Grimshaw, Polshek partnership (now Ennead), Rafael Vinoly and Deborah Berke. Gregory has taught at the Boston Architectural Center, the New York and New Jersey Institutes of Technology, and the New York City College of Technology, CUNY. Additionally, he has been an invited juror or lecturer at Columbia, the University of Pennsylvania, Harvard, Yale, Parsons, City College, and Pratt.
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As Director of Land Use and Planning for the Metropolitan Planning Council (MPC), Christina focuses on the intersection of planning, development, land use and open space in the Chicago area and considers how these broad issues impact other MPC programmatic areas. Prior to joining MPC, Christina practiced landscape architecture and urban planning at Midwest firms, with a particular interest in integrating resident engagement into planning and landscape frameworks. As a landscape architect, she has worked on projects at a range of scales, from managing neighborhood plans to detail design for parks, with several of her projects winning awards from local chapters of the American Society of Landscape Architects.
Christina received her master’s degree in landscape architecture from the Harvard University Graduate School of Design and her bachelor’s degree from Princeton University with a concentration in anthropology and environmental studies.
Biography coming soon…
Biography coming soon…
Biography coming soon…
Mark participates in the Student Alumni Exchange Committee and holds occasional student and alumni events in Denver.
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Trevor has served as co-chair for the Ambassadorship Committee and a member of the Executive Committee since 2017.
Trevor is a climate resilience and adaptation planner with 10 years of professional experience on a variety of project types, from managing district and neighorhood-level resilience and adaptation plans to leading city-wide climate adaptation programs. His work has spanned the public and private sectors and focused on projects big and small across the U.S. He is currently a Senior Resilience Planner with the Urban and Coastal Resilience practice within Arcadis, U.S., with a focus on climate adaptation, land use, community engagement, and project implementation.
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has been working with the Harvard Urban Planning Organization to develop an alumni mentorship partnership with the Alumni C
Much of Zakcq’s practice has been based on experiences as someone from a low-income background trying to find space within design pedagogy, practice, and culture that lacks racial, socio-economic, and gender diversity. He is now a partner at Mend Collaborative, a new design firm based in Minneapolis and Austin. Mend Collaborative was founded with the goal of developing a supportive and sustainable design practice that understands that professional achievement and productivity must be an outgrowth of life/work boundaries and personal fulfillment. The firm values collaborative work, investing in well-being and development as professionals and people, and being present for communities.
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Anne-Marie is interested in mentoring and connecting students with people and organizations that reflect the diversity of design practices and influence on the world. In 2020 she organized a “Profiles of Practice” J-Term session with Womxn in Design that brought together GSD alumni who shared insights from their personal and professional journeys.
Anne-Marie is passionate about increasing understanding of the built environment and its impact on our lives. She has developed and led projects and programs in design firms, educational institutions, and nonprofits that engage people in design and planning and foster more beautiful, just, and resilient communities. Anne-Marie regularly contributes to national and international forums on design and cities. She is a Lecturer in Urban Planning at the GSD and serves on the Boston Civic Design Commission and Association of Architecture Organizations board of directors. She holds a BArch from Carnegie Mellon and was a 2012 Harvard Loeb Fellow.
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Thomas has served on the Alumni Council since 2016, on the Ambassadorship Committee. He worked with other committee members to establish the GSD Alumni Award, now in its third year, and serves as co-chair of the jury for the 2024 cycle. He has also been actively involved in the development and presentation of online Design Impact sessions, and was the moderator for a session on public commemoration in a day-long webinar event in September 2021. In his work as a public architect in Washington, D.C., he has participated in or hosted several alumni events in the city.
Thomas has worked in the allied disciplines of architecture, urban design, and historic preservation over the past 30 years– in a mix of professional practice, public sector, academic, and advocacy organization roles. In his current role, running the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts, the federal design review agency in Washington, D.C., he is closely involved in the design of public architecture, cultural expression and its history, and forms of commemoration. Thomas manages a publication program at the CFA, where he has produced two major volumes on D.C. public architecture, with several more currently in production. He is a frequent speaker, panelist, and contributor on these topics, particularly as they relate to cultural history, the design and history of Washington, D.C., and the expression of national values in built form.
John Mann is a land use planning policy advisor for the Secretary of the Navy and the Chief of Naval Operations, the senior civilian and military leaders of the U.S. Department of the Navy. He is engaged in long-range planning, development and real estate strategies for naval installations world-wide to support U.S. foreign policy objectives.
He started his employment with the Navy in 2007 where he led the Navy’s planning division for the Washington, DC region. Key efforts his planners managed included the relocation of the National Museum of the United States Navy; master plans for the region’s installations; and coordination with local and federal planning and review agencies.
From 2002 to 2007 John served on the staff of the National Capital Planning Commission, the federal government’s planning agency for the National Capital Region. His work at the Commission addressed the shifting landscape of 21st century development; the urgent actions necessary to combat the threats from climate change; and the opportunities created by advances in technology, challenging traditional ideas of mobility and workplace. From 1987 to 2002 he worked as a land use planner for the Department of Defense and as a consultant in the private sector, giving him a broad perspective on differing approaches to administration and governance.
John is a member of the American Institute of Certified Planners and is a site visitor for the Planning Accreditation Board, the organization which accredits graduate and undergraduate planning programs in North America.
Jeffrey served on the council for nine years beginning in 2009 and co-chaired the Ambassadorship Committee for the last four years of that. He then went on to become one of the Appointed Directors from the GSD to the Harvard Alumni Association (HAA) and is serving his second term.
He and his partners have grown an office that prioritizes diversity, equity, and inclusion in our approach to projects, the work they pursue, and the people they hire. Their team comprises 50% people of color, 60% women and 30% LGBTQ+ representation. In addition to a broad range of civic and institutional work, they pursue projects that have strong social justice agendas. Two of these projects in New York include the Eric Holder Initiative for Civil and Political Rights and the Stonewall National Monument.
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Alpa Nawre is Associate Professor in the Department of Landscape Architecture at University of Florida, and Partner at her design practice, Alpa Nawre Design. Alpa is a recipient of the Council of Educators in Landscape Architecture Award for Excellence in Design Studio Teaching, Harvard University’s Dumbarton Oaks Mellon Fellowship in Urban Landscape Studies, and Landscape Architecture Foundation’s Fellowship for Innovation and Leadership. Issues pertinent to the design of urban water infrastructure, and resource challenges in the context of rapidly urbanizing, developing countries inform her research, teaching and practice. Her writings have been published as books chapters and in journals such as Landscape Journal, JoLA and Thresholds. Alpa is a licensed landscape architect in Kansas, a licensed architect in India, and a LEED AP. She holds a Masters degree in Urban Design from Harvard Graduate School of Design, a Masters in Landscape Architecture from Louisiana State University, and a Bachelor in Architecture from NIT, Raipur, India. She has worked internationally in design offices in India, USA, UAE, and Switzerland and serves on the editorial board of JAE, the Journal of Architectural Education.
Riki Nishimura is based in San Francisco, where he is Principal at the global design firm Populous. Committed to furthering sustainable strategies, practices, and contributions to the community, Riki has been active for over a decade in the Urban Land Institute (ULI), a nonprofit education and research institute with a focus on the use of land in order to enhance the total environment. The ULI recognized him as a recipient of its 2016 40 Under 40 award, recognizing the best and brightest young land use professionals from around the globe. He has participated in numerous ULI Advisory services panels, he serves on the ULI San Francisco district council executive management board, the co-chair of the membership experience committee, a mentor for the ULI Young Leaders Group (YLG) 2016-current, and a member of the Global Exchange Product Council.
Riki has participated as a design review critic at Harvard, Stanford, RISD, UC Berkeley, and UCLA and has held an appointment at Stanford University as an adjunct lecturer in the School of Engineering.
Riki received a Bachelor of Architecture from the University of Toronto and a Master of Architecture and Urban Design from the Harvard University Graduate School of Design.
Biography coming soon…
Ryley Poblete, LEED AP, is a Senior Associate at Gensler in Los Angeles, CA. There he works on large scale projects ranging from corporate, mixed use, and institutional work with a focus on urban design and planning. Prior to Gensler Ryley worked for seven years at HOK on a range of projects spanning from King Abdullah University of Science and Technology to Chevron’s proposed corporate headquarters expansion in downtown Houston.
Ryley graduated from Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design in 2014 with a focus on Architecture and Urban Design. This opportunity allowed him to take on an expanded dialogue around the topic of resource development and planning in his thesis regarding the Athabasca Oil Sands. He completed his undergraduate studies at The University of Houston where he graduated Summa Cum Laude and received the AIA Henry Adams Medal and Certificate (salutatorian). Ryley’s thesis “Bayou Fjords,” which focused on the Houston Ship Channel and the utilization of brownfield developments over time, was the recipient of a design award and was displayed at the 2012 Texas Student Biennial Exhibition.
A Canadian citizen and American resident, Ryley lives and works in the Houston area with his wife, Rorie Poblete.
Gil has been consistently involvement with the GSD in various roles: as a member the GSD Alumni Council where he serves on the Ambassador Committee, as a member of the Harvard University Alumni Real Estate Board, and as a member of the Josep Lluís Sert Council since 2015.
Gil is an accomplished and award-winning professional and civic leader with expertise in several interrelated fields including real estate, urban planning, historic preservation, sustainability, design, infrastructure, community and economic development. He has worked as an entrepreneur and held positions in the private, public and non-profit sectors.
Gil draws on his unique multidisciplinary and multi-sectoral experience, local knowledge, and national/international perspective to holistically approach and successfully execute challenging, high-profile real estate and urban redevelopment projects that are a win-win for business, community, environment, and government. Gil is involved in several community and professional organizations including ULI (Urban Land Institute), American Planning Association/American Institute of Certified Planners (APA/AICP), and founder of Open House Atlanta, a non-profit dedicated to showcasing the built environment.
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Euneika’s leadership within the Alumni Council involves strengthening equity diversity and inclusion efforts through the support of the and through engagement with students by developing regional, on-the-ground projects in which students can apply a variety of design skills. one-on-one mentoring and portfolio and thesis reviews as well as courses rooted in social design of our region.
Euneika is a creative researcher at the Destination Design School of Agricultural Estates. Working at the intersection of conceptual and material practice, she develops projects that deal with the natural environment’s role in culture, examining the significance of mainstream industrial production in developed countries and local production in developing countries. Her current work explores the social and philosophical dimensions of reparation ecology, the curious intersections of the humane and inhumane, and art as a means of engagement, education, critique, and healing. She is interested in co-designing global curricula and workshops that address ecological crises.
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Adriana collaborated on Volume 5 of the Design Impact Series, specifically Global Gardens, focusing on Latin America. Reaching out to GSD Alumni in the region and portraying the richness of our natural assets, the role they play globally and regionally, showcasing alumni work and their involvement with communities, landscape, mobility (physical and social), and overall social impact. Questions were centered on our values as a region in transition but also as fertile ground for innovation in softer landing for required infrastructure for development. Special emphasis on cultivating and safeguarding cultural knowledge as a tool for design innovation, sustainability, equity, inclusion, and justice.
Latam, and former President Harvard Club of Mexico. Envision Sustainability Professional, Project Designer | Project Architect for sustainable beach house, Puerto Escondido, for a refurbishment of a 1920´s house/art gallery in Condesa, Mexico City. Former Governance and Finance for Metropolitan Development consultant, for the Valley of Toluca, State of Mexico. Project Coordinator for the St Regis Hotel and Residences, Mexico City in collaboration with PCP Design Architects, YabuPushelberg Interior Design Firm, Starwood Hotels Luxury Brand and Ownership. Contributed to the new governing alignment for the Mexican Association of Urban Planners (AMU) and is the former Vice President of Legislation and Governance.
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Beth Roloff, AIA, LEED AP BD+C is a Project Architect and Associate at MSR Design in Minneapolis, Minnesota. She has experience working across many complex building typologies, global locations, and architectural scales in the United States and Middle East. Her design work includes libraries, higher education, office, healthcare, science and technology, and mixed-use development projects that focus on creating architecture that is sustainably integrated into the urban fabric.
She holds a Master in Architecture from the Harvard University Graduate School of Design and received a Bachelor of Science in Architecture, with high honors, from the University of Virginia.
David has had the pleasure of participating in several Graduate School of Design Open Studio explorations in the last several years, focusing on identity, accessibility – the invitation to participate – and engagement, to give opportunity for communities to see themselves in the resultant design explorations. He has participated in panel discussions and lectures at the HGSD with a focus on empathy and design practices through the Womxn in Design series, as well as “Pandemic Practice: Leading a Design Firm in a Time of Crisis,” among others. David was honored to host Harvard’s gathering at the 2018 Conference on Landscape at his Philadelphia studio and welcomes visits from GSD students and alum at any time.
David’s burgeoning landscape architecture, urban design, and planning practice, DAVID RUBIN Land Collective, is passionately committed to an empathetic design problem-solving approach in an effort to assure those that participate in landscapes of the studio’s design can self-identify within those sites. As a nationally-certified LGBT Small Business Entity (SBE), Land Collective focuses design excellence with a priority on socially resilient and inclusive landscapes, so that the breadth of constituency can “see themselves” in the resultant works. David has developed and led complex design and planning projects in a wide range of American cities, from Detroit to Los Angeles to Washington, D.C., always with a focus on empowering constituency to foster identity. He is a frequent contributor to national forums on the design of cities and was recently appointed by the State Department to The Bureau of Overseas Building Operations (OBO) Industry Advisory Group to advise the U.S. Government on best practices in landscape architecture.
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Paris serves as co-chair of the mentor program participant, regional representative for North Texas region and liaison to the Harvard Club of Dallas.
Paris is focused on creating Great Places as defined by their quality of experience, economic return, and social impact. He believes in the transformative power of inclusive urbanism in society and has been working for over 30 years to achieve it through mixed-use, transit-oriented, and residential developments across the United States and abroad.
Since founding Catalyst Urban Development in 2009, Paris has guided the company’s real estate planning and development activities. These efforts have included the arrangement of over $2.5 billion in debt and equity across 200+ transactions, planning strategies for more than 60 public and private entities, the completion of $300 million in mixed-use development, and current development of $340 million in urban regeneration and suburban retrofit.
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Eric began his service on the Alumni Council in 2014. He is founding and current co-chair of the Equity Diversity and Inclusion Committee and has served on the governance and S/AX Eric was on the inaugural Alumni Awards jury in 2020. Eric has served as the alumni representative to Queers in Design, and the African American Student Union. He has attended every Black in Design Conference and participated as a guest critic for Urban Planning Core studio since 2013.
Eric is proud to be a mentor to dozens of recent urban planning alumni and has been able to host a number of underrepresented students as interns at the organization he has led. Professionally his work focuses on the public sector and philanthropy in the areas of equitable development and systems change. Eric currently serves as chair of the board of the online publication Next City, and serves on the National Trust for Historic Preservation board of advisors. In 2017 and 2018, he was recognized in the OUTstanding Leading LGBT+ Public Sector Executives List, presented by the Financial Times.
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Bryan Shiles is a design partner at WRNS Studio, a 150-person architecture firm he co-founded in 2005, which now has offices in San Francisco, New York, and Honolulu. He has worked with some of today’s most transformative organizations — Adobe, Stanford, Intuit, UCSF, and the Trust for Public Land — to steward their brands over many projects and years. Bryan established WRNS Studio’s New York office in 2016 and has grown it to 20 people who are working on new urban mixed use, workplace, and educational projects throughout the U.S.
A career educator, Bryan teaches regularly at Stanford, and has led design studios at Northeastern University, Ohio State, California College of the Arts, and UC Berkeley. Most recently, he led a yearlong research studio between Northeastern University and Stanford University, focused on the impacts of changes in work and workplace upon the public realm, the findings of which have been published in a new book. Bryan also serves on the Northeastern University School of Architecture Advisory Council. He earned his Bachelor of Architecture from the University of Tennessee, and achieved his Master of Architecture at Harvard University. Bryan leads WRNS Studio’s New York office and splits his time between the coasts.
Biography coming soon…
Zenovia has been working on the S/AX and is now co-chair. In the past the committee has done portfolio reviews and one-on-one meetings with students (when in person). Recently the committee conducted a panel on the challenges and opportunities of entering the post-GSD life.
Through courses at Dartmouth, Zenovia has been working with students on developing projects that explore the social impact of Architecture in Public Space, emphasizing ideas that can accommodate the needs and desires of vulnerable individuals and underserved communities. She provides one-on-one mentorship to all her students and other students, many of whom (based on race, gender, nationality). She has been organizing panels and events which explore professional matters emerged by the needs of students, often focusing on social impact, ethics in design, and ethics in professional practice.
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Biography coming soon…
Sameh is one of the co-creators of Design Impact and has contributed substantively to several DI, including “Following the Sun: Design Futures at the Intersection of Health, Equity and Climate Change.” He is an active contributor to the Ambassadorship Committee and was selected to co-chair the Governance Committee this year to help strengthen the international dimension of the
Sameh’s training in architecture, urban design, and urban planning, plus finance and economics, makes him well positioned to serve as a bridge between different design disciplines in the GSD. In his work at the World Bank, he served as global director for urban, resilience and land, in which he oversaw a global investment program of $30 billion. He has just transitioned as director for sustainable development in Europe and Central Asia, covering a range of issues including cities, post-conflict reconstruction, environment, water, and landscapes, among others.
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As a new member of the Alumni Council, Ole has joined the Design Impact Committee and he has also been accepted as a mentor in the GSD Mentorship Program.
Ole earned a bachelor’s degree at Manchester University in England before coming to the GSD for a Master of Architecture degree. He worked in Boston before moving to Edinburgh, where he worked for six years as an architect. He then co-founded NSW Arkitektur in Oslo and is currently Founding Partner and Architectural Director. The firm has three locations in Norway and has done a number of jobs abroad. Ole has served as President of the Norwegian Association of Architects and has also been active in the academic world, having been a teacher and external examiner in 7 architectural schools in 6 countries – currently in Riga, Latvia. He is also the village architect in the Mediaeval village Colletta di Castelbianco in Italy.
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Kristina is the co-chair of the Ambassadorship Committee, Communications Committee, and has actively participated in the Executive Committee. Her efforts have centered on creating enriching and relevant experiences for alumni and current students to support the GSD in creating a vibrant community. She has served on several panels of the GSD Design Impact Series as well as Student Alumni Exchange events.
Kristina has actively participated in the creation of the value statements of the GSD Alumni Council. She served as one of the founders of the GSD Alumni Award programming and has served as most recent co-chair of the committee to select the illustrious awardees. She serves on several association and professional boards in her state of New Mexico and nationally.
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Corey Zehngebot, AIA, AICP, works as the Director of Urban Design at Graffito, a real estate development and urban design firm focused on complex ground floor leasing + activation projects. There, she’s focused on growing an urban design practice that is complementary to the firm’s core belief that urban neighborhoods will be more valuable, sustainable, and useable when ground-floor uses are carefully designed, coordinated and executed. Working at all scales, she provides leadership and expertise during early phase strategic planning and design, while continuing to steward projects during execution, marketing, and leasing.
Prior to joining Graffito, Corey worked as a Senior Urban Designer and Architect for the Boston Planning and Development Agency (BPDA, formerly the Boston Redevelopment Authority). Her responsibilities there included a) conducting design review for large scale projects as part of compliance with Boston’s Zoning code, b) conceptualizing, leading, and managing urban design initiatives and design guidelines throughout the city and c) assistance with the design, substance, and management of planning initiatives and studies throughout Boston. Her work at the BPDA required an understanding of the interdependency of city agencies, public institutions, politics, and private development forces in order to impact the built environment.
Corey has also worked as a senior urban designer, architect, and planner for Utile in Boston, where she worked with a variety of private and public sector clients. In addition, she has taught at Harvard, MIT, and served as a design critic at many area colleges and universities. She received a B.A. with distinction from Yale University and a Masters of Architecture from the Harvard Graduate School of Design.
Sara Zewde is a founding principal of Studio Zewde, a design firm practicing at the intersection of landscape architecture, urbanism, and public art. The studio’s work is lauded for its methodology that syncs site interpretation and narrative with a dedication to the craft of construction. Prior to establishing the practice, Sara worked for Gustafson Guthrie Nichol in Seattle, Washington and Hood Design Studio in Oakland, California.
In parallel with practice, Sara regularly writes, lectures, and exhibits her work. Sara was named the 2014 National Olmsted Scholar by the Landscape Architecture Foundation, a 2016 Artist-in-Residence at the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation, and in 2018, was named to the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s inaugural “40 Under 40: People Saving Places” list. Her work has been exhibited at the 2016 and 2018 Venice Biennale, in the Brazilian and U.S national pavilions.
Sara holds a master’s of landscape architecture from the Harvard University Graduate School of Design, a master’s of city planning from MIT, and a BA in sociology and statistics from Boston University.
Shi has served on the Alumni Council since 2021. She is a member of the Student Alumni Exchange Committee and Mentorship Subcommittee and has actively served on regional Student Alumni events to promote the engagement of the alumni community.
Shi Zhou, AIA, RIBA, LEED AP BD+C is the founding Principal of Studio 10, a multidisciplinary architectural design studio based in Shenzhen/Hong Kong, China. In her practice, Shi views Architecture not only as a media that shelters us from and through which we sense the surrounding environment, but also the catalyst that sparks the economic and cultural revitalization of the urban and rural communities, a generator and vessel for sociological, cultural reflection and advancement, without compromising its harmonious relationship with nature. In 2021, Studio 10 was selected by Architizer as one of the 10 Female-Led Firms at the Forefront of Architecture.
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