Citizen Architect

A young woman architect looks over some blueprints

By taking action, being involved in their communities, and engaging legislators, Citizen Architects are the driving force behind AIA’s advocacy efforts.

Citizen Architect

Sandra Madison, AIA

Sandra Madison is CEO and chairperson of Robert P. Madison International Inc., a Cleveland-based company that was the first Black-owned architectural firm in the Midwest. Madison chaired the Cleveland chapter of AIA’s Women in Architecture and is part of the National Organization of Minority Architects.

Citizen Architect

Suyama Bodhinayake, Assoc. AIA

Suyama Bodhinayake has always been interested in sustainable design. Now settled in Orange County (OC), California, Bodhinayake uses knowledge gained from a career that has spanned two decades and three continents to convince policymakers to include architects as stakeholders in their sustainability plans. He is helping guide Irvine, California’s effort to meet the city’s bold carbon neutrality pledge.

Citizen Architect

Monica Gresser, AIA

When Monica Gresser launched BRAZENarchitecture in 2011, she was eager “to do her own thing” but also wanted to create a firm whose mission was to contribute to the well-being of the residents in her adopted hometown of Las Vegas.

Citizen Architect

F. Michael Ayles, FAIA

Citizen architects working with state and local governments, like F. Michael Ayles, are in a prime position to sow the seeds for a stronger community. As a citizen architect, Ayles has devoted his career to working in a firm that focuses on improving schools in his state and region. Although he is now in the middle of his fourth full term as a member of the Guilford Board of Finance, he never planned on running for office.

Citizen Architect

Jenna Fribley, AIA

In another life, Jenna Fribley must have been an archeologist or historian, but today she is an architect, interior designer, teacher, realtor, commissioner, board member, entrepreneur, and community advocate. After establishing her own firm in Springfield, Oregon, Fribley has become a relentless force behind the revitalization of downtown Springfield. Through her firm and activism, she has worked to excite community members about Springfield’s history—and its future. As a citizen architect, Fribley also has helped address the region’s affordable housing shortage.

Citizen Architect

Frank Zilm, FAIA

Frank Zilm has led a life of service and advocacy. His introduction to local AIA chapters came just after high school and instilled in him the notion that architects must give back—to their communities, their professions, and the schools that launched their careers. Zilm has been a Citizen Architect ever since. As AIA Kansas City chapter president, Zilm built a scholarship program that fosters the next generation of architects. (Privately, Zilm and his wife also have established and sponsored two other scholarship programs.) As a college professor, he has helped students understand how architects can improve the health and safety of marginalized communities. As a citizen advocate, he has led volunteer coalitions that are shaping the policy answers to society’s most pressing challenges.

Citizen Architect

Yiselle​ Santos Rivera, AIA

For Yiselle Santos Rivera, the idea that advocacy and architecture are inseparable came early. The University of Puerto Rico, where Santos Rivera completed her undergraduate degree in environmental science and design, is embedded in one of San Juan’s most storied neighborhoods and has been the site of numerous protests. The architecture professors talked openly about their own histories of activism, and they taught students to view architecture not as a mere act of building, but as a profession that promotes human dignity, a strong culture, and resilient communities.

Citizen Architect

David Carroll, AIA

Carroll is director of multifamily architecture at Urban Foundry Architecture in Austin. His volunteer efforts are well-aligned with the firm’s mission. Launched in 2013, Urban Foundry Architecture aims to “make the world a better place through great design in urban places.” Carroll was appointed to Austin’s Design Commission in 2014 and now chairs the panel. He also serves on the city’s Joint Sustainability Committee, where he advises officials on building sustainability and recently helped update the city’s Community Climate Plan. In 2020 Carroll served on the city’s Historic Landmark Commission Working Group, which created Austin’s first Historic Design Guidelines. Carroll joined the AIA Austin Board of Directors in 2020 as advocacy commissioner and also serves on the board of the Chestnut Neighborhood Revitalization Corporation, a nonprofit organization that addresses affordable housing needs in Austin.

Citizen Architect

Brett Moss, AIA

Moss is managing principal at Moss Architecture & Design Group in Miami. He has served as an adjunct professor at the Florida International University School of Architecture, where he helps students understand how architectural production and design impact the environment. In addition to serving on the Key Biscayne Village Council, Moss has chaired the Key Biscayne Education Advisory Board and was a member of the Key Biscayne PTA Facility Committee and the Key Biscayne Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors. In addition to architecture degrees from Virginia Polytechnic Institute, Moss holds an MBA and a master’s degree in human resources, and is pursuing a Ph.D. in philosophy from the University of Missouri-Columbia.

Citizen Architect

Emily Roush-Elliott, AIA

Roush-Elliott began her career as a social impact architect in Biloxi, Mississippi., where she and her future husband, Richard Elliott, built and designed hurricane-resistant housing.

Citizen Architect

Thomas Vonier, FAIA

Vonier is president of the International Union of Architects and president of The American Institute of Architects (2016-17). He was founding president of AIA Continental Europe (1994-95) and the first president of the AIA International Region. In 2010, Vonier was named to the AIA Board of Directors, where he served until 2012.

Citizen Architect

Corey Clayborne, FAIA

As a former practitioner, Corey Clayborne made the transition to full-time advocacy nearly four years ago when he became Executive Vice President and CEO of AIA Virginia, where he is helping to shape the next generation of Citizen Architects. In addition to his government affairs work with the Commonwealth’s AIA chapter, Clayborne lends his voice and expertise as an appointee to his local county planning commission, which advises elected officials on matters related to planning, zoning, housing, transit, and land use policy.

Citizen Architect

Robert Fiala, AIA

Citizen Architect Robert Fiala has been working in and around government since he started his career more than 40 years ago. After leading a firm responsible for designing educational facilities in Ohio, he is now leading the city of Willoughby, Ohio, through the COVID-19 pandemic while executing a “community-wide effort” for reinventing the town. Fiala’s experience as a planner and architect has benefited Willoughby in other ways, as well. While serving on the City Council, Fiala chaired the Budget and Finance Committee and the Economic Development Committee, and was a member of the Environmental Planning Committee.

Citizen Architect

Valarie Franklin, AIA

Citizen Architect Valarie Franklin has used her knowledge to help shape Music City’s growth by envisioning spaces that appeal to the diverse communities they serve and that contribute to the culture and vitality of one of America’s most storied towns.

Citizen Architect

Jorge Mastropietro, AIA

Jorge Mastropietro, AIA works with local officials to reimagine suburban life, transform his own community, and educate citizens about reducing their carbon footprints.

Citizen Architect

Maureen Guttman, AIA

Maureen Guttman, AIA, has more than 25 years of experience in energy-efficient and green building design. A committed advocate at the local, state, and federal levels, Guttman is a leader in the fight for the development, adoption, and implementation of the type of robust building codes that will help the United States more effectively address the global climate crisis.

Citizen Architect

Jessica O’Donnell, AIA, and Brandon Warshofsky, AIA

Citizen Architects – Jessica O’Donnell, AIA, and Brandon Warshofsky, AIA

Citizen Architect

Angela Brooks, FAIA

Angela Brooks, FAIA, is a seasoned advocate at the local, state, and federal levels. With an emphasis on sustainability, affordable housing, and social justice, her mission is to convey to policymakers and public planners that design is not about a single building—it exists to create communities that improve the lives of the individuals who live in them.

Citizen Architect

Rico Quirindongo, AIA

DLR Group Principal Rico Quirindongo, AIA, has been working for 25 years to revitalize and reimagine some of Seattle’s most historic landmarks and neighborhoods. He is an active AIA volunteer, serving as AIA Seattle president from 2012 to 2013 and as a board director from 2009 to 2014. Quirindongo’s civic experience includes a five-year mayoral appointment to the Historic Seattle Council.

Citizen Architect

Molly M. Scanlon, FAIA

Molly M. Scanlon, FAIA shares her perspectives on how architects are helping communities as the COVID-19 pandemic takes hold.

Citizen Architect

Kenneth Drake, AIA

Kenneth Drake, AIA shares his perspectives on how architects are helping communities as the COVID-19 pandemic takes hold.

Citizen Architect

Illya Azaroff, AIA

Illya Azaroff, AIA shares his perspectives on how architects are helping communities as the COVID-19 pandemic takes hold.

Tim Kearney, AIA

Citizen Architect, Pennsylvania state Sen. Tim Kearney, AIA, Principal, views his work in elected office as an extension of his work as an architect. Kearney previously served as mayor of Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, where he helped the community become a leader in environmental protection and sustainability practices, fair and equitable policing practices, and LGBTQ equality.

Citizen Architect

Jenine Kotob, Assoc. AIA

Jenine Kotob, Assoc. AIA, Citizen Architect, Committee on Architecture for Education, Grassroots, Hord Coplan Macht, Jenine, Kotob, Steve Cimino

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A young woman architect looks over some blueprints

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