Member and Firm Profiles Archives - Page 2 of 3

Welcome, 2021 Members!

Posted on December 15, 2021December 15, 2021 by Jon Bell

Our 2,400 FAIA, AIA, Assoc. AIA, and new graduate members all comprise the AIA Colorado community, and we’re honored to recognize the following members who joined or transferred in from another state to Colorado in 2021. Please help us welcome the following new members.

2021 AIA and Assoc. AIA Members

Abigya T. Abiyo, Assoc. AIA

Lynn Acton, AIA

Douglas E. Adams, AIA

Mark E. Adcock, AIA

Casey Alexander, Assoc. AIA

Danya Alheriz, Assoc. AIA

Andrew P. Allmon, AIA

Filimon Alvarez, Assoc. AIA

Saeed Amirchaghmaghi, Assoc. AIA

Kenyon Anderson, Assoc. AIA

Antonio J. Andrade, Assoc. AIA

Matthew Andronowitz, Assoc. AIA

Chris Antonopoulos, Assoc. AIA

Pamela April, Assoc. AIA

Elizabeth R. Arnold, AIA

Jacques A. Artel, Assoc. AIA

Susan M. Atkinson, Assoc. AIA

Jaime E. Aubry, Assoc. AIA

Evan Auer, Assoc. AIA

Crystal Babb, Assoc. AIA

Michael Baden, AIA

Abigail Balderrama-Magallanes, Assoc. AIA

Roger Barak, AIA

Gabe Bellowe, AIA

Patrick R. Berrend, AIA

Hailey Beyer, AIA

Mark W. Bila, Assoc. AIA

Jonathan K. Bock, AIA

James F. Bock, Assoc. AIA

Robert Brashears, AIA

Christopher W. Brettell, Assoc. AIA

Kyle L. Brunner, Assoc. AIA

Greg Bruskivage, Assoc. AIA

Adam L. Buehler, AIA

Megan K. Burke, Assoc. AIA

Alyson E. Burkhalter, Assoc. AIA

Mary H. Bussard, AIA

Brandon Byrd, Assoc. AIA

William R. Campbell, AIA

Michelle Anne Canniff, Assoc. AIA

Oscar Carlson, Assoc. AIA

Adam Casias, Assoc. AIA

Jordan Tierney Caylor, Assoc. AIA

Benjamin R. Charpentier, Assoc. AIA

Kayla Chenery, AIA

Ashley Clark Adams, AIA

Kirsten A. Coe, AIA

Janna H. Cole, Assoc. AIA

Ryan Cook, AIA

Catherine A. Crain, AIA

Andrea L. Cunningham, AIA

Marc P. Daubert, Assoc. AIA

Jennifer M. Davis, Assoc. AIA

Lauren A. Davis, AIA

Alan Doggett, Assoc. AIA

Yinhui Dong, Assoc. AIA

Joseph M. Dooling, AIA

Meghan Duarte-Silva, AIA

Krista L. Dumkrieger, AIA

Craig A. Dunn, Assoc. AIA

Benjamin S. Durham, Assoc. AIA

Luke W. Durkin, AIA

Ashley Duvenhage, Assoc. AIA

Jennifer B. Edwards, Assoc. AIA

Samantha N. Eichhorn, Assoc. AIA

Amaleed E. Elmehdiwi, Assoc. AIA

Nicholas J. Esquibel, Assoc. AIA

Lauren C. Falcon, AIA

Charles W. Fielder, AIA

Nicholas H. Fish, Assoc. AIA

Corey J. Fisher, AIA

Michael C. Folwell, AIA

Rena M. Foster, AIA

Kit Frey, Assoc. AIA

Craig M. Friedman, AIA

Anna S. Friedrich, Assoc. AIA

Douglas L. Fullen, AIA

Christopher W. Fuller, AIA

Christian Fussy, AIA

Ben Garcia, Assoc. AIA

Tamrat Z. Getu, Assoc. AIA

Jason C. Geving, AIA

Patrick J. Gleason, AIA

Iulia Gnatyk, Assoc. AIA

Austin S. Gohl, AIA

Victor Gonzalez, Assoc. AIA

Christopher R. Grantham, Assoc. AIA

Aaron Gray, AIA

Garrett E. Greene, Assoc. AIA

Justin Gross, AIA

Rebecca Groves, AIA

Adrienne Gullia, Assoc. AIA

Shilpa Gupta, Assoc. AIA

Roger Hall, AIA

Jack Hamilton, Assoc. AIA

Timothy R. Hansen, Assoc. AIA

Kyle J. Hanson, AIA

Ethan Harper, Assoc. AIA

Imani Haupt, Assoc. AIA

Katherine E. Hawkins, AIA

Travis A. Hendrix, AIA

Ryan Hess, AIA

Seth Hmielowski, AIA

Grant W. Horton, Assoc. AIA

Josephine Hsu, Assoc. AIA

Stefani G. Huey, AIA

Andrew Huggins, Assoc. AIA

Christopher Hurley, AIA

Ariana N. Irizarry, Assoc. AIA

Joseph Irwin, AIA

Jonathan W. Jaeger, AIA

Erik Jansson, AIA

Alex P. Jauch, AIA

Nils Jergensen, Assoc. AIA

Emily L. Johns, AIA

Amanda Johnson, Assoc. AIA

Electra Johnson, Assoc. AIA

Boyd L. Johnson, AIA

Eric C. Jones, AIA

Christopher R. Jones, AIA

Claire Jordan, AIA

Martin Joyce, Assoc. AIA

Chancie Keenan, AIA

Alexander M. Kendle, AIA

Tamzida Khan, Assoc. AIA

Sarah T. KIA, AIA

Jessica L. Killinger, AIA

Jennifer Kimura, AIA

Lisa R. Kistner, AIA

Jenny K. Kivett, AIA

John W. Koblosky, Assoc. AIA

Madelyn R. Kodros, AIA

Eric J. Kuhn, Assoc. AIA

Malgorzata Gosia L. Kung, AIA

Euginie Kwan, Assoc. AIA

Sarah J. Laake, Assoc. AIA

Christian Ladefoged, Assoc. AIA

Kerin N. LaFollette, AIA

Alexandra Lansing, Assoc. AIA

Andrew T. Lemmer, AIA

Shane W. Lenard, Assoc. AIA

Hengchen Liu, AIA

Edgar F. Llamas, Assoc. AIA

Erik K. Lobeck, AIA

Anthony J. Loughran, AIA

Germaine Low, Assoc. AIA

Jennifer Lozano Castillo, Assoc. AIA

Benjamin Ludeman, Assoc. AIA

Jacqueline A. Lund, Assoc. AIA

Hana Maclean, AIA

Kevin Madera, Assoc. AIA

Brian A. Majeski, Assoc. AIA

Sean R. Maloney, AIA

Chas M. Marquez, AIA

Natalie A. Martin, Assoc. AIA

Shawn K. Mather, AIA

Daniel Matoba, AIA

Sean P. McGovern, Assoc. AIA

Joselinne Mendoza-Ortega, Assoc. AIA

Kelsey Mercer, Assoc. AIA

Tyler Mikolajczak, Assoc. AIA

Ethan Miller, Assoc. AIA

Matthew R. Miller, AIA

Michelle L. Miller, AIA

Daniel H. Mills, AIA

Alec H. Mingle, Assoc. AIA

Fatima Montano, Assoc. AIA

Olivia Moore, Assoc. AIA

Sarah Morasso, AIA

Stephen P. Morton, AIA

Kaye S. Mullaney, AIA

Ajibola Murtala, Assoc. AIA

Adam C. Nault, AIA

Shannon Newberry, Assoc. AIA

Kevin J. Noble, Assoc. AIA

Sean P. O’Bryant, AIA

Kieran Patrick O’Halloran, AIA

Graham Oden, Assoc. AIA

Karen Offer, Assoc. AIA

Olamide Olorunkosebi, Assoc. AIA

Mahamoud D. Omar, Assoc. AIA

Hans Osheim, AIA

Brent Otsuka, Assoc. AIA

William Otte, AIA

Andrea Paiz, Assoc. AIA

Joshua D. Palmer, AIA

Dhriti Pangasa, Assoc. AIA

SeungHee Park, AIA

Cameron Parker, Assoc. AIA

Sindhuri Patllola, AIA

Megan Paus, AIA

Derrick Paus, AIA

Lee P. Payne, AIA

Allison Pearlman, AIA

Mayraj Peer, AIA

Elizabeth Perry, Assoc. AIA

Chris S. Peterson, Assoc. AIA

Alexis Petre, AIA

Page Phillips, AIA

Vivek Prasad, Assoc. AIA

Darby K. Prendergast, AIA

Derek S. Price, AIA

Zareen Prithvi, Assoc. AIA

Jacob D. Richie, AIA

Renee Ritchie, Assoc. AIA

Benjamin Robbins, AIA

Brian Rogers, AIA

Genevieve E. Rogers, AIA

Sheena O. Rude, Assoc. AIA

Aaron M. Rule, Assoc. AIA

Brandon Rutledge, AIA

Rohini Saksena, AIA

Salima Salim, Assoc. AIA

Adam C. Savage, Assoc. AIA

Morgan Scott, Assoc. AIA

Samuel L. Severns, AIA

Darek Shapiro, AIA

Tallyn Sherman, Assoc. AIA

Lauren Sherman-Boemker, Assoc. AIA

Edward L. Shure, AIA

Anyeli Silva, Assoc. AIA

John M. Simon, AIA

Anna B. Slowey, AIA

Maureen E. Smith, AIA

Jacob L. Smith, AIA

Kristen Spanbauer, Assoc. AIA

Amanda E. Spice-Knoeller, Assoc. AIA

Evan Spurrell, AIA

Joe N. Stainbrook, AIA

Kristen S. Stanford, AIA

Milo J. Stark, Assoc. AIA

Kelly Steinway, Assoc. AIA

Samantha Strang, AIA

Zachary Strong, Assoc. AIA

Connor M. Sullivan, Assoc. AIA

Blake Sullivan, AIA

Lauren Tatusko, AIA

Eric Thuerk, Assoc. AIA

Alexander Udolkin, AIA

Lucy VanDusen, AIA

David Vasquez, Assoc. AIA

Lance G. Vigil, AIA

Belen Vigil, Assoc. AIA

Maryia Vinogradova, Assoc. AIA

Natalia Vladimirova, AIA

Chelsea L. Wade, AIA

Ariel G. Walden, Assoc. AIA

Abby M. Waldo, AIA

Yeceng Wang, Assoc. AIA

Eric H. Ward, AIA

Grant Warmerdam, Assoc. AIA

Aleks Webster, Assoc. AIA

Ronald Wells, AIA

Chandler M. Willie, Assoc. AIA

John Willits, Assoc. AIA

Ian F. Wilson, Assoc. AIA

Jess C. Wilton, AIA

David M. Wirth, Assoc. AIA

Rachel Wolf, AIA

Jamie Wolff, AIA

Harry Worsham, Assoc. AIA

Christine Wright, Assoc. AIA

Tyler J. Wurr, AIA

Ruichen Xu, Assoc. AIA

Urmica Yelavarthy, Assoc. AIA

John Yoon, AIA

Zarah Zalazar, Assoc. AIA

Tianjian Zhou, Assoc. AIA

Francesca Zucchi, AIA

Transferred In

Scott Abernethy, AIA

Pratiksha J. Achari, Assoc. AIA

Andrea Anderson, AIA

Andrew T. Berry, AIA

Charles C. Boyd, AIA Member Emeritus

Austyn T. Chesser, Assoc. AIA

Corey Collier, AIA

Brenna D. Costello, AIA

Amy E. Esposito, AIA

Alexander J. Goldberg, AIA

Avignon T. Greene, Assoc. AIA

Allison W. Haynes, AIA

Douglas C. Heaton, AIA

Joshua W. Hendershot, AIA

Michael Holliday, Int’l Assoc. AIA

Asa K. Houston, AIA

Andrew L. Lane, AIA

Yvonne Lee, AIA

Carrie B. Leneweaver, AIA

John T. Mills, AIA

Michael L. Rickenbaker, AIA

Steven J. Riojas, AIA

Todd A. Tierney, AIA

Ronald K. Wiendl, AIA

Zachary S. Wilson, AIA

Aimee J. Woodall, AIA

Victoria M. Ziegler, Assoc. AIA

Jati Zunaibi, Assoc. AIA

Year in Review with the Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Committee

Posted on December 15, 2021December 15, 2021 by Jon Bell

Chairs Janna Ferguson, AIA, and Kaci Taylor, AIA

In 2021, the Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (J.E.D.I.) Committee was led by co-chairs Janna Ferguson, AIA, Partner at Pyatt Studio (left), and Kaci Taylor, AIA, Founder of THE5WH (right). This year marked the second year where committee goals focused on improving firm culture by incorporating J.E.D.I. practices into action. In addition, the committee addressed the accessibility of architecture education and how to best serve marginalized communities throughout Colorado. The committee also presented and engaged this work by actively hosting webinars that assisted in cultivating a culture of belonging throughout the practice. We caught up with Taylor and Ferguson to learn more about their experiences as the co-chairs this past year and how they best served the Colorado community.

What initially drew you to this group?

Kaci Taylor (KT): I was curious to see the direction in which AIA was approaching J.E.D.I. issues.

Janna Ferguson (JF): I was originally interested in being an AIA volunteer in general as a way to meet other professionals in Colorado and advocate for needed change within the profession. I chose the J.E.D.I. Committee to continue my personal commitment to be an advocate for justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion.

How has this committee grown or changed since you initially got involved?

JF: To me, 2020 was a year for brainstorming ideas and projects we could pursue as a committee. It has taken shape into a committee with goals that are multi-faceted: (1) to improve J.E.D.I practices within the profession, starting with increasing awareness, understanding, and providing support for firms to take action; and (2) to introduce the architectural profession and education programs to underserved populations in K-12 schools and colleges.

What are some of the accomplishments this year you are most proud of?

KT: We hosted a great webinar series this summer that focused on J.E.D.I. issues.

JF: The three webinars led by the committee were very successful. It is also very exciting to see the Architecture Pathways map published on AIA Colorado’s website.

What do you think is the biggest contribution that this committee brings to the Colorado architecture community?

KT: We are trying to position ourselves as a resource for community growth within the profession, a place for others to come to if they have questions or need direction as to how to implement policies, procedures, and even design focusing around J.E.D.I. topics.

JF: In the wake of the murder of George Floyd in 2020, conversations about justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion in the United States seemed to take over; it is crucial that these conversations and the efforts that come from them continue to be at the forefront of our thinking. I think the J.E.D.I. committee can continue to both continue the conversation within the architecture community and work on projects that work toward lasting change.

As AIA Colorado strives to create a culture of belonging, what steps have you taken to reach beyond Denver?

KT: Through our virtual webinar series, we had the opportunity to reach every AIA member in Colorado.

JF: Pyatt Studio is located in Boulder; I’ve participated in, and will continue to participate in, the North section social events along with other committee members.

What are some immediate and long-term plans we can hope to see from the committee?

KT: More learning events and hopefully more integration with other committees and how they can bring J.E.D.I. practices and thoughts to their work, as well.

JF: Immediately, the committee can focus internally, increasing our awareness as individuals and as a group about J.E.D.I issues. In the long term, I truly hope the committee can help lead the Colorado community to a more just, equitable, and diverse place.

What one thing do you wish the membership and profession at large knew about this topic or what your committee is doing?

KT: That this work isn’t a check-the-box type of work and that you are never done learning and re-evaluating. The focus on J.E.D.I should not be to make yourself look good but to actually be and DO good with the knowledge gained in learning about J.E.D.I. issues.

JF: Overall, I wish that the efforts to increase J.E.D.I. were less focused on performance or participation and more focused on implementing actual change. For example, having a J.E.D.I. committee or serving on that committee in itself is not enough. It is performative. It is crucial to take the next step, creating and maintaining—through policy/programs—positive change.

Considering Fellowship: A Peek Behind the Process

Posted on December 15, 2021February 9, 2023 by Jon Bell

Phil Gerou, FAIA

As we approach 2023 and evaluate professional goals for the coming year, we invite you to learn more about and consider AIA Fellowship.

But what is an AIA Fellow? How does one achieve Fellowship? And what is the role of the College of Fellows Nominating Committee? Beyond our webinar, “Demystifying Fellowship,” we wanted to know even more about the process, so we caught up with Phil Gerou, FAIA, who heads the College of Fellows Nominating Committee. Read on as he sheds light on the submission process, offers tips, and shoots us straight on its exclusivity.

Why does Fellowship matter?

It is the highest recognition, other than the gold medal award, given to architects recognizing their work, their service, and volunteerism. It is not an award for longevity in the profession, but for merit and effort.

What is the role of the Fellowship Nominating Committee?

The committee tracks eligible AIA Colorado members, length of membership, membership activity, and they encourage select members to apply. What else does the committee do? A lot. They even preview submissions and help coach applicants to have a better chance of being elevated. It is time consuming and arduous. The committee is there to review preliminary submittals, offer suggestions, advice, and assistance to be moved forward to the national level.

Is Fellowship awarded to young architects?

Actually, yes. The average age in Colorado, which is in line with the national average is 55 years old. The youngest person in Colorado to receive Fellowship was 41, and that was nearly 40 years ago. Colorado also has the distinction of the oldest person being awarded at 84 years old. That was Temple Buell. DC has awarded Fellowship to someone 36 and Baltimore to someone 38 years old. It takes time to build up your volunteer work, and you have to be a member for 10 years, although not consecutively.

Fellowship carries an air of elitism. How can that be changed?

It is a prestigious award and takes effort to submit and be approved nationally. Fellowship is greater than your body of work. It is about what you give back with, and that is rather humble.

With justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion (J.E.D.I.) an imperative of this association, how is the Fellowship Committee working toward being more inclusive?

Locally and nationally, the AIA is working to be inclusive, and fellowship is reflecting that change.

For more than 30 years, the Fellows Nominating Committee has been representative of the AIA Colorado membership and has welcomed new members whenever they have expressed an interest in our objectives and a willingness to contribute time and insights.

Colorado is unique in having a Fellowship Committee that is dedicated to elevating its architects to this level. Colorado is one of few states to have a local chapter that supports Fellowship. In 1992, it was realized that it had been 6+ years since anyone from the state had been nominated. The Fellows Nominating Committee was formed and has been active ever since. The first year, 1993, they put forward six names, and all six made it. The committee is there to encourage Fellowship to lay out a path for fellowship and to assist with the process.

This committee keeps track of all AIA Colorado members to be there to work with and assist you when you are ready.

How does an AIA member get to Fellowship?

You showcase your volunteerism. It is more about how you give back beyond your daily work life; it is what you give and do with your community, to students, by mentoring, or by speaking and writing. It is partly about speaking to groups and through writing. It is not just about your body of work.

There are very specific criteria outlined by the AIA. There are six Objects of Nomination. The most common objects are one and two.

What tips do you have for applicants?

1.) If you are working for a large firm, utilize templates they have in place and get support from the firm with your application. 2.) Hire a writer to work with you. This comes with a price tag—upwards of $10k. 3.) Write it yourself. You know your own story. You have to plan on carving out the time it takes to tell that story. Not all architects are good at telling their own stories. That is why the committee is there and they have been keeping an eye on you and know what you do. They are there to help you get there.

Gerou warns that the process is a long one, and it requires you to tell your true story. Who, what, when, why, how? Prove it. Those interested in submitting should plan to spend about a year preparing a submission.

For 2023, preliminary submittals need to be in by March 27 and submittal requirements as well as more information can be found here.

If you are interested in helping others become Fellows and want to work with a dedicated group, reach out to Phil Gerou, FAIA to get involved.

Meet the 2022 Board of Directors

Posted on December 9, 2021December 9, 2021 by Jon Bell

President

Wells Squier, AIA

President-Elect

Sarah Broughton, AIA

Past President

Rachael Johnson, AIA

Secretary

Sheva Willoughby, AIA

Treasurer

Marc Swackhamer, Assoc. AIA

Associate Director

Kari Lawson, Assoc. AIA

At-Large Director

Ron Abo, AIA

Denver Director

Julianne Scherer, AIA

South Director

James Childs, AIA

West Director

Scott Munn, AIA

North Director

Scott Rodwin, AIA

Meet the Chair: Academy of Architecture for Health Knowledge Community

Posted on December 1, 2021December 21, 2023 by Jon Bell

Associate Principal, TreanorHL

Mike Hagan, AIA

What’s happening in the healthcare industry? It’s no simple task of staying apprised for the Academy of Architecture for Health Knowledge Community, chaired by Mike Hagan, AIA. We caught up with Hagan to learn the latest happening in the knowledge community and the ever-changing healthcare industry.

How did you come to chair this committee?

My initial involvement with the new committee immediately generated much excitement, thanks to the great key members involved. The steering committee members helped encouraged me to maintain a high-level of commitment to help the organization succeed from its infancy and suggested a chair role for the 2021 year, which I was grateful to accept and embrace.

What drew you to this group initially?
With a passion for healthcare design and construction, this organization piqued immediate interest for “sharing health knowledge” within the community.

How has this committee grown or changed since you initially got involved?
The committee continues to grow with numbers of participants and thanks to the dedicated steering committee members from various local design firms. Diversity of knowledge continues to be strong. The committee has also become more structured in the recent year with defined roles and responsibilities for each steering committee member.

What are some of the accomplishments this year you are most proud of?
I am most proud of the committees success this year during very unique times of the continued virtual setting. Despite the challenges of not being in person, the group has maintained focus and a result had many successful events with participation continuing to increase.

What are some immediate and long-term plans we can hope to see from the committee?
The committee will continue to actively provide knowledge sharing opportunities though events and partnerships with other organizations. In the future, we hope with the growth of members and participants the knowledge will extend beyond architects to other important members in the healthcare community.

What one thing do you wish the membership and profession at large knew about this topic or what your committee is doing?
The committee is not only full of knowledge, but also—and most importantly—we are resources.

Meet the Co-Chair: Committee on the Environment

Posted on December 1, 2021December 1, 2021 by Jon Bell

Sustainability Advisor and Business Developer, Iconergy Co.

Maria Agazio

This year, the Committee on the Environment (COTE) has taken deep dives into best practices, the 2030 Commitment, and a sustainability survey designed for Colorado architects. With environmental stewardship as an AIA Colorado imperative—and to learn more about the COTE initiatives—we caught up with Maria Agazio, who co-chairs the committee with Beverly Pax. Read on as Agazio brings us up to speed on the latest concerning environmental stewardship in Colorado.

What drew you to this group?

I was drawn to COTE, because my career is centered on the idea of furthering sustainability in the built environment and the idea of being able to discuss these topics with a group of architects seemed like a great opportunity.

How has this committee grown or changed since you initially got involved?

We have made progress toward communicating environmental topics more affectively with AIA Colorado members and the general public. The sustainability survey has been a major part of the group discussion and published this year. (We encourage you to take it!)

What do you think is the biggest contribution that this committee brings to the Colorado architecture community?

Resources around “demystifying the 2030 Commitment,” as well as survey results that will help us understand architects’ perspectives on various sustainability topics and themes.

As AIA Colorado strives to create a culture of belonging, what steps have you taken to reach beyond Denver?

We consistently look to other chapters to gather resources and provide resources for movement toward sustainable progress. This can also be seen by our awareness of national events and articles that are presented at each meeting.

What are some immediate and long-term plans we can hope to see from the committee?

I remain committed to addressing methane emissions, working to establish a more comprehensive electric grid. We hope to release survey results around sustainability awareness in Colorado firms, and we also hope to release a 2030 Commitment roadmap that helps firms sign and understand the 2030 Commitment.

What one thing do you wish that more architects knew about environmental stewardship?

Every building has the opportunity to add positively to its environment. It is the responsibility of the architect and design team to incorporate sustainable practices and elements into every design regardless of the overarching focus of the building.

A Conversation with a Boulder City Council Candidate

Posted on October 20, 2021October 20, 2021 by Jon Bell

Lauren Folkerts, AIA

As part of the AIA Colorado Architectural Advocacy Network (AAN), committee members help to expand our advocacy efforts across the state and in local communities. AAN Committee Chair Erin Braunstein, AIA, recently sat down with Boulder City Council candidate Lauren Folkerts, AIA, to discuss her vision for Boulder, the path to architecture, and how you, too, can get involved.

Lauren Folkerts, AIA, is one of us. She’s an AIA Colorado member, an architect, and a passionate Coloradan. There’s one big difference, however. She’s running for Boulder City Council.

Folkerts’ campaign is motivated by the city’s affordable housing crisis. “What we say we want as a community is not aligning with the policies that Boulder has in place,” she said. “There are significant mismatches.”

Now in her third year of chairing Boulder’s Design Advisory Board (with a term limited to 5 years), she has seen the unintended consequences of the existing regulatory language. Should Folkerts be elected to Boulder City Council on November 2, her knowledge of designations within zoning definitions, use codes, and how envelopes are dictated will be invaluable.

How She Got Here

Graduating in 2010 from University of Oregon, Eugene, with a Bachelor of Architecture, Folkerts now works at HMH Architecture + Interiors specializing in sustainable design.

We asked Folkerts, “Why architecture?” People around her as a child would suggest architecture as a career path given her strengths in math and art. While her childhood girlfriends would imagine marrying their crushes, she would design houses for the imaginary newlyweds. Folkerts grew up outside of Seattle, Washington, and at age 9, she visited the University of Oregon with her mom. During the tour, she questioned the guide “Do you have a good architecture program?” Years later, she asked herself what would make a meaningful impact and lead to doing good. University of Oregon’s strong sustainability program was a natural fit. And then came Boulder.

“Moving to Boulder and working in architecture, I expected something more from a sustainable city,” said Folkerts. “But the way the regulations are set up, while it’s good in some aspects for sustainable design, it restrict us from important options. A big part of why I decided to run for City Council was to change some of these rules. It’s time to make changes and incentivize the kind of sustainable design you would expect from a city with a reputation like Boulder.”

Creating Change

To help shepherd that change, Folkerts’ platform is based on solutions to help our community’s affordable housing crisis along with strategies to address the climate crisis.

She also believes that that Boulder needs to provide day-treatment services, and she would like for the city to implement more harm-reduction strategies regarding drug use. With current enforcement of the camping ban, she is concerned the city is causing additional harm. Many people fall in-between, and the housing fulfillment process is not fast enough for them. She cites statistics indicating that the number of days without housing increases one’s risk of not finding stable housing again. According to Folkerts, criminalizing people makes it harder to qualify for housing, which makes the problem more intractable.

There is a ballot initiative endorsed by many underrepresented groups titled, “Bedrooms are for People,” which addresses affordability of housing. The proposed ordinance modification would adjust the occupancy figures in housing. Folkerts supports that initiative and in expanding transportation options to connect where people live. Increasing density in some zoning districts, she says, is part of the affordable housing solution.

How We Can Help

We discussed how architects may make a difference in their communities and get involved. She noted that architects are trained in design thinking, trained to look for opportunities and to solve problems. Architects have information how sustainable improvements are essential to both the affordable housing and climate crisis. Those facts are incredibly useful for policymakers to hear. The education we can offer to shape government policy is under appreciated, especially when it so well aligned with voter’s wishes. The council has an existing work plan to make meaningful progress; the use code is due to be updated. Folkerts noted making significant changes in Boulder depends on the synergy with nine people on council.

There are huge opportunities to make sustainable gains for buildings and transportation—opportunities are the forces at play. At work, one project at a time, we do the right thing for our clients and make these sustainable choices. Architects have skills and understanding to address issues at large in a larger context and not be afraid of public advocacy involvement. Our time is limited. We need support from our firm leaders to be involved with these initiatives. We need to be involved and shape our communities and educate where we can. By sharing what we know regarding embodied energy versus operational energy, we can increase the level of understanding. Both the general public and policy holders do not have strong understandings about these issues.

Why should firms encourage community involvement? “Because it’s a good way to give employees experience in leadership and engage the community at large, while furthering goals among the architecture profession,” said Folkerts. “So you get two really big boosts from that. It’s about educational opportunities within the firm, but also leadership within the community. Whenever you have chances like that, it takes investment from the firm, but the benefits far outweigh the cost.”

What’s Next

Folkerts has earned endorsements from the Sierra Club, Boulder Weekly, and the Boulder Labor council. She has also received endorsement from current Boulder City Council Members Aaron Brocker, Junie Joseph, and Rachel Friend. When asked her where she imagines she will be in 15 years, Folkerts acknowledged she is focusing between now and November 3—after the election of course.

As we left our meeting, “Boulder Strong” signs were omnipresent. It’s a good reminder that the strength of any community is precious and worth advocating for—and to get out there and vote.