Judith Sheine is a Professor in the Department of Architecture at the University of Oregon (UO) and is the Director of Design for the TallWood Design Institute, a collaboration between the University of Oregon’s College of Design and Oregon State University’s Colleges of Forestry and Engineering focused on advancing engineered wood products. Sheine was the UO lead for the EDA BBBRC award (2022-27) to the Oregon Mass Timber Coalition and is the PI on the (2023-25) NSF Engines Development Award: Advancing mass timber technologies (OR, WA). She served as UO Department of Architecture Head 2012-17, was Professor and Chair of the Architecture Department at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona 2002-2012, and is an Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture Distinguished Professor.

She has published several books on the architect R.M. Schindler; she co-edited, with Lionel March, R.M. Schindler: Composition and Construction (Academy Editions, 1993) and authored “R.M. Schindler: Works and Projects” (Editorial Gustavo Gili, 1998) and R.M. Schindler (Phaidon Press, 2001). Her most recent book, Schindler, Kings Road and Southern California Modernism (University of California Press, 2012) was co-authored with Robert Sweeney. She is also a practicing architect and has won several prizes in design competitions and a Record House award from Architectural Record (1995) for the Sarli house. More recently, the Ramirez house (2004-12) in The Sea Ranch, California, designed with architect Norman Millar, has been published in several venues, including Dwell (2014) and The Local Project (2023).

With 45 years of architectural practice based in Culver City, CA, Steven Ehrlich has contributed a diverse and powerful portfolio of built work.  He is the founder of Ehrlich Yanai Rhee Chaney Architects, recipient of the 2015 AIA National Firm Award.  Ehrlich has earned multiple honors for design excellence including the AIA California Maybeck Award in 2011, the AIALA gold medal in 2015, a lifetime achievement award from AIA California in 2025 and numerous National AIA awards.

An innovative force in advancing and enriching the tradition of California modernism, he is an active leader within the profession and as an educator, teaching and lecturing widely in the United States and internationally.

Ehrlich calls his guiding philosophy Multicultural Modernism, which he evolved after graduating from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, during six years of working, traveling and teaching architecture in North and West Africa.  Multicultural Modernism utilizes sustainable building practices, expresses specificities of site and culture and fosters social interaction.

Committed to educational and professional development, Ehrlich has been a Visiting Professor at Ahmadu Bello University in Nigeria, Montana State University, USC, UCLA, Sci-Arch, Kansas State and Yale Universities. In 2024 he taught a Yale graduate program, traveling with students to Cotes d’Ivoire to help develop and design a new city for 50,000 residents outside of Abidjan.

Ehrlich’s archives have been acquired by the Getty Research Institute (GRI) and the Art, Design and Architecture Museum (AD&A) at UC Santa Barbara. His work is currently exhibited in the American Pavilion at the 2025 Architecture Biennale in Venice, Italy.

Wendy Evans Joseph is a New York-based architect recognized for her contributions to placemaking, architecture, and experience design in the public realm.

Wendy studied at the University of Pennsylvania, where she graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts. She received her master’s degree in architecture from the Harvard University Graduate School of Design, where the American Institute of Architects awarded her the Henry Adams Medal as valedictorian. Wendy worked with Pei Cobb Freed & Partners for over a decade on public projects, including the US Holocaust Memorial Museum. In 1998, she formed her studio practice, Studio Joseph. The firm has a diverse portfolio, but it has primarily worked in the public sector, specializing in museums, universities, and has a specialty in experience design. Joseph’s notable projects include the “Americans” exhibition at the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington DC, a Pet Adoption Center in Harlem, NY, an auditorium at the Brooklyn Children’s Museum, the conversion of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Price Tower in Bartlesville, OK into a hotel, and the London Mithraeum for Bloomberg Philanthropies.

Wendy was awarded the Rome Prize in Architecture from the American Academy in Rome. She is a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects, an Academician of the National Academy, and a Fellow of the Society of Experiential Designers (SEGD.) As a proponent of environmental responsibility, Wendy is a LEED Accredited Professional. She maintains architectural registration in five states, including Texas, and holds certification from NCARB.

Wendy has held many professional leadership positions, including President of the Architectural League of New York, Chair of the AIA National Committee on Design, and President of the AIA New York Chapter. She is currently president of the National Academy of Design.

LINKS TO PODCASTS AND OTHER PUBLICATIONS

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iKEdB9w9bmI

https://www.madamearchitect.org/interviews/2019/6/20/wendy-evans-joseph

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AgrmWMJIGaE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-t1XV6L8oKc

https://www.architecturalrecord.com/articles/16991-design-ed-podcast-wendy-evans-joseph

https://open.spotify.com/episode/2RjaLpvZfGno8OnN2BRCuY

Daniel pursues authenticity in the places we make and spaces we inhabit. He believes in an affirmative architecture that celebrates the optimism of the human spirit. Daniel’s ability to synthesize multiple constraints into clear, expressive solutions results in an architecture that resonates with each place, environment, and culture. Since joining the practice in 2005, Daniel’s project leadership includes a diverse range of building types, including academic, retail, residential, interiors, and civic projects. His leadership approach encourages open and inclusive collaboration with fellow design team members, consultants, and clients. He takes great interest in the craft of building, embracing sustainable solutions and innovative use of materials to realize aspirations and requirements of place and program.

Kyle Miller is Associate Dean and an Associate Professor at Syracuse University School of Architecture, Fellow at MacDowell, and co-author and co-editor of Possible Mediums and Building Practice. His design research has been supported by the Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts and has been included in the AIA Emerging Professionals Exhibition and shown at the A+D Museum in Los Angeles. Miller’s writing has been published in Log, Monu, Pidgin, Project, PLAT, Room One Thousand, and the Journal for Architectural Education. He previously taught at the University of Kentucky College of Design and the University of California – Los Angeles Department of Architecture and Urban Design, and worked professionally in Milwaukee, Los Angeles, and for Ben van Berkel and Caroline Bos with UNStudio in Amsterdam. Miller is a graduate of the University of Michigan Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning and the University of California – Los Angeles Department of Architecture and Urban Design, where he earned his professional degree and was awarded the AIA Henry Adams Medal and Certificate.

Kevin has lectured and served on juries at Universities internationally including The University of Arkansas, University of Pennsylvania, University of Oregon, Anahuac University in Mexico City, Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc), California College of the Arts (CCA), Harvard University, Kyoto University, Texas A&M University, Syracuse University, Northeastern University, Texas Tech University, and the University of Illinois Chicago. Upon graduation from Harvard, Kevin was granted the singular honor of receiving both the Harvard Faculty Design Award and AIA Henry Adams Medal.

Kevin is an Assistant Professor as well as the Director of Undergraduate Architecture at the University of Colorado Denver College of Architecture and Planning. Kevin holds a Master’s of Architecture with distinction from the Harvard Graduate School of Design and a Bachelor’s of Science in Architecture from the University of Virginia.

Founded in 2013, KEVIN HIRTH Co. has been recognized nationally and internationally through awards and publications including the Architects Newspaper, Dezeen, Designboom, ARCHITECT Magazine, ArchDaily, The JAE, and Archinect.

KEVIN HIRTH Co. has been and continues to be fortunate to include a talented and energetic team. The current team includes Illiana Ramirez, Emanuil Sklianin, and Mo Zaina. Valued past members of the team include Trevor Carrasco, Ramiro Castillo, Josh Krell, Schawn Li, Chauncey Queen-Booker, Rocco Sant, Xandon Sigafoos, and Noe Torres.

Cory Dear is a Vice President at Corgan and Studio Design Director for the Commercial studio in Dallas, Texas. His design philosophy blends curiosity, emotional awareness, and cultural sensitivity, viewing architecture as an experience that shapes how people feel and connect to place. Cory explores how spatial and material choices affect human psychology, often playing with contrasts between the natural and man-made. He values starting fresh with each project, balancing collaboration with personal expression to find context-driven solutions. As a design leader, Cory champions a creative culture that embraces exploration and complexity, striving to uncover the intangible qualities that make architecture memorable and elevate the human experience.

Beth Schmidt is a licensed Interior Designer whose award-winning body of work spans a wide range of scales, from AIA-recognized residences to airport terminals encompassing millions of square feet. Passionate about conceptual storytelling and spatial choreography, Beth approaches every project as an opportunity to dissolve the boundaries between interior and exterior space—prioritizing user response and emotion over aesthetics alone.

A summa cum laude graduate of the University of Texas at Arlington, Beth joined GFF in 2022 and now leads highly collaborative design efforts across multiple sectors as an Associate and Senior Design Leader. Her unique expertise continues to expand GFF’s presence in hospitality and experiential design, while also shaping the firm’s own workplace—both physically and culturally.

Dan Shipley, FAIA grew up in San Antonio and attended the University of Texas School of Architecture. He founded Shipley Architects in 1991 after stints at HKS and Thomas & Booziotis Architects. Shipley Architect’s design focus is on small scale buildings. Over it’s thirty-five years of practice the firm has been awarded design awards for a variety of residential, commercial, and public projects.

Gabriella Bermea, AIA, NCARB, NOMA, WELL AP, is a fifth-generation Tejana and nationally recognized architect whose work sits at the intersection of education, advocacy, and community impact. She is a Senior Associate and project manager in Perkins Eastman’s K–12 practice, partnering with school districts through strategic planning, community engagement, and the design of student-centered learning environments.

With over $1.3B in designed and built work, Gabriella has led and contributed to the design of schools and civic spaces across the U.S and Mexico, championing equity, sustainability, and student success. A national thought leader in educational planning and public architecture, she brings people together to shape spaces that reflect their values and aspirations.

Beyond her design work, Gabriella serves in national leadership roles with NCARB, AIA, and NOMA, advancing access to licensure, mentorship, and inclusive pathways to practice. She is also the co-founder of a scholarship supporting underrepresented students in architecture, engineering, and construction, pairing financial support with long-term mentorship.

At the heart of her work is a simple belief: when communities help shape the spaces they use, those places become powerful.