Anica Landreneau, HOK Board + Design Board + Management Board Member

As Global Sustainable Consulting Director located in HOK’s Washington, DC office, Ms. Landreneau manages the successful development and implementation of sustainability goals on local and worldwide projects. Ms. Landreneau has been an expert on applying sustainable best practice guidelines and the building certification process under the U.S. Green Building Council’s various LEED Rating Systems as well as global sustainability standards for over 10 years. Ms. Landreneau works with both public and private sectors clients on campus and master planning, individual buildings and entire real estate portfolios, including existing building stock.

Ms. Landreneau served as a technical advisor for Washington, DC’s International Green Construction Code passage in 2014. She continues to serve on national committees for energy analysis and green building codes for the American Institute of Architects. Ms. Landreneau co- authored with the US General Services Administration The New Sustainable Frontier: Principles of Sustainable Development and led the research and authorship of Sustainable Urban Planning Guidelines for New Growth in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Brian Sykes, Project Manager Perkins + Will  

Brian Sykes is a project manager in Perkins+Will’s Washington, DC office. With expertise in healthcare and science and technology projects, his experience ranges from laboratories to hospitals. With Brian’s experience he excels as a project manager responsible for the day to day communications with the client and contractors. Brian is also an adjunct professor at the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in Alexandria, VA, where he teaches a new graduate level course focussing on the basics of creative architectural detailing and sustainability, as well as a “Build/ Build” class focussing on craftsmanship and design skills. His commitment to both the community and the practice is evidenced by his involvement with the American Alliance of Museums as the Communications Director for the Sustainability Committee as well as his role as an active member of the Regionalism Council for the Urban Land Institute. Brian is the Vice Chair for the Committee on the Environment (COTEdc) – AIA DC.

Amanda Stratton, Senior Manager, Advocacy Outreach, The American Institute of Architects

Amanda Stratton joined the AIA May, 2012 as Manager, Grassroots & Advocacy Outreach. This is a professional position on the Government and Community Relations team in which Amanda is responsible for advancing the Institute’s goals by implementing comprehensive political and civic outreach initiatives and year-round advocacy programming, including the AIA’s advocacy communication strategies, grassroots mobilization and member engagement.

Before joining the AIA, Amanda served as the Government Relations Coordinator at JDRF in Washington, DC. Prior to that, Amanda has worked at Chrysler LLC as Legislative Assistant. Amandaattended George Mason University where she earned a BA in Government & International Politics.

Sophia Lau, Hickok Cole Architects Associate, Chair of AIA|DC Advocacy Committee  

Sophia Lau has been active in AIA|DC’s Advocacy Committee since 2012. As Chair of the committee, she works on communicating Policy changes affecting the profession and organizes community outreach and education events. Having been an educator and design critic at Harvard University (her alma mater), University of Maryland and Catholic University, Sophia has found
the Advocacy Committee an ideal outlet for design professionals to share their insights on and enthusiasm for architecture and design with the public. She has been working in architecture for over 10 years and has lived along the two coasts of the United States, Asia and Europe. Now in DC, Sophia is a Project Designer at Hickok Cole Architects.

Nora Wendl, Assistant Professor of Architecture in the School of Architecture at Portland State University in Portland, Oregon 

A graduate of Iowa State University, where she earned both her B.Arch (2003) and M.Arch (2006) degrees, Nora Wendl began her career in the arts and architecture as Gallery Director of Anderson Gallery at Drake University in 2004. After two years of planning and implementing exhibitions by world renowned artists—including Ledelle Moe, Kendall Buster and Mitchell Squire—she moved to Athens, Georgia, where she was Gallery Director at the University of Georgia, curating a dozen exhibitions each year, and founding the gallery’s publication series with collaborator Dr. Isabelle Loring Wallace, which earned Outstanding Exhibition and Catalogue of Contemporary Materials from the Southeastern College Art Conference in 2009 for its inaugural issue, Paul Pfeiffer. In 2008, Nora accepted a position as Visiting Assistant Professor at the University of North Carolina- Charlotte, where she taught beginning design studios and developed a pedagogical approach to teaching design/build/perform studios and seminars. At UNC-Charlotte, she brought artists to engage in workshops and brief project-based residencies with architecture students, including Dutch print maker Harmen Liemburg and acclaimed artist Theaster Gates, with whom she, Professor Jose Gamez, and a number of undergraduate students collaborated to produce the Sweet Tea House in 2009, which is now owned by a private collector in North Carolina.

Nora is currently Assistant Professor of Architecture at Portland State University, where she has taught since 2010. At Portland State she is the coordinator of the first and second year of the undergraduate program, and teaches graduate theory seminars and graduate studios. She is co-editor, with Isabelle Loring Wallace, of Contemporary Art about Architecture: A Strange Utility (Ashgate, 2013). She is widely published in numerous architectural journals, including 306090, Architecture and Culture: Journal of the Architectural Humanities Research Association, Forty- Five, Journal of Architectural Education, On Site: Review, Studies in the History of Gardens and Designed Landscapes, and Thresholds. Her chapbook Glass Document will be released through Ugly Duckling Presse (Brooklyn, NY) in late 2015 as part of their original web book series.

Nora currently sits on the editorial board of the Journal of Architectural Education, the primary venue for research and commentary on architectural education since its founding in 1947.

Over the past decade, she has presented, performed and exhibited at numerous national and international academic conferences and venues including, most recently, the Biennale Sessions at La Biennale di Venezia, Seattle Art Museum, Blue Sky Center for Photographic Arts (Portland, Oregon), Seattle Public Library, Center for Architecture (Portland), Art Institute (Portland), as well as the Westbrook Artist’s Site (Madison County, Iowa) and Wordstock.

Katie Yanushonis, Leasing Director Boston Properties 

Katie began her career in Real Estate working at Lincoln Property Company from 2003 to 2006 after receiving her B.S. in Business Administration from Georgetown University. Katie joined Boston Properties in May 2006 to help lease Boston Properties’ downtown DC portfolio, including 2200 Pennsylvania Avenue, Metropolitan Square, 1333 New Hampshire Avenue and 1330 Connecticut Avenue. As part of the leasing group, Katie is responsible for marketing space to prospective tenants, negotiating leases and renewal transactions, and maintaining relationships with existing tenants in order to retain high occupancy levels within the Boston Properties portfolio. In 2011, Katie became responsible for the leasing of Boston Properties’ Reston Town Center properties, which comprise over 2.5 million square feet. Katie has closed transactions totaling over 2 million square feet since joining Boston Properties, including several complex leases with law firms, federal government contractors and technology companies.

Katie has also maintained an active role in the Washington DC community as a board member of the Jubilee Support Alliance and volunteer with Jubilee Housing. Additionally, she served as the Co-Chairperson of the JDRF Real Estate Games in 2014 and will continue in that role for the 2015 Games.

Louise Boulton-Lear, CPSM Vice President, DAVIS Construction 

In the integrated marketing communications (IMC) space, there are practitioners who are branding experts, corporate communications pros, media strategists, and community engagement champions – Louise is all of the above. As a vice president and member of DAVIS’ leadership team, Louise’s depth of experience and institutional knowledge continues to be an integral part of the company’s growth. With over 19 years of award-winning experience, Louise has established an excellent reputation for delivering results through savvy leadership, business insight, innovation, and fearless collaboration. She oversees all aspects of IMC company-wide; from strategic planning, and impactfull brand identity + design – to authentic CSR programming and community involvement. Recognized as an accomplished practitioner, Louise’s expertise and strategic approach – both internally and externally – ensures that DAVIS effectively demonstrates why the company is an industry leader with an outstanding corporate culture.

A self-professed change agent, Louise continues to demonstrate her long-standing belief that our strength comes from our community engagement, as well as our industry leadership. Louise is very active in several community and industry organizations, and currently serves on the Jubilee Support Alliance Board of Directors, and the National Building Museum’s Council for the Built Environment. In previous years, Louise held multi-year committee positions for the AIA’s DAC Development Committee, NAIOP, Washington Building Congress, Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, the Builders Ball, IFMA, CoreNet, SMPS and DCBIA.

Louise received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Public Policy & Management from the University of Brighton, UK, and currently lives in DC with her husband and their 2 rescue pit-mix pooches.