ROBERTO PAZ

President

Roberto is an architect and founder of          Paz Navas Architecture. His work focuses on a progressive approach to house design. He believes that a thoughtful, innovative approach to house design can provide solutions for the challenges of housing availability, environmental impact, and quality of life.

EL LARSON

Vice President

El is a wellness designer and sound practitioner who helps to balance internal and external environments. After 20+ years of holistic practice, she sought to apply concepts of well-being to built spaces. She is certified in Feng Shui, accredited in WELL and Fitwel, and is a realtor. 

MANDI ROBERTS

Executive Committee

Mandi is an architect and the Senior Educational Facilities Planner at HMC Architects. Her work focuses on design for spaces for learning and student environments and is a thought leader in Education and Interior Architecture, leading the design of sustainable and award-winning projects that shape the way students learn and engage. 

JOSE HERRASTI

Minister of Finance

Jose is an architect and the founder of Mutuo, an LA based architecture design studio. He is the 2022 John G. Williams Distinguished Visiting Professor at the Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design at the University of Arkansas.

BEN HIDALGO

Vice President of INFO Committee

Ben is an architect and project manager at Koning Eizenberg Architecture, focusing on affordable housing projects around Los Angeles. Ben has worked on a number of award winning projects throughout the US. Whether it is through architecture or photography, Ben takes pleasure in bringing joy to people’s lives.

RYAN CONROY

Finance Committee

Ryan Conroy is a practicing architect and Director of Architecture at cityLAB UCLA. In collaboration with Kevin Daly Architects, he has been recognized for his work designing new models of multifamily housing and climate-adaptive, net-zero construction. Ryan has taught at UCLA and UC Berkeley, and has contributed to research publications at Los Angeles City Planning. He earned his Bachelor of Arts from UCLA and holds a Master of Architecture from UC Berkeley. 

MARISSA GLUCK

INFO Committee

Marissa Gluck is a digital experience strategist who has spanned the agency and publisher worlds working with companies as diverse as Spotify, Nike, and Disney. She’s also an urbanism and architecture writer and a former principal of the design-cum-civic engagement non-profit Design East of La Brea.

ANNE SWETT-PREDOCK

INFO Committee

Anne has over 25 years of experience in brand strategy and development, graphic design, illustration, and website design working with clients in the cultural, higher education, and environmentally focused sectors. Currently, she is Creative Director at architecture and design firm NBBJ, where she oversees the firm’s visual brand and identity.

RAFFY MARDIROSSIAN

INFO Committee

Raffy is an architect and the co-founder of the LA-based architecture practice, DOMM, where he works on projects ranging from single and multi-family residences, to spaces for learning and exhibition. Raffy is also a founding member of the architecture publication PAX Monographs.

NATE COLE

Vice President of Membership Committee

Nate came to California by way of Madison, Wisconsin, and has nearly 20 years of experience working with architecturally significant real estate. He specializes in the representation of buyers and sellers of unique and historic homes.

QUYNH NGUYEN

Membership Committee

Co-Producer & Copy Editor of the FIVE PLACES L.A. podcast

Quynh is a writer specializing in brand identity and content strategy. She hones authentic and nuanced narratives in lieu of traditional PR/branding practices and creates messaging tailored for target audiences. Her practice includes coaching clients--architects, designers, artists, and entrepreneurs, on how to talk about themselves and their work. 

MONICA LAMELA BLAZQUEZ

Co-Vice President of Grants Committee

Monica is an architect and founder of There There, an architecture studio that fluctuates between research and practice, and between LA, Mexico City, and Madrid. Through architectures, counternarratives, and fictions, her practice challenges dominant worldviews, materializes alternative imaginaries, and catalyzes meaningful experiences.

LORENA GARCIA

Co-Vice President of Grants Committee

Lorena is a landscape architect and founder of PuenteAlameda, a studio with bases in Madrid and Los Angeles, which explores creatives and collaborative designs that address the complexity of the nature processes. She is a lecturer at Cal Poly Pomona and Madrid School of Design. 

DONATELLA CUSMA

Vice President of Fundraising Committee

Donatella is an architect and educator. She grew up in Sicily where history influenced her appreciation of the cultural palimpsest and fostered a curiosity for foreign cultures and local oddities. She is co-founder of Claret-Cup, and a Board member of the Research Institute for Experimental Architecture. 

KELLY MORRISON

Fundraising Committee

Kelly is the Director of Marketing at HMC Architects. She is dedicated to making a positive impact for all in the built environment. A fifth-generation Californian, she believes there is no better place to help shape skylines or celebrate communities than LA. 

LOUIE WEISS

Fundraising Committee

Louie Weiss splits his time working at Taalman Architecture and on his own architectural projects for residential clients. In his work, he is wholeheartedly committed to producing healthy and sustainable architecture while also a steadfast believer in beauty as a form of sustainability in and of itself. 

JEMMA BALLANTYNE

Fundraising Committee

Jemma Ballantyne was born in Scotland, raised in Spain, and spent years in London before landing in L.A. via Silicon Valley. Her experience combines brand marketing, live events and cultural programming, spanning music, hospitality, and tech. Committed to fostering creativity and human connection, her work reflects a passion for meaningful engagement.

ALEXANDER BATTISTI

Vice President of Operations Committee

Alexander Battisti is an East Coast native and avid art collector with experience in finance, technology, and entrepreneurship. He is a 2018 graduate of Lafayette College who received his MBA from UCLA Anderson in 2023. A lifelong lover of architecture and design, he relocated to Los Angeles in 2021.  

ROMAN JASTER

Operations Committee

Roman is a graphic designer and web developer. He is the principal of the design studio Yay Brigade and teaches at CalArts. Roman finds delight in baking hearty loaves of bread, contemplating the etymology of English and German words, and finding a printed newspaper by his front door every morning. 

FARNOOSH FARMER

Operations Committee

Farnoosh Farmer is an architectural and urban designer based in L.A. Her concentration is on cultural intersections and the ways in which obliterated histories can evolve and integrate into contemporary practices.