Alec Harrigan is a Master of Architecture student at the University at Buffalo and holds a B.S. Architectural Technology degree from SUNY Alfred State College. Inspired by both local and worldwide precedents, Alec has focused his studies on sustainable design with a community focus. This passion has been nurtured through multiple community-based projects where Alec worked with his peers to propose a long-term plan for community upgrades in Belfast, NY, and to start proposals for the adaptive reuse of a derelict factory into an urban food hub in Buffalo, NY. In addition to his immersive regional instruction in Western New York, Alec participated in study abroad programs in both Sorrento, Italy, and Madrid, Spain. These programs provided opportunities to explore new cultures and gain a global perspective through building tours, sketching lessons, and candid conversations with industry leaders. Through his architectural studies and personal explorations, Alec remains inspired to pursue positive change in the built environment so that users and the surrounding environment are impacted in a fair and equitable way.
Tyler Porter is an Architectural Designer with working experience at Bauer Latoza Studio (BLS), a Historic Preseveration/ Architecture firm. Tyler specializes in Historic Preservation, receiving her certificate in HPRES and Master of Architecture degree from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
In addition, while working at BLS, Tyler works under licensed Architects, and she is responsible for gathering design requirements, drafting, and taking field notes. Tyler uses her positive attitude to work hard and succeed in and out of the workplace. She is inspired daily by colleagues and looks forward to life after school.
Mark is a Buffalo native, graduating from SUNY at Buffalo, with a master’s degree in architecture and a bachelor’s degree in environmental design. Mark began working at Long Associates Architects, a firm with a focus on residential architecture and accessibility, in 2017 as an intern, he became a full time associate in 2018 and has been with the office ever since. Mark has participated in a number of significant projects, one of them being the Jefferson Avenue Apartments, located on Buffalo’s East Side, later winning the Award for Excellence, Project of the Year Update Region from the New York State Association for Affordable Housing (NYSFAH).
Mark is passionate about bringing awareness and inclusivity to the field of architecture. In 2019, he participated in Architecture + Education, an in-school program, created by the Buffalo Architecture Foundation, a partnership with Buffalo Public Schools to bring awareness and involvement in the built and natural environment.
With the assistance of this scholarship, Mark plans to take and pass all sections of the ARE, become a licensed architect and use his skills to improve and develop his community. Outside of architecture, Mark’s passions include working out, traveling, and watching a Bills, Red Sox, or Celtics game.
Go Bills!
Joenette Cobb is an alumna of the Dual Master of Architecture/ Master of Urban Planning program at the University at Buffalo with concentrations in ecological practices and urban design. She also holds a Bachelor of Science in Architectural Technology from Alfred State.
Having a cross-disciplinary background, Joenette has developed an aptitude for learning and utilizing different drafting, design, modeling, and GIS software.
She is a certified LEED Green Associate from the U.S. Green Building Council. In 2018, her team won first place in the N.O.M.A.S. Barbara G. Laurie Student Design Competition for a transit-oriented development that promoted urban farming within a low-income community.
Over the last 3 years, she worked as an Associate Mapping & Spatial Record Specialist within the New York City Department of City Planning where she assisted with the preparation of over 185 sketch maps for proposed changes to the NYC zoning map. She has also worked on the damage assessment and rehabilitation of residential buildings that were negatively affected by Hurricane Sandy in 2012.
Joenette is an aspiring Architect who continuously seeks to educate herself on emerging sustainable practices, urbanism, and data technology because she believes that they are essential in creating more equitable communities.
Jason Campbell is a Jamaican American artist and designer. His work spans several
disciplines, including architecture, photography, and installation art. His projects range in scale, from that of the body to urban situations, and leverages alternative practice methods when necessary. While priorities shift as needed, his work is heavily informed by the spatial dualities and incongruencies found between the spaces we live and our daily performances.
Jason has taught advanced architectural design studios in the undergraduate and graduate divisions at the University of California, Berkeley. He’s worked with Bohlin Cywinski Jackson in San Francisco and has held an Associateship and design lead position with SmithGroup. He received a Master of Architecture from UC Berkeley CED and a Bachelor of Science in Architecture from the University at Buffalo School of Architecture and Planning.
Oni Thornell is a native New Yorker and a senior at Elisabeth Irwin High school in New York City. She will be attending Syracuse University in the fall of 2022 and majoring in Architecture, a passion of hers. Through the years of attending art programs, she was influenced to not only integrate creative thinking into daily life but to view and solve issues through a non-traditional lens. This has quickly become her motivation to enter the field of Architecture as she wishes to create positive change and growth in different communities. Her experience with social justice-oriented curriculums has also brought a key understanding of intersectionality that will always impact the work she produces.
Although architecture will be Oni’s major, she also enjoys spending her time drawing, painting, and exploring the city. Over the years she has crafted an art portfolio of multiple pieces. She was awarded 2 gold keys, 1 silver key, and three honorable mentions from the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards, while working towards and obtaining a black belt in Tae Kwon Do. All these experiences have taught her discipline and the importance of perseverance to pursue her aspiration to become an architect and inspiring change.
Gail Kubik takes the initiative to advocate for communities to build urban resilience programs. Passionate about climate adaptation and improving the ‘resilience of place’ through public interest design, Gail is a catalyst for rethinking social strategies to build our urban environments while improving social equity and access to design innovation. She has established programs in the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy, which provided vulnerable communities in New York and New Jersey with pro-bono design and construction services to begin the rebuilding process. Kubik has also brokered partnerships among professional organizations such as AIA Massachusetts, the Boston Society of Civil Engineers and the Structural Engineers Association of Massachusetts to establish a disaster assistance program serving Massachusetts and the surrounding New England Region.
Gail has contributed to flood resilient zoning reform for the City of New York, supported citizen-led resilience initiatives for the City of Boston and served an advisory role on a Mayoral resilience committee for the City of Cambridge in Massachusetts. She has served AIA as the Associate Director on the Board of Directors, the Associate Representative on the Strategic Council, the Regional Associate Director for the AIA New England Regional Council and as the State Disaster Coordinator for Massachusetts.
Nadeen Hassan is a Junior Architectural Designer at BKSK Architects, LLP and Co-founder/Director of Primaverarch. As a first-generation Egyptian American, Nadeen recognized the unrelenting atmosphere in many parts of the world. She believes that an architect is a problem-solver that attends to the need of not one, but every group of people.
To combat underprivileged and underrepresented groups from being able to demonstrate their abilities to the fullest, Nadeen co-founded a catalyst movement and website called Primaverarch, to encourage women through a series of interviews, leadership programs, and resources. Furthermore, Nadeen is an active member of the City College of New York’s Architecture Alumni Group, AIANY Diversity & Inclusion, and AIANY Women in Architecture committees.
Passionate about uplifting her peers and the next generation, she became a mentor providing assistance and resources to students struggling to adjust to architecture school or considered changing careers. Today, Nadeen serves as a host for the Career & Tech (CTE) Architecture/Engineering Program at Bayside High School; providing an experience of what architects do on a day-to-day basis, while encouraging them to learn something new every day.
Through her involvement within the architecture community, Nadeen remains dedicated to making a space for all.
Tiffany Wu is an architecture student at Rice University. Her work explores how novel spatial and material strategies produce social change in contemporary environments. At Rice, she received the Class of 1965 Scholarship in Architecture, the Mary Ellen Hale Lovett Traveling Fellowship, and the Charles Tapley Award. She has worked as an intern in Los Angeles and New York.
Leslie has had an intense interest in architecture since her sophomore year of high school. She has taken two college-level classes in architecture, one at MICA and one at Syracuse. She has also excelled in the arts & sciences at her high school. Leslie’s academic achievements are matched with her athletic accomplishments, winning the Scholastic Rowing Association of America (SRAA) nationals in rowing twice: the Junior quad in 2019 and the Freshmen quad in 2017.
She is excited and humbled to take the next steps of her education at The Cooper Union, but also sad to give up her career in rowing. Leslie has founded the National Organization for Minority Architecture Students (NOMAS) chapter at The Cooper Union, which she hopes will flourish during her five years there. Her biggest goal is to be the best architect that she can be.
Lauren McLean, 18, is a recent 2018 graduate of The Ursuline School, a private, all-girls, high school in New Rochelle. She is a dedicated honor student from Mount Vernon, New York, where she has spent all of her life. Lauren has retail experience acquired over past summers and has also volunteered at a daycare and as a dance choreographer for many years. Lauren has been a peer leader and founder of a Diversity Club at her school. Lauren is also very active in her church as a youth leader. Due to her passion for education and the arts, she is a member of both the National Honor Society and the National Art Honor Society. Lauren will be furthering her education at Syracuse University this fall where she will be entering the prestigious 5-year Architecture program.
Elizabeth Amigon is a first-year student of Pratt Institute’s five-year NAAB accredited Bachelor of Architecture program. As an Honor Roll student at Forest Hills High School, she served as a member of the French Club and the Girls’ Varsity Volleyball Team. She is a 2017 alum of the CCNY STEM Institute Program. She annually volunteered at New Life Fellowship Church’s Booster Club as a youth mentor and academic advisor. During the academic year of 2017, she attended Cooper Union’s Saturday Program. She also volunteered as a teacher’s assistant at Mundo Hispano Modeling Center from 2013-2017. She is a native of Queens, New York and a future resident of Brooklyn.
Sarah Saad is a freshman at The Cooper Union Irwin S. Chanin School of Architecture. She is passionate about pursuing the field of architecture for it enables her to tap into both her creative and logical sides. She is looking forward to traveling to Egypt this summer to see her family. In her free time she enjoys watercoloring, sightseeing and visiting the Metropolitan Museum.