David is an architect focused on sustainable design. After graduating from the Illinois Institute of Technology he worked for Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill, and Lohan Associates before founding his own practice in 2000. In addition to a portfolio of a wide range of building types, David has worked on the renovation of several modern buildings, including the E1 building at IIT and Mies van der Rohe’s Promontory Apartments, which he led to Chicago Landmark status.

Elizabeth is an architectural historian based in Chicago. Through her historic preservation practice, she works in the public and private sector consulting clients on the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA). In 2018, Blasius worked on Hurricane Harvey recovery in Texas, conducting fieldwork on damaged historic buildings and providing consultation and mitigation to lessen the risk of damage in future climate violence events. Blasius is the former midwest editor of The Architect’s Newspaper and has had her writing featured in The Chicago Tribune, The Chicago Sun-Times and Curbed Chicago. She is a founder of the James R. Thompson Center Historical Society.

Sofia carries a passion for architectural history in both personal and professional spheres. After a tenure with the South Dakota SHPO as a Historic Preservation Specialist Sofia is a Historic Tax Credit Consultant with Ryan LLC (formerly MacRostie Historic Advisors) where she assisted and witnessed the successful rehabilitation of significant architectural resources for continued use. In December of 2022 she joined Docomomo’s programming committee planning a variety of events and engaging with Chicago’s community.

Patrick is an Editor for Forgotten Chicago, an organization researching and exploring Chicagoland’s overlooked built environment and modern architecture, notably from the 1980s. From 2013 to 2017 Patrick was on the Editorial Advisory Board of the book Art Deco Chicago: Designing Modern America, published by the Chicago Art Deco Society, 2018. Patrick has collaborated on programming with the Chaddick Institute for Metropolitan Development at DePaul University, the Society for Industrial Archeology, AIA Chicago, and Preservation Chicago. Patrick holds a Bachelor’s in Communications and History from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Justin is an architectural historian with experience in historic preservation and cultural resource management and currently works for the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Justin served as Docomomo US Chicago Chair from 2020-2023 expanding the breadth of its board of directors, its programs, and its strategic vision. He also has presented his work at the Docomomo US National Symposium. His professional experience includes historic preservation compliance; architectural surveys; and compliance documentation for federal and state agencies as well as historic preservation consulting. Justin is on the Issues Committee of Landmarks Illinois and an advisory committee member of the Glessner House Museum.

Craig Brandt FAIA is an architect and adjunct professor. His work and teaching focus on adaptive and regenerative design projects as well as cross-disciplinary design processes in arts and design. His tenure in the Chicago School as a former principal of a Chicago Seven firm has given him a unique insight into its workings, and his award-winning practice work includes civic, government, higher education, and museum projects in various contexts. He has recently lectured, moderated, and presented his work internationally along with current issues in the public realm including preservation issues for Docomomo US where he served as Co-chair for the 2021 National Symposium. 

Jeff is a financial advisor and planner with Junkins Mercer Wealth Management Group of Wells Fargo Advisors. He has a lifelong interest in architecture and love of the Modern Movement. Since 1992, he has lead architecture tours as a docent with the Chicago Architecture Center. He is also a member of the Society for Contemporary Art at the Art Institute of Chicago and a past president of the Renaissance Society at the University of Chicago.

Donna is a current Professor and former Dean of the College of Architecture at Illinois Institute of Technology. She teaches undergraduate studios and a seminar on Contemporary Chicago Architecture. Her focus is on the political and social benefits of design excellence. During her tenure as Dean at IIT she reinvigorated and updated the pedagogical program. She played a key role in IIT’s comprehensive program of campus building restoration and renewal. Before IIT, Donna was Dean at the Tulane School of Architecture and served on the New Orleans CBD Historic District Landmarks Commission. She is a Peer Reviewer for the GSA.

Richard is a lawyer with experience in preservation and historic resources law. He practices law in the Chicago office of Neal & Leroy, LLC. Richard teaches Historic Preservation Law in the Master’s degree program of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and at the University of Chicago Law School. Previously, he served as counsel to the Chicago Landmark Commission and is on the Board of the Chicago Art Deco Society, where he has been a member since its founding.

Max Chavez is a Senior Architectural Historian at the 106 Group with a dedication to preserving Midwest architectural and cultural legacy. With a focus on utilizing research and historic resources, Max excels in crafting compelling narratives that advocate for the conservation of significant sites. He is a graduate of New York University in London’s Historical & Sustainable Architecture program where his thesis “Burdened Architecture: Treating Historical Trauma Through Preservation and Reuse” received the Gavin Stamp Memorial Award for Outstanding Thesis. He was also honored as a Mildred Colodny Diversity Scholar by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, and is currently a member of the Central Park Theater Restoration Committee.

Utkarsha is an architect and arts journalist with a background that bridges design, criticism, and cultural storytelling. She holds a Bachelor of Architecture from India, a Master’s in Arts Journalism from Syracuse University, and an MBA from New England College. Her writing has appeared in Architectural Record, The Architect’s Newspaper, AN Interior, Newsweek, American Theatre, Docomomo US, and several international publications.

Based in Chicago, she is actively involved in the city’s design and architectural discourse, having helped research and curate the exhibition 1x1 Chicago; Women in Architecture, presented by the International Archive of Women in Architecture (IAWA) Center at Illinois Institute of Technology; and the Chicago Women in Architecture 50th Anniversary exhibition at the Chicago Architecture Center.

Utkarsha is also committed to mentorship and teaching. In her lecture, “Architecture Journalism and the Role of Media in Architecture,” she supports emerging designers interested in writing and criticism, exploring how media shapes public understanding of the built environment.

Marcy is a Professor of English and American Studies at DePaul University. Her academic research focuses on the interdependent relationship of print, visual, and material cultures. While her scholarly publications focus on the mid-nineteenth century U.S., she also researches, writes, and speaks about mid-twentieth century architecture and architects in Chicago and its post-war south suburbs. She is especially interested in bringing increased attention and resources to the built environment and communities of Chicago's southland and is proud to advocate for this architecturally rich area as part of Docomomo Chicago's important preservation efforts.

Beth is a registered architect with over 25 years of experience in historic preservation, architecture, and planning. Her current work centers on federal and state historic tax credit consulting, National Register nominations, historic resource surveys, and building assessments. She is a Senior Manager in Ryan LLC’s Chicago office (formerly MacRostie Historic Advisors). Before returning to Chicago in 2024, she worked as a preservation consultant in New Orleans where she served on the boards of DOCOMOMO Nola/Louisiana and the New Orleans Architecture Foundation. In 2017, Beth was awarded the Richard Morris Hunt Fellowship, a prize conferred biennially to one American preservation architect for six months of research, travel, and professional exchange in France.

Max Pozen is an architectural designer currently working as a Project Designer at Manske Dieckmann Thompson (MDT) Architecture in Chicago. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Architecture from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and a Master of Architecture from Washington University in St. Louis.