Marlene Imirzian

Imirzian is the founding principal of Marlene Imirzian & Associates Architects, with offices in Phoenix and in Escondido, California. The firm is recognized for design excellence, exceptional project performance, and leadership in the integration of sustainable design practices. Its portfolio spans public, education, healthcare, commercial, and residential projects that are distinguished by thoughtful, place-based design and a commitment to community. Marlene's work has received numerous honors, including multiple local and regional American Institute of Architects design awards.   She was elevated to the AIA College of Fellows in 2013 and is the recipient of the 2011 AIA Arizona Architects Medal, and her firm was honored as the 2015 AIA Arizona Firm of the Year.

Her work has been published nationally and internationally, including in RECORD. Most recently, three of the firm's projects were featured in Out There, a book celebrating architectural practices whose work exemplifies the highest standards of design rooted in place, culture, and community. In addition to professional practice, Marlene has taught at The Design School within Arizona State University's Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts. She also served as a faculty mentor in the university's Master of Real Estate Development program and has been a frequent guest lecturer and design studio critic at universities throughout the region. Marlene has served in numerous national and local leadership roles, including for the AIA National Committee on Design, the AIA Trust, the AIA Arizona College of Fellows, the City of Phoenix Historic Preservation Commission, and the Urban Land Institute.

Mae-ling Lokko

Lokko is an architectural scientist, designer, educator, and artist from Ghana and the Philippines whose work broadly explores the design of value systems around biobased materials. Her work has been exhibited globally, including at the 19th Architecture Venice Biennale; Haus der Kulturen der Welt (HKW), Berlin; Museum of Modern Art, New York; the Nobel Prize Museum, Stockholm; Triennale Milano; the Sonsbeek Biennial; and at the Museum of the Future, Dubai. Lokko is an assistant professor at Yale University’s School of Architecture, assistant director at Yale's Center for Ecosystems in Architecture, and the founder of Willow Technologies, in Accra, Ghana. At Yale, her research focuses on the whole life cycle development, distributed infrastructure design, and policy around non-toxic, low-carbon materials. Lokko previously taught at Cooper Union and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), where she served as the director of the Building Sciences Program as well as assistant professor at the School of Architecture and the Center for Architecture, Science and Ecology (CASE).

Her research has been funded by the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), the SOM Foundation, ReArc Institute, the British Council, MIT’s Global Architectural History Teaching Collaborative, the Luma Foundation, and New York State’s NEXUS Clean Energy Accelerator Program. Lokko holds a Ph.D. and Master of Science from RPI’s CASE and a B.A. from Tufts University. She currently serves on the board for the International Living Future Institute and the Architectural League of New York.

Clare Miflin

Miflin is an architect and circular-systems thinker who reimagines urban infrastructure, aiming to create environments where resources are continuously reused. She is the founder and executive director of the Center for Zero Waste Design, a nonprofit that develops research, design strategies, and advocacy campaigns to ensure that policies and systems are aligned for zero waste operations. She is also principal of ThinkWoven, a design consultancy that works with companies, design practitioners, community organizations, and municipalities to reshape the built environment by transforming linear “take-make-waste” material flows into circular loops. Both the nonprofit and the design consultancy emerged from the development of the Zero Waste Design Guidelines, which Miflin led in partnership with the Center for Architecture in New York City in 2017, with support from the Rockefeller Foundation. Positing waste as a design flaw, Miflin works to deepen the knowledge and further the reach of the Guidelines, envisioning a future without garbage, where urban systems are woven into ecosystems. Through grant-funded research as well as design consulting work, Miflin’s goal is to support designers, communities, and policymakers by making zero waste strategies accessible and actionable, to improve buildings, neighborhoods, and cities. Miflin lives in New York City where she is actively involved in the AIA Committee on the Environment, Alliance for Public Space Leadership, and Save our Compost coalition.

Anne Schopf

As senior design principal and director of design at Mahlum Architects, Schopf has spent more than four decades advancing architecture at the intersection of design excellence, environmental stewardship, and evidence-based research. Based in Seattle and Portland, her work spans education, healthcare, housing, and infrastructure, demonstrating how thoughtful design can improve human health while strengthening our connection to the natural world. Under her design leadership over the past 36 years, Mahlum has received four AIA Committee on the Environment (COTE) Top Ten Awards, along with more than 100 regional and national AIA and IIDA design honors.

Schopf’s work is recognized for its elemental materiality and deep connection to landscape and climate. Her projects reflect a sensitivity to light, weather, and the passage of time, creating places that heighten occupants’ awareness of the natural world while fostering well-being and community. Together with her colleague and author Joe Mayo, Schopf has investigated the application of mass timber across a range of building types, advancing understanding of how natural materials influence human experience. Schopf has also helped shape the architectural profession through leadership, mentorship, and service. Within the AIA she served on the COTE Advisory Group and chaired the National Committee on Design in 2011 and was instrumental in promoting the COTE Common Application. This advocacy contributed to the profession's embrace of measurable outcomes through what became the AIA Framework for Design Excellence. Elevated to Fellowship in 2007, she remains active in AIA leadership and frequently lectures, mentors emerging designers, and participates in design reviews at the University of Washington College of Built Environments. Schopf earned degrees in Architecture and Civil Engineering with honors from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, where she currently serves on the School of Architecture Dean's Leadership Council.

Carole Wedge

Wedge is the executive vice president/chief executive officer of the AIA. For 17 years she served as president and CEO of Shepley Bulfinch, helping guide the historic Boston-based firm’s evolution into an innovative organization with an open and diverse culture and overseeing its growth into a national practice with offices in Durham, Hartford, Houston, and Phoenix. Throughout her career in architecture and advocacy in the wider community, Wedge has sought to challenge conventions and incite organizations to become more transparent and diverse. Her dynamic and collaborative leadership has powerfully impacted cornerstone institutions—from higher education and civic organizations to architecture. 

Wedge is a Fellow of the AIA, a member of the National Organization of Minority Architects, and a LEED accredited professional. She has served on many boards, including that of the AIA Architects Foundation and the Boston Society of Architects (BSA). She has also served as a trustee for the Boston Architectural College and the Wentworth Institute of Technology, and as a member of the Boston Green Ribbon Commission. She has chaired the Large Firm Round Table and is co-founder of the AIA Women’s Leadership Summit. Wedge is the recipient of several awards: the 2023 Award of Honor from the BSA, for outstanding contributions to architecture and the profession over an extended period of time; the 2020 Edward C. Kemper Award from the AIA, which is granted to an AIA member for continued and significant service to the organization; and the Women in Design Award from the BSA in 2013. 

To register for the awards ceremony on September 23, click here.