CHRISTINA HERNANDEZ, ASSOC. AIA, CLP ADVISOR
Cristina Hernandez is an architectural designer at SLCE Architects, where she works on housing. While studying Environmental Planning at Binghamton University, Hernandez worked on the Energy and Climate Action Plan for the City of Binghamton, developing recommendations for local policy and government action, a moment she points to as a catalyst to her interest in community building. Upon returning to New York City, she entered the M.Arch program at the CCNY Spitzer School of Architecture. While there, she worked as a research assistant for “Prototyping Architecture: The Solar Roofpod,” where she researched New York City’s infrastructure and the potential for net-zero-energy building in underutilized spaces.
Hernandez sees design as a form of communication, change, and service, with the physical design of homes, neighborhoods, and communities shaping every aspect of our lives. Before coming to SLCE, Hernandez biked across the country with Bike & Build to raise money and awareness for affordable housing efforts nationwide.
DANIEL M. HORN, ASSOC. AIA, CLP ADVISOR
Daniel M. Horn is an architectural designer who focuses on community recovery. While living in Lindenhurst in October 2012, Horn was personally affected by Superstorm Sandy. This experience fostered his commitment to building resilience through advocacy in at-risk coastal communities. After Sandy, Horn co-organized a grassroots group called Operation Resilient Long Island (ORLI), with the goal of bringing new resilient ideas to local towns affected by the storm. The group launched “3C: Comprehensive Coastal Communities,” a global design competition that brought in more than 60 entries from 20 countries.
Horn is now co-founder of ORLI+, a rebranded version of ORLI, which has become a resilient design and community engagement consultancy based in New York City. Horn is also a SEED (Social, Economic, Environmental, Design) certified professional and believes that public interest design and resilience should be paramount in all aspects of architectural practice.
MICHAELA METCALFE, AIA, CCM, LEED AP, CLP ADVISOR
Michaela Metcalfe is an architect dedicated to mindfully shaping public space. Her professional and academic explorations have included multi-scalar, architectural, and urban territories that advance design in the public realm. With over 12 years of experience as a Senior Designer and Project Manager at Sage and Coombe Architects and as a Senior Project Manager and Design Liaison at the NYC Department of Design and Construction (DDC), she has led collaborative processes resulting in award-winning public projects. Currently, as the Director of Design and Construction Excellence at DDC, she continues to advocate for equitable, sustainable, resilient, and healthy design while facilitating consensus between discrete stakeholders, the design aspirations of architects, and the delight of the public.
Metcalfe graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Design from the University of Florida School of Architecture and earned a M.Arch from the Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation.
JENNA LEIGH WANDISHIN, ASSOC. AIA, CLP ADVISOR
Wandishin is currently working towards licensure and aims to practice in the public realm. She believes that architecture is civic pursuit, a belief which has fueled her passion for inclusive planning and public interest design. Her experience as a member of the inaugural AIANY Civic Leadership Program class informs her approach to practice and design. Wandishin continues to volunteer as a co-adviser to the 2018 Civic Leadership Program, where she helps a new cohort of leaders engage with agencies, officials, and community programs throughout New York City.
SHILPA PATEL, AIA, NCARB, LEED AP, PART-TIME CLP ADVISOR
Shilpa Patel earned a B.Arch from the University of Houston and a M.Arch II from UCLA. She has over 13 years of architectural experience working on multi-scale domestic and international projects. As a Design Manager at Laguarda.Low Architects, she focuses on project management, design process, and feasibility for numerous projects. Through her work, she aims to address public relationships in urban design while maintaining a high degree of technical detail.
In 2015, Patel moved to New York City from Texas to pursue her Master in Real Estate Development at NYU. She hopes to balance her education in real estate and architecture to promote positive community and economic growth in conjunction with intelligent and innovative building design. Patel strives to understand and impact communities through positive leadership and volunteering, whether mentoring young girls or teaching yoga in underprivileged neighborhoods.
AYODELE YUSUF, ASSOCIATE AIA, PART-TIME CLP ADVISOR
Ayodele Yusuf is an Associate at Perkins Eastman with ten years of experience in key leadership and technical roles for a variety of large-scale projects, spanning waterfront redevelopment, transit-oriented development, institutional and medical buildings, and resiliency. As project manager of the New York Rising Program, Yusuf managed a multidisciplinary team to complete six community rebuilding and reconstruction plans, encompassing over 23 communities in Brooklyn, Nassau County, Queens, and Staten Island. The project garnered numerous awards and additional funding. Through a PE Traveling Scholarship, speaking engagements, and strategic partnerships with 100 Resilient Cities, he continues to develop the firm’s resilience expertise.
As an active Waterfront Committee member of the New York Chapter of the APA, Yusuf advocates for waterfront policies and practices that improve access to the New York Harbor. He served on the Advisory Board for the NYC Department of City Planning’s Urban Waterfront Adaption Strategies post-Hurricane Sandy, providing input on methodologies to address specific vulnerabilities, resiliency approaches, and evaluation frameworks. Yusuf earned a MAUD from Harvard University and a B.Arch from the University of Arkansas.