Kathryn Firth
DIRECTOR MASTERPLANNING AND URBAN DESIGN, ARUP
Kathryn Firth is an architect, urban designer, researcher, teacher, and consultant with more than 25 years of international experience, based in London, England.
Kathryn is graduate of the Masters of Architecture in Urban Design program from Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design, where she has been teaching over the past five years. Previously, she was urban design director at PLP Architects, NBBJ, and was the Chief of Design at the London Legacy Development Corporation, where she directed teams of architects, landscape architects, planners, and engineers to realize the 102-hectare Olympic Legacy. She has led international masterplanning and urban regeneration projects and serves on several Design Review Panels.
Kathryn is active in research on land use intensification in suburban and industrial contexts, and the intersection of healthcare and urbanism.
Nina-Marie E. Lister
PROFESSOR AND GRADUATE PROGRAM DIRECTOR, TORONTO METROPOLITAN UNIVERSITY (FORMERLY KNOWN AS RYERSON UNIVERSITY), SCHOOL OF URBAN AND REGIONAL PLANNING
Nina-Marie Lister is a professor and the graduate director in the School of Urban + Regional Planning at Toronto Metropolitan University (formerly known as Ryerson), and a Senior Fellow at Massey College. She is returning this year to Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design as Visiting Professor of Landscape Architecture. A Registered Professional Planner (MCIP, RPP) trained in ecology, environmental science, and landscape planning, she is the winner of the 2021 Margolese National Design for Living Prize. Her research, teaching, and practice centre on the confluence of landscape infrastructure and ecological processes within contemporary metropolitan regions, with a particular focus on resilience and adaptive systems design.
At Ryerson, Lister founded the Ecological Design Lab, a collaborative incubator for ecological design, research, and practice. Her work was featured in the 2016 Venice Architectural Biennale as a collaborator on Canada’s entry, EXTRACTION—a critical examination of the country’s role as a global resource empire. Lister is a member of the Waterfront Toronto Design Review Panel, chairs the SSHRC Banting Post-Doctoral Fellowship, and serves as an advisor to the Biophilic Cities Network.
Brian Rudy
PARTNER, MORIYAMA & TESHIMA ARCHITECTS
As one of Moriyama & Teshima Architects’ five partners, Brian Rudy’s special focus is on cultural and museum projects, with additional experience on performing arts, university, corporate, and institutional projects. He was Project Architect for the Governor General’s award-winning Canadian War Museum in Ottawa and, more recently, the lead architect for the Canadian Port of Entry as part of the Gordie Howe International Bridge P3 consortium.
Brian is a natural and highly respected motivator who has demonstrated his effective leadership on high-profile projects including Waterloo Region Museum, Queenston Plaza Border Crossing, Niagara Falls History Museum, Discovery Centre Halifax, Etihad Museum Dubai, Canon Canada's new Corporate Headquarters, and the soon-to-be-opened Place des Arts Francophone Cultural Centre in Sudbury.
Stephen Teeple
FOUNDING PRINCIPAL, TEEPLE ARCHITECTS
Stephen is the founding Principal of Teeple Architects, is a Fellow of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada and Royal Canadian Academy of Arts and is the recipient of 6 Governor
General’s Medals for Architecture—Canada’s top architectural recognition. Stephen was honoured to receive the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2013 in recognition of his
outstanding service and contribution to Canadian design and culture. In his over 40 years of practice, he has been the Design Architect on a diverse portfolio of acclaimed institutional,
cultural, commercial, and residential projects, including over 40 significant projects for North American colleges and universities. Stephen is known for his expertise in the design of buildings
and spaces that foster community and shape a vibrant public realm. As a prominent member of the Canadian design community, Mr. Teeple is also committed to active and ongoing
engagement in all aspects of discourse regarding design, creativity, and the public realm.
Deborah Wang
CURATOR AND ARTISTIC DIRECTOR, DESIGNTO
Deborah Wang is a Taiwanese Canadian curator and designer based in Toronto, with a broad range of experience in contemporary art, design, and architecture that spans two decades. She holds a Master of Fine Arts from OCAD University, and a Master of Architecture from the University of Waterloo, receiving the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada Student Medal.
As artistic director of DesignTO, she co-leads the non-profit arts organization that produces Canada’s largest annual design festival, while curating numerous public programs and exhibitions both independently and for DesignTO. As a community leader and design expert, she has been interviewed by The Globe and Mail and Monocle Radio, and profiled in Azure Magazine. Alongside her curatorial work, Deborah practices architecture with award-winning firms.
Susan Speigel
OAA PRESIDENT
Susan Speigel is the President of the Ontario Association of Architects (OAA), now in her second one-year term. Rooted in her passion for community-building, activism, equity, and innovation, her Toronto-based multidisciplinary firm Susan Speigel Architect Inc. (SSA), focuses on architecture, landscape, and urban design for non-profit organizations and the public housing sector. With a career spanning more than 30 years, Susan is also an educator at George Brown College School of Design at the Institute Without Boundaries, where she works at the intersections of architecture, landscape architecture, urbanism, activism, community, ecology, and academia.
Curtis Berkenbosch
ARCHITECT, IDEA (INTEGRATED DESIGN ENGINEERING + ARCHITECTURE AND CHAIR, ALGOMA SOCIETY OF ARCHITECTS
As an associate at IDEA Inc., Curtis Berkenbosch manages a team of architectural, engineering, and technical professionals on a wide range of projects. With sister offices in Sault Ste Marie and Ottawa, his position in Northern and Eastern Ontario offers well-rounded experience in all aspects of the profession.
Following his run as VP for a non-profit corporation Board of Directors, Curtis restarted the Algoma Society of Architects, with the next generation of local talent. He is currently working with the Algoma District School Board, the Holmes Group led by Mike Holmes, SalDan Construction Group, and an advisory committee of local and national partners on a multi-year initiative for promotion of the skilled trades at the high-school level in Sault Ste. Marie.
Gordon Hunt
ARCHITECT, ARCHITECTS + RESEARCH + KNOWLEDGE, Inc. (ARK)
Gordon Hunt is an architect with Architects + Research + Knowledge, Inc. (ARK). Having graduated from the University of Waterloo’s School of Architecture in 2014, he has been working in Toronto and sharing his passion for the profession in a number of ways as a volunteer both at the OAA and the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada (RAIC).
Gordon served on OAA Council in 2017, holding the inaugural Intern Representative non-voting seat. He has also volunteered on the OAA’s Interns Committee and Practice Resource Committee between 2016 and 2020, focusing primarily on mentorship and online resources.
Diana Osborne
ARCHITECT, OSBORNE ARCHITECT