Jennifer Picquet-Reyes

Jennifer Picquet-Reyes is an experienced architect who has been in the industry since 2000. She has worked on projects involving new construction, restoration, renovation, and LEED certification across different sectors.

Jennifer is a Principal at Merriman Anderson Architects, leading the hospitality, adaptive reuse, and historic preservation sectors. With over 24 years of experience, Jennifer has a proven track record of transforming historic buildings into vibrant, modern spaces while preserving their unique character. The innovative approach to design seamlessly blends functionality with aesthetic appeal, creating memorable experiences for guests and visitors.

MAA's portfolio includes diverse projects, from lifestyle and boutique hotels to adaptive reuse of schools, churches, and high-rise office buildings. Their work has been recognized with numerous awards, showcasing their commitment to excellence and sustainability in architecture. With these projects has come a knowledge of and experience with historic preservation, LEED certification, adaptive reuse, design, construction schedule, document coordination and construction administration. These projects have taken her to environments all over the country.

A graduate of Texas Tech University, Jennifer is passionate about sustainable design and revitalizing urban spaces. She is an active member of AIA, ULI, and Preservation Texas and frequently speaks at industry conferences on hospitality design and adaptive reuse.

In her free time, Jennifer enjoys exploring new cities and drawing inspiration from different cultures and architectural styles to bring fresh ideas to their projects.

Chris Warren

Chris Warren, AIA, is the founding principal and design director of WORD. Named a Design Vanguard by Architectural Record and an Emerging Talent by the Monterey Design Conference, Chris brings over two decades of experience shaping award-winning projects that span contexts, scales and typologies—from large-scale urban districts to adaptive reuse and intimate community spaces.

Before founding WORD, Chris began his career as a design leader at Morphosis in Los Angeles. He has since taught widely—at USC, in international programs in Shanghai, Rome, and Como, and as a visiting professor of urban design at Washington University in St. Louis.

Drawing on both his multicultural background and personal experience—his family was directly impacted by recent California wildfires—Chris brings a deeply human perspective to his work. He is currently involved in recovery and rebuilding efforts, reinforcing his belief that architecture is a generative act—one with the capacity to heal, connect, and shape more resilient futures.

Aleksandra Jaeschke

Aleksandra Jaeschke is an architect and an Associate Professor of Architecture at The University of Texas at Austin. Born and raised in Poland, she holds a Doctor of Design degree from the Harvard GSD and an AA Diploma from the Architectural Association in London.

Aleksandra holds a professional license in Italy where she practiced at AION, an architectural firm she co-founded and co-directed with Andrea Di Stefano until her move to the U.S. In recognition of the work developed by AION, she received the Europe 40 Under 40 Award for 2011 conferred by the European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies and the Chicago Athenaeum. In 2013, AION held a solo exhibition Eco-Machines in the Wroclaw Museum of Architecture in Poland.

Jaeschke was the winner of the Harvard GSD’s 2019 Wheelwright Prize and the DigitalFUTURES's 2021 Mark Cousins Theory Award. She contributed to Log 51 and Log 56, participated in Log’rithms held in the Italian Virtual Pavilion at the 17th Venice Architecture Biennale, and was part of Model Behavior, a group exhibition curated by Anyone Corporation and presented by The Cooper Union Foundation in New York in 2022. In 2021, she curated Plant Potential, an event series focused on human-plant relations––www.plant-potential.world. A book based on her doctoral dissertation, entitled The Greening of America’s Building Codes: Promises and Paradoxes, was published by Princeton Architectural Press in December 2022.

Paul Lewis

Paul Lewis, FAIA, is a Principal at LTL Architects based in New York City and Professor at Princeton University School of Architecture. LTL are the 2019 NY State AIA firm of the year, have received a National Design Award, and were inducted into the ID Hall of Fame. The firm’s recent work includes Poster House, The Helen R. Walton Children’s Enrichment Center, and a residence hall at Carnegie Mellon University. Their current focus is on the architectural potentials of plant and earth-based materials which is explicated in their recently published book Manual of Biogenic House Sections (2022). LTL Architects are also the authors of Intensities (2013), Opportunistic Architecture (2008) and Situation Normal....Pamphlet Architecture #21 (1998) and Manual of Section (2016) which has been translated into six languages. Paul received a BA from Wesleyan University and a M.Arch from Princeton University, and is a recent past president of The Architectural League of New York.

Heath May

Heath May, Global Practice Director of HKS LINE (Laboratory for INtensive Exploration), brings over 20 years of experience at HKS to his new role as CEO. He has dedicated his career to computational design, r+d, and innovation. He specializes in data-driven driven optimization, simulation and digital fabrication and has led projects spanning diverse sectors, including hospitality, healthcare, urban infrastructure, and sports. A former Adjunct Assistant Professor at The University of Texas at Arlington, a frequent contributor to leading publications that explore advancements in digital practice and a patent holder for digital stamping and sealing of architectural documents, Heath is widely recognized for his leadership in shaping the future of our industry and for inspiring the next generation of designers.

Germane Barnes

Germane Barnes is a Chicago-born, Miami-based architect, designer, and founder of Studio Barnes, a research and design practice. He is an Associate Professor and the Director of the Master of Architecture Graduate Program at the University of Miami School of Architecture.

His work has also been featured and acquired to the permanent collections of international institutions most notably San Francisco MoMA, The Art Institute of Chicago, The New York Times, and The National Museum of African American History and Culture. His project, Griot was widely published, as a participant in Biennale Architettura 2023, Laboratory of the Future.