Lilian values a firm culture that embraces collaboration, connection to the community, risk taking, and fostering talent. As one of the studio's Partners, she helps lead the design process and build teams that deliver aspirational outcomes.

Lilian attended the University of California, Berkeley, where she earned her BA in Environmental Design and graduated with honors. After completing her studies, Lilian worked at architecture firms around the Bay Area, including Stanley Saitowitz, the City of San Francisco’s Bureau of Architecture, SOM, and NBBJ. Recently completed and current projects include the International Terminal at SFO, the Salk Institute for Biological Studies Master Plan, the Center for Science and Innovation at USF, 21st Century learning Environments Guidelines for CSU East Bay and Diablo Valley Community College, and UC Merced Project 2020's Public-Private-Partnership (P3) project. A leader within the Society for College and University Planning (SCUP), she organized the first-ever Hackathon for MOOC’s as part of the Pacific Regional Conference and will be continuing her involvement with the organization as 2018-2021 Pacific Regional Chair.

Lilian utilizes her experience as a practice leader and licensed architect to develop synergistic relationships with leaders throughout the architectural and educational communities. Deeply involved with the local community, Lilian works to raise awareness and help break the cycle of poverty in the Bay Area through her work as a Tipping Point Community Partner. Lilian also acts as a Board Director of AIA San Francisco and is the Co-Chair of the Equity by Design Committee, a call to action for both women and men to realize the goal of equitable practice and communicate the value of design to society.

Executive Director, Design Trust for Public Space

Susan Chin, FAIA, Hon. ASLA, Executive Director leads the Design Trust for Public Space, a nationally recognized incubator that transforms and evolves the city’s landscape with public agencies, community collaborators, and private sector experts since 1995. Her key projects, include: Five Borough Farm, Making Midtown,Under the Elevated, The World’s Park, Laying the Groundwork, Opening the Edge and Future Culture. For over 20 years, Ms. Chin served as Assistant Commissioner for Capital Projects at NYC Department of Cultural Affairs. She also served as Vice President on the American Institute of Architects board, and received numerous awards, including a Loeb Fellowship at Harvard.

Diversity & Inclusion Strategic Business Partner, Autodesk

Arezoo Riahi is Autodesk’s first Diversity & Inclusion Strategic Business Partner. She works with different business units and sites on the development of their diversity strategic plans, as well as lead internal initiatives designed to create an inclusive culture. Arezoo comes to Autodesk from the Institute of International Education (IIE) where she served as the Director of the TechWomen program, an initiative of the U.S. Department of State, which brings women from around the world to the Bay Area for professional mentorship at innovative companies. In addition to leading the expansion of the TechWomen initiative and developing its strategic direction, she also created new features to the program including the addition of male mentors and a focus on community impact. Arezoo holds a Masters of Public Policy from The University of Chicago and a Bachelor of Arts in International Affairs from The George Washington University.

DIRECTOR OF DESIGN, COLLOQATE DESIGN

Designer and Design Justice Advocate. Founder/Director of Colloqate Design. Founding organizer of the Design Justice Platform and organized the Design As Protest National day of Action. Led two award-winning architecture + design programs for high school students through the Arts Council of New Orleans (local) and the National Organization of Minority Architects (national), respectively. National AIA Equity + the Future of Architecture Board Committee. 2013 AIA Diversity Recognition Award. 2014 NOMA member of the year, 2015 Next City Vanguard Fellow, 2015 International British American Project Fellow. 2016 TED Speaker and SXSW Eco Keynote. 40 under 40 National Trust. 2018 Fast Company Most Creative People in Business.

Founder, Designing Justice, Designing Spaces

Deanna Van Buren is one of the national leaders researching, formulating, and advocating for restorative justice centers, a radical transformation of the criminal justice system. She currently sits on the national board of Architects/Designers/Planners for Social Responsibility and is a co-founding partner of Designing Justice + Designing Spaces, an architecture and real estate development firm innovating in the built environment to end mass incarceration.

Deanna’s professional career spans 16 years as a global design lead and project manager on mixed-use, retail, institutional and higher education projects with developers such as Bovis Lend Lease, Australand, The Al Ghurair Group and Alexandria Real Estate Equities. In 2011, Deanna started her first public interest design firm, FOURM design studio, where she completed the Syracuse Peacemaking Center in New York, the first of its kind in the United States. At Designing Justice + Designing Spaces, Deanna brings her design and thought leadership to current projects such as Restore, a multi-use hub for restorative justice and workforce development in east Oakland and the Pop-up Village, a mobile infrastructure for under-resourced communities. She is a recent award of the 2017 Women in Architecture Awards Honor Pioneering Professionals, a 2015/2016 Rauschenberg Artist as Activist fellow and an alumnus of the Loeb Fellowship at Harvard’s Graduate School of Design.