The VANOMA Nominations Committee has confirmed the 2025 Slate of Electors for the upcoming board election that will take place virtually from January 20th through January 24th, 2025. The following esteemed candidates will be on the ballot for 2025. Please take a moment to learn more about their passions and vision prior to submitting your vote.
Voting privileges are available to all active (fully paid) VANOMA members. You will receive a link via email to cast your ballot. Results will be announced at the first General Body Meeting of 2025, on January 28th.
VICE PRESIDENT
One open position | One candidate
In 2010, Kim Thompson Smith was elevated to principal at VMDO and became the first female Architect / Principal in the firm’s almost 40-year history. Her path – from graduation at VA TECH to licensure in VA – was full of challenges that included no female minority architects as role models and knowledge of only a few female principals in the profession. These challenges inspired her to create a women’s professional networking group - Central VA Women in Design in 2009 to provide a networking community and professional development opportunities for women across the AEC industries in CVA. Through these connections she found the opportunity to join CVAIA’s Board and VA AIA’s ELA program development committee to support emerging leaders.
VANOMA members need programs that support our emerging professionals, women, and minorities. In the remaining years of my career, Kim Thompson Smith has chosen to focus on NOMA - the professional organization that aligns with my views and my identity. As President Elect, she intends to focus on not only developing programming for emerging professionals but also introducing our members to opportunities with allied organizations. Mentoring the next generation of emerging leaders is both a passion and responsibility that she intends to fulfill as a leader in VANOMA.
SECRETARY
One open position | One candidate
Kelley Holmes is a licensed architect and associate at Quinn Evans in Richmond, Virginia. Her commitment to architecture is reflected in her dedication to volunteering within the profession and the Richmond community. She advocates for increased diversity in architecture and design, and regularly mentors youths to increase their awareness of educational and professional opportunities, providing them with real-world, hands-on experiences in the A/C/E industries.
Kelley first sought out NOMA as a student at Virginia Tech in 2005. She attended a call for interest meeting to reignite the NOMAS chapter there, with the hopes of advocating for and bringing awareness to the need for increasing the number women and people of color in the profession. Since her graduation in 2007, Kelley continues to advocate for and uplift the voices of women and people of color through a magnitude of volunteer work. She currently serves as an At-Large Director for VANOMA, with a past position as interim Treasurer, since 2021. She has also previously dedicated several years to involvement with Richmond Women in Design (an AIA Richmond Committee, where she served on the steering committee from 2018-2022 and as Chair in 2020), the ACE Mentor Program of RVA (the Richmond affiliate of the ACE Mentor Program of America, where she served as a mentor from 2014-2017 and on the board from 2020-2024), the USGBC Connect the Dots Green Schools Challenge (a K-12 program promoting environmental stewardship and sustainability, where she served as a mentor from 2013-2019), as well as other local organizations and events.
Kelley’s commitment to change within the architecture industry was recognized in 2021 when she was honored with AIA Virginia’s Emerging Professional Award for her service and dedication to the organizations listed above. She is also an alumnae of AIA Virginia’s Emerging Leaders in Architecture program, Class of 2019.
Kelley has thoroughly enjoyed contributing to and uplifting VANOMA’s mission over the past four years and looks forward to expanding and documenting the great work the organization does with her future contributions as its Secretary.
TREASURER
One open position | One candidate
Admo Ogun is a licensed architect that specializes in global offsite construction strategies and logistics. He studied architecture in the United Kingdom, where he obtained his bachelor’s degree in architecture. He’s a member of the American Institute of Architects and the Royal Institute of British Architects.
He is currently an architect/project manager at the Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations, where he is responsible for overseeing the research, planning, design, development and construction-award of US government diplomatic facilities around the world.
As a professional member of the National Organization of Minority Architects (NOMA), he is very passionate about mentoring emerging professionals towards an equitable path to licensure, and he continues to serve on various committees at the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB) in addition to volunteering at his local NOMA chapter (VANOMA) on initiatives like project pipeline.
Admo is very passionate about the environment, and the type of buildings we design. He believes as architects and designers we should lead the way in designing sustainable, innovative, resilient architecture that offers passive technologies in an effort to enhance climate security initiatives and reduce the environment detriments buildings contribute towards increasing carbon footprint and climate disasters.
Previously, he was a past treasurer from 2010-2018 and past interim president from 2018-2019 for STL-NOMA. He is a LEED accredited professional and previously served on the leadership board of USGBC Missouri Gateway chapter and chaired the advocacy committee.
PARLIAMENTARIAN
One open position | One candidate
Dr. Daya Irene Taylor is a registered architect in the State of Florida. She received a Bachelor of Science in Architectural Studies from Florida A&M University. She also earned a Master of Architecture Degree from Clemson University. Her career in architecture and design education has included serving as National Secretary of the National Organization of Minority Architects, appointment to Interim Dean, and also to Architecture Department Head of the Robert R. Taylor School of Architecture and Construction Science at Tuskegee University. While residing in Alabama, Dr. Taylor earned a Ph.D. in Educational Leadership, Policy, and Law from Alabama State University. Currently, she is the Department Chairperson at Hampton University Department of Architecture, an Associate Professor of Architecture, and a member of the State Board of the American Institute of Architects, Virginia (AIAVA).
Dr. Taylor has been a student of Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised for over 30 years. She is adept in understanding documents and parliamentary order. She is a member of the National Association of Parliamentarians as well as the current President of the Magic in Motion Parliamentary Unit. Additionally, she serves as the current parliamentarian for the Pink Pearl Foundation Board.
AT-LARGE DIRECTOR
Three open positions | Five candidates
Sidney Griffin requests your consideration for the position of At-Large Director with the VANOMA board for the 2025-2026 term. This 1-year appointment would coincide with his current role as AIA Central Virginia President through the end of 2025 where he hopes to capitalize on opportunities to synergize efforts to support our architecture community. At the conclusion of the At-Large Director term, Sidney's intent is to pursue other positions on the VANOMA board in future nomination seasons.
In the At-Large Director role, Sidney intends to serve at the direction of the President to bring awareness of our profession to a diverse public and encourage and support minority students in pursuit of architecture as a profession. His past contributions to VANOMA, including participating in the last 4 years of Project Pipeline and volunteering time to Hampton University for presentations and portfolio review. Sidney has worked in architecture for 24+ years in a myriad of roles and responsibilities, including 21 years alongside Kim Thompson Smith at VMDO where he worked his way to the position of Director of Digital Technology. Sidney's current occupation as BIM Project Manager for the University of Virginia's Facilities Management department has helped him to round out his perspective of the architecture profession from service to served and to identify where organizations like VANOMA can offer resources, guidance, and support.
Sidney considers current, past, and future board members dear colleagues and friends and he looks forward to serving the NOMA community with all of you.
Georgie Márquez is Principal Owner at Andre + Marquez Architects. She is licensed by the Commonwealth of Virginia and the District of Columbia and is a certified CPTED (Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design) Professional. Her work ranges from Project Architect to Project Administrator. She is also in charge of Marketing and Public Relations for the firm. In 2012, Ms. Márquez was invited to join then Congressman Scott Rigell's Business Advisory Board. In 2018, Ms. Márquez was appointed by the Norfolk City Council to the Mayor's Advisory Commission on Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation. In 2021, she was appointed an Invited Member to Governor Ralph Northam's Technical Advisory Committee for Coastal Adaptation and Protection Master Planning. In 2022, she was appointed by Governor Glenn Youngkin to the Secure and Resilient Commonwealth Panel under the Secretariat of Public Safety and Homeland Security. Ms. Márquez is part of Arquitina's mentor group.
As a Hispanic woman with over 40 years of experience in Architecture, Georgie brings a diverse and tested voice. She has been engaged in various aspects of the profession, from programming and design to construction administration, marketing, public relations, and business development. Her most recent focus has been to engage in the community as a Citizen Architect. Georgie brings a wealth of experience and understanding of the challenges and rewards of our profession, and she believes she can be an asset as we grow the presence and impact of NOMA in the Commonwealth. As our profession faces new and exciting technologies and possibilities, as well as regulatory concerns, we need all of us to ensure that, as minority Architects, we continue to have a growing and expanding presence at the table of influence.
Sangyoon Park is a Korean-American healthcare architect working and living in Alexandria, VA with a passion for promoting professional development and diversity both within and outside her office, HCM. Sangyoon has lived in Virginia her whole life, including undergraduate at UVA and graduate school at VT (WAAC). Over the past two years, she has joined VANOMA and helped push through events and initiatives. For example, she partnered with AIA NOVA to organize a joint Spring Social at the WAAC in Alexandria in 2023. Over the past year as part of VANOMA's Professional Development Committee, Sangyoon co-chaired a presentation called "Charting Your Course" that was live in all 5 regions of Virginia for a shared virtual and in-person ambitious event. In the coming year, she hopes to do even more to help VANOMA grow and give members the tools to flourish on their professional journeys.
Starting in NOMAS as an undergraduate at UVA, Sangyoon found a passion for equity early. Through her previous two firms she has helped with forming DEI groups and executing initiatives. Sangyoon also helped form an office group called “Emerge” for emerging professionals across the firm. They prepared skills learning presentations such as communication, conducted surveys, and prepared a licensure and certification presentation that also spun off into several study groups - of which she led a LEED & WELL AP study group covering each chapter or concept in chunks. Sangyoon believes she could help bring the right resources to VANOMA members who are on the path to licensure and help promote what is possible. Her own journey to licensure has helped shape the architect she is and put her on a path to success. Sangyoon wishes to help similarly push others up in the field of architecture and design.
Burt Pinnock, FAIA, NOMA is a principal and chairman of the board at Baskervill, a 125-year-old design firm. Over his 30+-year career Burt’s commitment and passion has created impactful work for neighborhoods, cultural institutions, and forward-thinking organizations, including William & Mary, Emory University, University of Richmond, the Black History Museum and Cultural Center of Virginia, Better Housing Coalition, and many more. A founder of the nonprofit Storefront for Community Design, Burt also currently serves on the City of Richmond Planning Commission, is a board member of the Legal Aid Justice Center, Historic Richmond Foundation, and Venture Richmond, amongst numerous other board and committee engagements.
Burt is a Fellow of the American Institute of Architect, member of the National Organization of American Architects and the Virginia AIA 2022 William C. Noland Medalist. He is a graduate of Virginia Tech and calls Richmond, Virginia home.
Burt is excited about the opportunity to join the board of the Virginia Chapter of NOMA to help push forward the mission of promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion in architecture. He is passionate about mentoring underrepresented professionals and students, creating pathways for their success, and working on initiatives that tackle systemic inequities in the built environment. Joining the board would give Burt the chance to contribute to NOMA’s work, opening doors for minority architects and championing designs that truly reflect the diversity of our communities.
Candace A. Seda is an Atlanta-born architect with almost a decade of professional experience in the K-12, higher education, civic, and medical office sectors. She earned her B.S. Arch and M. Arch from the Georgia Institute of Technology, specializing in graphic design and sustainability. As the daughter of an educator, she channels her passion for education and community to create inspiring learning environments, positively impacting the educational experience for future generations. Candace leverages her graphic design expertise to craft visually compelling and cohesive spaces through experiential graphics.
Known for leading conversations on inclusion and equity, Candace aims to make quality design accessible to those historically excluded or overlooked, benefiting both clients and industry professionals. A passionate and enthusiastic designer, she enjoys collaborating with people and communities to contribute to shaping a changing world through design.
As VANOMA's At-Large Director, Candace would bring her passion for connecting people, amplifying diverse voices, and making meaningful change. Through years of working with diverse teams and spearheading initiatives that prioritize equity and inclusion, she has learned that collaboration & communication is the key to real progress. As future chair of the VANOMA Communications Committee, she is committed to sharing our message clearly and engagingly. With energy, vision, and a genuine love for building relationships, Candace is excited to help us continue to grow as an organization and inspire the next generation of architects and designers.
Thank you for reading more about the VANOMA 2025 Slate of Electors for the board election that will take place virtually from January 20th through January 24th, 2025. Voting privileges are available to all active (fully paid) VANOMA members. You will receive a link via email to cast your ballot. Results will be announced at the first General Body Meeting of 2025, on January 28th.
More information about elections coming soon!
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