Board of Directors

LaLuce Mitchell, RA

President

Flynn Battaglia Architects

About LaLuce Mitchell, RA

LaLuce Mitchell is a Preservation Architect at Flynn Battaglia Architects in Buffalo. He went to college in Chicago but interned in Buffalo and fell in love with the city and its historic architecture and now calls Buffalo home. He is a licensed architect in New York State and was also vice-chair for the Association for Preservation Technology’s 2018 conference. When he’s not out preserving old buildings, he enjoys eating the craziest, most interesting food he can find and taking roadtrips to explore little-known corners of the US and Canada.

LaLuce was first introduced to the Buffalo Architecture Foundation when he participated in the Architecture + Education program in 2013 at School 53 on the East Side of Buffalo and found it to be a very rewarding experience. He has also presented in the Building Stories program and enjoys hearing the diversity of others’ presentations, a collage of ideas that tell the story of our city.

LaLuce has been a board member since January of 2017 and is involved in the Architecture + Education, Building Stories, and Fundraising committees.

Favorite Building: Buffalo City Hall

Kailey McDermott

Vice President

Young + Wright Architectural

About Kailey McDermott

Kailey McDermott is an Architectural Designer at Young & Wright Architectural with a Masters of Architecture from the University at Buffalo. She specializes in early education and works to create dynamic learning environments for countless Western New York public schools. Kailey had the pleasure of assisting in the publication of “Urban Renewal and School Reform in Baltimore – Rethinking the 21^st Century Public School by Erkin Özay”. She thrives on collaboration with teammates, and loves exceeding clients’ expectations.

As an active member of the community, Kailey docents the annual Parkside Tour of Homes for the Parkside Community Association and volunteers as marketing coordinator for the annual Taste of Buffalo Festival, the largest two-day food festival in the United States. Residing in the Lower Westside Village, she can be found participating in the clean-ups of the downtown area through the Buffalo-Niagara Waterkeeper. Kailey has been a board member for the Buffalo Architecture Foundation since 2020, and plans to continue her involvement within the community. She is a Buffalo native aspiring to make her mark on the city during its unprecedented renaissance

Favorite Buffalo Buildings: Buffalo Connecticut Street Armory, General Electric Tower, and The Richardson Olmsted Campus.

Chris White

Treasurer

Chiampou Travis Besaw and Kershner, LLP

About Chris White

After graduating from the Univeristy of Albany (SUNY) with a degree in accounting in December of 2015, Chris was drawn to Buffalo in part by its rich history, which is visible in the architecture throughout the city and the surrounding region. After gaining several years of professional experience he decided he wanted to offer the skills and knowledge he had gained to support positive initiatives and help better the community.

Chris is currently a senior accountant with Chiampou Travis Besaw and Kershner, LLP, where he has worked for over two years. Throughout his career Chris has worked with numerous Western New York based companies. His experience covers various industries, including manufacturing, real estate, construction contractors, and non-profit organizations.

Favorite Buffalo Building: Buffalo Central Terminal

Denise Juron-Borgese, AIA

Founding Board Member

Ciminelli Real Estate Corporation

About Denise Juron-Borgese, AIA

Denise joined the Ciminelli team in 2010 as Development Project Manager and was named Director of Development in 2013 and Vice President of Development & Planning in 2014. In her current role she oversees day-to-day operations of the development team and is the lead on several initiatives for Ciminelli. The scope of her responsibilities include overseeing project site planning, entitlements, presentations to the community and municipalities, design coordination and building construction.

She is a licensed Architect in New York State, earned undergraduate degrees in Architecture and English from SUNY at Buffalo, holds a Master of Architecture degree from the University of Pennsylvania, and is a LEED Accredited Professional with a specialty in Building Design and Construction. She is also an alumna of the Buffalo Academy of the Sacred Heart.

Denise is a founding member of the Buffalo Architecture Foundation, Inc. which she has served as a past-president and is currently on the Board of Directors. She is the recipient of the 2014 Edward B. Green Distinguished Service Award from AIA Buffalo/WNY.

Favorite Buffalo Building: Kleinhans Music Hall by Eliel and Eero Saarinen

Courtney Creenan-Chorley, AIA

Past President

CJS Architects

About Courtney Creenan-Chorley, AIA

Courtney is a registered architect with multi-faceted experience in the architecture industry, specifically focused on project coordination and management, historic preservation, adaptive reuse and master planning, including managing the design team for Richardson Olmsted Campus Core Project. She often works with constituent groups and seeks to build consensus from all parties. She is an active voice within the professional community advocating for the diversification of the field and pro bono projects.

Courtney has been an active board member for the Buffalo Architecture Foundation since 2014, serving on the Pro Bono, Building Stories and Fundraising committees. She has served as President since 2016.

Favorite Buffalo Building: Marine A, Silo City

Luke Johnson, AIA

Education Chair, Former Co-President

CannonDesign

About Luke Johnson, AIA

Luke is a design leader for CannonDesign skilled at bringing clients’ visions to life in physical form. He specializes in project development during the conceptual and schematic phases of design, helping clients make important design decisions that allow projects to move forward in a timely and efficient manner. As an avid collaborator, Luke believes that the best ideas come from the creative collision of diverse minds. He’s an active voice in the Buffalo design and non-profit community; he’s a board member of the Buffalo Architecture Foundation and the co-chair of its Architecture + Education program.

Favorite Buffalo Building: One M&T Plaza

Cheri Weatherson, AIA

Architecture + Education Chair, Former Co-President

CannonDesign

About Cheri Weatherson, AIA

Cheri is a registered architect, focusing her expertise on creating healing environments in healthcare and inspiring spaces in education. Cheri has also co-founded and manages Amp, an internal incubator within her firm for surfacing new products, business practices and services to help clients and advance the industry. Cheri recently was awarded the 2018 AIA Buffalo/WNY Young Architect Award. Outside of work, she chairs the 2019 Architecture + Education program to build interest and understanding of the built environment for K12 students in the Buffalo Public School District. She is the mother of a spunky little boy, who can’t wait to grow up to become a ‘builder’ and build what mommy designs!

Favorite Building: The Frank Lloyd Write Blue Sky Mausoleum at Forest Lawn Cemetery

Rachael Goff

Board Member

Young + Wright Architectural

About Rachael Goff

Rachael grew up in Jamestown, NY and has a Master of Architecture degree from the University at Buffalo. She enjoys working with school districts in Western New York, especially the schools she attended, and looks forward to contributing to the greater Buffalo area.

Kyle Hereth

Board Member

Sienna Environmental Technology

About Kyle Hereth

Kyle is the Director of Marketing at Sienna Environmental Technologies where she focuses on strategic planning, business development and communications. Prior to joining Sienna, Kyle started her career in the A/E/C industry in 2016, as the Marketing Manager at CJS Architects.

Since 2018 she has been a member of SMPS, working with a diverse community of marketing professionals with a common goal to move the A/E/C industries forward. Kyle has supported BAF events for several years and was thrilled to make it official, becoming a Board Member in 2021.

In addition to serving on the board of BAF, Kyle is active in the Descendants of Korean War Veteran’s group, and in 2018 she received the ‘Ambassador for Peace’ Medal from the Ministry of Patriots and Veteran’s Affairs in South Korea. Currently, she is assisting in the Korean 2021 Peace Camp which her daughter is attending. Her greatest accomplishment to date has been raising two spectacular young women who enjoy traveling the world with her and her husband Mike.

Taylor Mortorff

Board Member

Young + Wright Architectural

About Taylor Mortorff

Taylor Mortorff is a recent graduate from the School of Architecture at the University at Buffalo (March) with a BS in Architecture from the University of Michigan. He is a motivated designer that pursues each endeavor with the intent to create a more welcoming and inclusive world. During the three years between his time at the University of Michigan and the University at Buffalo, he worked for an architecture firm in Las Vegas. There he was able to dip his toes into the professional world of architecture and find his rhythm. He also took advantage of his new-found free time to explore extracurriculars, where he discovered his passion for rock climbing (and cats). Now, he calls Buffalo home and looks forward to serving the community through BAF!

Krista Macy

Board Member

University at Buffalo, IDEA Center

About Krista Macy

Krista is an Architectural Design Research Associate at the Center for Inclusive Design and Environmental Access with experience in design for accessibility, sustainable and universal design. She is engaged in diverse research projects intended to meet the needs of an increasingly diverse population. Her recent activities include designing home modifications, conducting accessibility and universal design assessments for industry partners, drafting literature reviews, and investigating the current state of climate resilience, home modifications and universal design in the U.S. She has co-authored several papers and publications including the design resources for the innovative solutions for Universal Design (isUD™).

Christa Trautman

Board Member

Stieglitz Snyder Architecture

About Christa Trautman

Christa is a designer at Stieglitz Snyder Architecture who has a particular passion for designing educational spaces and equitable housing. This year, she completed her MBA and MArch at University at Buffalo.

Christa and her partner have contributed to Play/Ground 2019, 2020, and 2021 with site specific art installations designed to bring a sense of wonder to mundane spaces. She is an active member of the AIA WNY Design Awards Committee and has a not-so-secret passion for sustainable and equitable design

LaLuce Mitchell, RA

Kailey McDermott

Chris White

Denise Juron-Borgese, AIA

Courtney Creenan-Chorley, AIA

Luke Johnson, AIA

Cheri Weatherson, AIA

Rachael Goff

Kyle Hereth

Taylor Mortorff

Krista Macy

Christa Trautman

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