Board of Directors

Courtney Creenan-Chorley, AIA

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, Assoc. AIA

Vice President, Education Chair

CannonDesign

About Luke Johnson, Assoc. 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

Tori Waleszczak

Secretary

Young + Wright Architectural

About Tori Waleszczak

Tori currently employed at Young and Wright Architectural as an architectural designer. She attended Savannah College of Art & Design and University at Buffalo where she studied Architecture, Art & Art History. Tori is originally from Buffalo, where she still currently resides. When she isn’t working or serving on the BAF Board of Directors, you can find Tori running.

Favorite Buffalo Building: Darwin Martin House

Aimee Zielinski, Assoc. AIA

Treasurer

Young + Wright Architectural

About Aimee Zielinski, Assoc. AIA

Aimee earned her M.Arch from the University at Buffalo in the fall of 2011 and participated in the study abroad program in Ireland. She is currently employed at Young + Wright Architectural. Aimee enjoys traveling, photography, and uncovering the beauty of the built environment. She currently resides in the Parkside East Historic District in Buffalo, New York.

Favorite Buffalo Building: Buffalo Central Terminal

Matt Etu, PE

Board Member

Tredo Engineers

About Matt Etu, PE

Matthew is an Associate with Tredo Engineers in Buffalo, NY where he has worked since 2003 specializing in both building Structural Engineering and Civil/Site Design and Planning on a variety of municipal, commercial, educational, institutional, industrial, health care, and housing projects.

In addition to BAF, Matt is a member of the Zoning Board of Appeals, former Chairman of The Glen Park Joint Board, and served on the subcommittee to rewrite the Zoning Ordinance for the Main Street Multi-Use District in Williamsville, NY. A native of the Buffalo area, Matt has strong ties to the community and firmly believes in community service and education. Towards that end, Matt and his daughter steward a Little Free Library to promote literacy, the love of reading and to build a sense of community in his neighborhood.

Favorite Buffalo Buildings: Guarantee Building, Buffalo City Hall, and Corpus Christi Church

Elizabeth D'Amore, RA

Board Member

Antunovich Associates

About Elizabeth D'Amore, RA

Elizabeth A. Fuller returned to her hometown of Buffalo in 2014 after gaining design experience in architecture firms located in Washington, DC and New York City. She received her Bachelor of Architecture Degree from the University of Notre Dame in 2011 where she also earned a minor in Historic Preservation. Elizabeth grew to appreciate quality urbanism and historic architecture during her year abroad in Rome, Italy, and subsequent travels throughout Europe. Locally, she has participated in community groups such as Buffalo Young Preservationists, Campaign for Greater Buffalo, Habitat for Humanity, and the Darwin Martin House.

Elizabeth began her involvement with the Buffalo Architecture Foundation as a volunteer with the Native American Programming Education event in 2016. She is currently employed as an Architect with Antunovich Associates in Buffalo’s One Seneca Tower, where she and the Washington, DC based design team continues the redevelopment efforts for the expansive downtown project. Elizabeth looks forward to sharing her love of architecture with the Buffalo community through the Buffalo Architecture Foundation.

Favorite Building in Buffalo: Hotel Lafayette

Linsey Graff, Assoc. AIA

Board Member Advisor

Ayers Saint Gross Architects

About Linsey Graff, Assoc. AIA

Linsey M. Graff, Assoc. AIA, has focused her career on community outreach, K-12 architecture + design education, diversity and inclusion within the profession of architecture and planning and designing learning environments. Linsey received her B.A. in Interior Design from the University of New Haven in 2007, and her Masters of Architecture from the State University of New York at Buffalo in 2010. Linsey began her involvement in community outreach with the Buffalo/WNY Architecture + Education Program. She has worked with students within 17 Public and Charter Schools to create a variety of architectural projects that coincide with Common Core curriculum.

Linsey has been an active board member for the Buffalo Architecture Foundation from 2012 to 2017. She also serves of the AIA National Diversity and Inclusion Council, and the Equity in Architecture Commission Workgroup. She is currently employed at Ayers Saint Gross Architects in Tempe, Arizona where her focus is Higher Education Planning and Architecture. She looks forward to continuing her involvement with BAF despite the geographical distance in an advisory role.

Favorite Buffalo Building: The Guaranty Building

Mike Hungerford

Board Member

FoundFuture.org

About Mike Hungerford

Mike Hungerford is the Chairman of FoundFuture.org, an educational group helping high school and college students make better decisions about the future by showing them what goes on in the working world. Outside of FoundFuture, Mike is an investor in, and works with, web technology companies developing business processes. After cutting his teeth practicing law in Miami, Mike founded The Contract Box, The Trade Market, and was the CEO of payroll and HR technology company Employii. He’s also the father of three little girls.

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

LaLuce Mitchell, RA

Board Member

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 so now calls the city home. He is a licensed architect in New York State and is also vice-chair for the Association for Preservation Technology’s upcoming 2018 conference in Buffalo. 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

Michael Reyen

Board Member

Hodgson Russ LLP

About Michael Reyen

Michael Reyen is a real estate and finance attorney at Hodgson Russ LLP. He represents companies, developers, landlords, tenants, financial institutions, municipalities, and nonprofit organizations in a wide range of commercial real estate matters, including acquisition, development, financing, leasing, and construction matters.

In connection with his commercial real estate practice, Michael has also counseled clients on:

Acquisition and financing of multi-family housing, including large portfolio transactions.
Construction law matters, regularly representing owners and developers in construction and design contract negotiations.
State and local tax incentive programs, including with industrial development agencies.
Telecommunication leasing, with a focus on representing tenants.
Large-scale energy projects.
Municipal real property transactions.
Real property tax exemptions for not-for-profit corporations.

In addition to serving on the board of the Buffalo Architecture Foundation, Michael is also the President of the United Church Manor which owns and operates a low income housing facility for seniors and the disabled in West Seneca, New York. Prior to joining Hodgson Russ, Michael was an associate at a national law firm. Before attending law school, he was a bank officer and senior auditor with a major financial institution operating in upstate New York and northeastern Pennsylvania.

Favorite Buffalo Buildings: The Guaranty Building and City Hal

Sara Witschi, Assoc. AIA

Board Member

About Sara Witschi, Assoc. AIA

Sara Witschi, Assoc. AIA is passionate about the built environment and is dedicating her career to elevating our quality of life. She recently returned to her hometown, Buffalo NY. Previously, she lent a hand in the design and construction of large scale, commercial projects in Shanghai and Beijing, China. Sara earned her Bachelor of Science in Architecture from SUNY Buffalo and her Masters of Architecture from the University of Pennsylvania. She enjoys learning about other cultures and has travelled extensively throughout Europe and Asia.

Sara’s involvement with the Buffalo Architecture Foundation began in early 2017. She greatly enjoys being a part of the Architecture + Education and Pro Bono committees, and looks forward to further engagement with the future generation and her community through BAF. She also stays in tune with her city by being a member of the WNY Urban Land Institute programming committee as well as the West Side Bazaar Task Force.

Favorite Buffalo Building: H.H. Richardson Complex and Buffalo City Hall

Courtney Creenan-Chorley, AIA

Luke Johnson, Assoc. AIA

Tori Waleszczak

Aimee Zielinski, Assoc. AIA

Matt Etu, PE

Elizabeth D'Amore, RA

Linsey Graff, Assoc. AIA

Mike Hungerford

Denise Juron-Borgese, AIA

LaLuce Mitchell, RA

Michael Reyen

Sara Witschi, Assoc. AIA

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