The Michigan Architectural Foundation (MAF) is pleased to announce it has named four new members to its Board of Trustees, effective January 2024. Each will serve a three-year term.
MAF’s new board members are:
Norm Hamann, Jr., AIA. Norm is president of Diekema Hamann Architecture and Engineering, and has been leading the firm in the design of educational and health care facilities for over 20 years. Norm was instrumenal in developing the (now dormant) MAF + AIA Michigan Internship Bridge Program. The Bridge Internship program was created to bridge the gap in available student architectural internships and preserve educational, experience, and career-boosting opportunities normally provided through the traditional internship experience, which were impacted during the COVID-19 pandemic. He is a returning MAF board member.
Kelli Herman. Kelli serves as Strategy & Development Leader for architecture firm HED. She plays an integral part in the holistic blending of the team dynamics, helping to understand the needs of the client, team, and consultant engagement, leading to outcomes that better shape the future of the project and communities. With a Bachelor’s degree in Architecture and a Master of Energy Conservation in Architecture, Kelli has an innate understanding of connecting and communicating design intent with the client’s vision. She also serves on MAF’s Communications and ‘Fore a Great Cause’ annual golf outing committees.
Elisabeth (Lis), Knibbe, FAIA, LEED AP. For 40 years, Lis used her architectural skill to help rebuild cities through the reuse of their historic buildings. She pioneered the use of historic preservation tax credits as an essential economic development tool to fund the adaptive reuse of houses, offices, industrial buildings, schools, and hospitals into housing, offices, hotels, and schools – many of which were long considered hopeless eyesores. Instead, they now stand as testaments to the power of repurposing historic buildings to revitalize urban areas. Lis retired from practicing architecture in March 2020.
Dan Pitera, FAIA. Dan is the Dean of the University of Detroit Mercy School of Architecture & Community Development (UDM SACD). He was previously the executive director at the Detroit Collaborative Design Center (DCDC) for 20 years. At the DCDC, Dan co-led the civic engagement process for the Detroit Works Project Long Term Planning, which released its decision-making framework titled: Detroit Future City in 2013. He is regularly a resource member for the Mayor’s Institute for City Design (MICD) and the National League of Cities (NLC). Dan co-authored the book, Syncopating the Urban Landscape: More People, More Programs, More Geographies and co-edited the book, Activist Architecture: The Philosophy and Practice of the Community Design Center.
“We are pleased to welcome Norm, Kelli, Lis, and Dan to the MAF board,” said Chuck Lewis, AIA, MAF 2024/2025 President. “Each will be a tremendous asset to MAF in our mission to advance awareness of Michigan architecture, and how it enriches the lives of its residents.”
MAF also wants to thank its outgoing board members for their service: Jan Culbertson, Rae Dumke, Gene Hopkins, Cindy Pozolo, and Leslie Tincknell (Les passed away last month; read the story about Les and his long service to MAF, from last month’s MAF newsletter).
See the complete list of MAF’s current board members.