Board Nominees

BIOGRAPHY: 

Leticia SooHoo is a project management professional, licensed architect, green building advocate and mentor in the AEC industry. With 20+ years of experience, she been involved in many green building projects and various projects of complexity and innovation.

Currently, Leticia is an owner representative / senior project manager at CBRE @ Google, responsible for procuring and executing commercial design and construction projects. Her higher goal is to optimize owner-architect-builder process to ensure the best project outcome and build lasting relationships, and continue to advocate the importance of sustainable built environments.

Leticia is also an avid educator and speaker. She has taught at university level and spoken at conferences and webinars, and provided training in green building and sustainability in colleges and corporations.

CANDIDATE STATEMENT:

I will be honored to serve as VP/President-Elect of the AIA Silicon Valley Chapter in 2024-2025. As a former board director in 2022-2023, I enjoyed working with the board and committee members to advocate for the value of architects in the built environment. I am excited to continue this work in my new role and to help strengthen and support the many programs and content that the chapter provides. I am also committed to enhancing the value of the chapter for each member.

Specifically, I plan to focus on the following areas:

• Strengthening the chapter’s advocacy: I will work with the board to develop and implement new strategies for advocating for the value of architects. This includes exploring new ways to reach a wider audience and to make our advocacy efforts more effective.
• Expanding the chapter’s programming and enhancing member services: I will work with the chapter’s leadership to develop new programs and content that will meet the needs of our members. This includes programs that focus on use of emerging technologies (such as artificial intelligence) to enhance the practice of architecture, as well as programs that provide continuing education and professional development opportunities.
• Promoting the profession’s commitment to sustainability: I plan to work with the chapter to promote the profession’s commitment to sustainability. California’s Climate Plan toward Carbon Neutrality is around the corner and I feel a need to accelerate the effort to achieve that goal.

I am confident that, together, we can make the chapter even stronger and more valuable to its members. I look forward to working with you all in the coming year.

BIOGRAPHY:

Working within ABA’s Health & Wellness practice, Clay is a Project Architect dedicated to helping healthcare providers realize their visions for highly functional, aesthetically pleasing, and patient-centered environments that address both physical and mental well-being. Throughout a career spanning 8 years, he has applied his expertise with conceptual design, document production (including Building Information Modeling) and the HCAI/OSHPD review process to diverse project types including equipment installations, infrastructure upgrades, and interior remodels/tenant improvements. In addition to his proficiency with the various software tools underlying the development of design and construction documentation, he is skilled at engaging a project’s many participants (e.g. architects, multi-disciplinary consultants, clients, and user groups) in a collaborative and well-coordinated work process.

CANDIDATE STATEMENT:

Dear Members of the Santa Clara Chapter of the AIA,

I am writing to express my interest in the Director position for the upcoming term. I received my architecture license in May 2022 and joined the AIA shortly afterward. I served on the Scholarship Committee this year and co-hosted the Scholarship Award Ceremony during the Chapter Meeting in June 2023.

I am excited about the opportunity to serve the Santa Clara Chapter and to help the organization achieve its goals. I am a strong communicator, well organized, and I have a proven track record of working effectively with others. I am confident that I can make a positive contribution to the chapter and to the architectural profession.

Thank you for your time and consideration,
Clayton Cravea

BIOGRAPHY:

Alexandria Evans, temped for a social media company, while looking for her first designer position upon moving to California from Iowa. Her struggle finding her first job sparked her first involvement with the AIA starting with the AIASF mentorship committee. This helped her find a position with Howard Backen’s office in Sausalito. In 2018 she joined CAW Architects, Inc. and transitioned to the AIA Silicon Valley chapter and where she currently sits on COTE and chairs the Communications committee.

Alexandria, as a child of 2 public school educators, especially loves her work in education and strives to help create positive environments for the community. She strongly believes that architects have a responsibility towards the environment and works towards decreasing the built environments contribution to the climate crisis. This belief was fostered during her B.S. in Architecture at Georgia Tech and her M.Arch at Iowa State. Other interests include adaptive re-use and historic preservation, traveling, volunteering, and making jewelry.

CANDIDATE STATEMENT:

AIA Chapters San Francisco and AIA Silicon Valley have both fostered my love of architecture since I first joined in 2015. The mentorship program in SF and my current Silicon Valley Mentorship group has been an invaluable resource as I’ve grown as a designer and now an architect. Joining the AIASF Mentorship committee and becoming the chair of the committee allowed me to help create moments for others to make great mentorship connections. This committee along with the AIA Silicon Valley Communications committee have been rewarding experiences which allowed me to use my social media skills, most recently in a way that strives to increase the reach of the AIA and participation in our committees and events. This is something I hope to further focus on as a board member. As a member of the COTE committee, I will continue to work towards creating an environment where sustainable, healthy buildings are the norm.

I am proud of the lobbying work the AIA does advocating for a sustainable future and as a director look forward to learning more about and participating in the local AIA Silicon Valley advocacy efforts. I also hope to be involved with Emerging Professionals and the Women in Architecture.

CANDIDATE STATEMENT:

My name is Sofia and I am a student at West Valley Mission studying Architecture. I originally studied art, but switched to architecture because of the hands-on aspect and quickly fell in love with it. I like to think outside of the box, and enjoy mixing together different forms to create something new and unique. In the future, I would like to become an architect who designs residential buildings that are creative, practical, and engaging. As student liaison I will keep an open line of communication between students and admin, and ensure that every voice creates an impact. I will work to keep students engaged in AIA events and opportunities by fostering a strong community through networking and open feedback. I am excited to collaborate and contribute with the board of directors and continue the great legacy left by past student liaisons.

BIOGRAPHY:

Dr. Dave Edwards received his Ph.D. in 1999 in Biochemistry and Cell Biology. He worked in the pharmaceutical industry for four years before starting Earth Bound Homes in 2002. Dr. Edwards is a certified Green Building Professional, LEED-AP, Certified Passive House Tradesperson, HERS Rater, and Green Point Rater.

Earth Bound Homes was founded with the goal of being the greenest home building and remodeling company in the nation by using sound science and leading-edge building materials and techniques combined with a complete focus on collaboration with both the clients and the architects and other design professionals on every project, no matter the size.

In 2004, the company rebuilt Dr. Edwards’s home in Santa Clara. Living in this home, which is now rated the greenest home in California by Build It Green’s Green Point Rated System(315 pts.), providing Dr. Edwards with a unique understanding of what works and what doesn’t at the bleeding edge of green building. In 2009, Earth Bound Homes built the first LEED Platinum Zero Energy/Zero Carbon home in California.

Today, with a team of twenty people, Earth Bound Homes has developed into one of the most sought-after home builders in the Bay Area, with the ability to build architecturally beautiful homes that are also leading-edge Passive House homes that focus on resource and energy efficiency, durability, indoor air quality yet are still respectful of budgets. Earth Bound Homes has developed a highly respected PreConstruction Process that focuses on an open and transparent planning and building process that emphasizes a deep collaboration with our architects and clients. This process allows us to work on a wide range of projects, from remodeling small single-family homes in San Jose to building large new estates in Atherton and Woodside. Dave takes great pride in building great green homes for everyone, having built two smaller Passive House homes in just the last three years and with five more substantially larger Passive House homes/estates currently in Construction and PreConstruction.