Dean Julia Czerniak expands service, grows membership for Dean's Council

Czerniak's latest additions to the board include distinguished alumni and thought leaders across diverse areas of practice and emerging fields. Among the five new members are an urban planner trained in ecological design, the head of an experimental practice in climate-resilient design, a multimedia designer from the MIT Media Lab, a community-based urban planner, and a principal of a New York City-based architecture and planning firm.

"I'm thrilled to welcome these five thought leaders and professional influencers to the Dean's Council. As ambassadors for the School, they provide critical outside perspective, advise on emerging trends, expand and engage our alumni and other networks, and advance our reputation and impact," says Czerniak, adding that the latest additions bring the board up to 19 members. "We look forward to learning from this group of dreamers, doers, and door-openers."

In the hopes of tapping into this enthusiasm and insight, Czerniak has introduced a working group structure to the Council. The six groups link Council members with School faculty and staff liaisons, meeting monthly and reporting back to the full Council. The working groups are: 1) Open Career Paths; 2) Advance Programs; 3) Invigorate Philanthropy; 4) Promote Diversity; 5) Strategize Experiential Learning; and 6) Advance Community Engagement and Industry Partnerships

"We're grateful for the service and support of our membership. These working groups leverage their expertise and passions and put this to work to advance the mission and strategic plan of the School," says Czerniak.

The Dean's Council, founded in 2013, is a significant philanthropic body for the School, as well. Among the initiatives to most recently benefit from its support is the School's partnership with the nonprofit Assembly House 150 to host a summer camp that introduces high school students from marginalized communities to the architecture of the city. Directed by UB architecture faculty member Dennis Maher, The Model City Builders Summer High School Career Exploration Program brings together architecture, art, design, and the building trades to build skills through a project-based curriculum.

Formerly, he worked as an architect at the professional offices of Frank Gehry in Los Angeles, Moshe Safdie in Massachusetts, and I.M. Pei in New York. He has won many awards including: Fulbright Scholarship, LafargeHolcim Acknowledgement Prize, Ove Arup Foundation Grant, Architect R+D Award, AIA New York Urban Design Merit Award, Victor Papanek Social Design Award, 1st Place International Architecture Award, Zumtobel Award for Sustainability, Architizer A+ Award, History Channel Infiniti Award for City of the Future, and Time Magazine Best Invention with MIT Smart Cities. He is a TED Senior Fellow and has been awarded fellowships with Safdie Architects, and the Martin Society for Sustainability at MIT.

In addition to earning his BPS at UB, he holds a PhD from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, an MAUD from the Harvard GSD, and a MArch (with honors) from Columbia University.

Awarded the Margolese National Design for Living Prize for her work in ecological design, Lister is a Registered Professional Planner (MCIP, RPP) trained in systems ecology, environmental science and landscape planning. Lister’s research, teaching and practice centre on the relationship between landscape infrastructure, biodiversity and ecological processes—specifically in the context of ecological design for biodiversity recovery, climate resilience, and human well-being. At TMU, Lister founded and directs the Ecological Design Lab, a collaborative incubator for ecological design research and practice.

As a Principal and Director of Technical Services at FXCollaborative, Mark oversees the firm-wide technical resource specialists in developing and organizing content development for drawing standardization, building codes, zoning laws, specification protocols, and CA (construction administration) workflows. As the firm’s leader in CA, he has built collaborative and trusted relationships with clients and construction managers by understanding their needs and by developing workflows that improve CA performance. Through content creation, he develops and delivers office-wide seminars and publishes articles leveraging decades of construction site experience that fosters design team learning from built work.

In addition to serving on Dean’s Council, Mark also serves on the Board of Directors and Executive Committee for the University at Buffalo Alumni Association. He was honored with the 2005 Distinguished Alumni Award and 2018 Volunteer Service Award from the University at Buffalo. Mark holds two degrees from UB, earning his Master of Architecture in 1985 and his BPS in 1983.

At the City Science Group, Pierre is currently developing a roadmap for understanding and collaborating with informal settlements worldwide, focusing on urban mining in city environments. Previously, Pierre was an Associate Research Scholar at Columbia University’s Center for Resilient Cities and Landscapes, contributing to interdisciplinary research and project design scenarios for international projects impacted by climate change and rapid urbanization.

Pierre holds a Master's in Architecture from California College of the Arts and a Bachelor of Science in Architecture from UB.

At CRS, Quebral guides strategic development, problem solving, research and project management on initaitives that strengthen the regional economy. As director of UBRI, she served as team leader and project manager in partnership with the WNY Regional Economic Development Council and Empire State Development, and led New York State's Regional Revitalization Initiative, a collaborative, targeted economic investment strategy for Buffalo, Niagara Falls and Rochester.

Quebral holds bachelor’s degrees in both English and psychology, as well as a Master of Urban Planning, from the University at Buffalo. As an MUP student, she won the award for best thesis for “Preserving Buffalo’s Olmsted Parks: Facing Challenges in Planning for Historic Park Landscapes.”