2023 NOMAtlanta Board of Directors
Celebrating Diversity in The Atlanta Design Community
President: Tyrone Marshall, NOMA, AIA, LEED AP
Tyrone Marshall works as a Senior Researcher & Computational Designer with project teams for their strategies to address architectural performance design including the planning, development, implementation of new processes from our research program. He has a Master of Science with a major in Architecture and concentration in High-Performance buildings from the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta Georgia and a Bachelor of Architecture from the College of Arts in San Francisco, California.
Vice President: Shelly-Anne Tulia Scott, AIA, NOMA, NCARB, LEED BD+C
A Trinidadian-born architect who studied and worked in both the US and the Caribbean, Tulia is a FAMU alumnus who graduated with an M.Arch. and has seventeen years combined experience in Architecture and Interior Design with a broad range of experience in Award-winning Libraries, Mixed-Use Development, Religious, and Academic Buildings as well as in Feasibility Studies and Concept Design Projects. She is a pragmatic thinker and a problem solver and focuses on equitable community development encompassing the design of both civic and educational buildings, housing, and other support buildings which provide the vessels for our human experience. Her main goal is to help bring the benefits of architecture and design to the people and communities who need it most and help foster strategic partnerships with other entities and providers of services that help sustain and enhance community life.
Treasurer: Taurean Merriweather, NOMA
Taurean Merriweather, a graduate from Tuskegee University’s Architecture program and the University of Florida’s Historic Preservation program, is a Designer with the K-12 studio at Copper Carry. He also serves as a Visiting Professor teaching Historic Preservation part-time at Tuskegee. Being a member of NOMA since 2016 Taurean endeavors to represent NOMAtlanta in the best way possible by serving in an official capacity on the NOMAtlanta Board.
Secretary: Linda Nunnelly, LEED AP, NOMA
Linda Nunnelly is an Associate Principal and Director of Atlanta Operations for Moody Nolan, Inc. A graduate of Howard University School of Architecture and Planning, Linda has spent more than twenty years in the design industry, successfully leading award-winning multi-million dollar projects in the mid-Atlantic and Southeast regions. Her portfolio includes K-12 and collegiate education, community recreation, civic/institutional, healthcare, and multi-family/ mixed-use projects.
Parliamentarian: Travis Armbrister, NOMA, AIA
Travis Armbrister is an architect with Perkins & Will. Growing up in Nassau, Bahamas, its a dream to venture to a foreign country and gain a college education. So, when the opportunity presented itself he grabbed it desperately. Knowing how architectural design can dramatically enrich the lives of his country’s people, has been his fuel to continue growing until I can return home and complete my first project.
Past President: Ralph Raymond, NOMA, AIA, NCARB
Ralph Raymond, Haitian-born Architect, artfully integrates architectural design and knowledge of construction technology into project delivery. His myriad of project types, through all phases of design and construction contract administration, makes his experience instrumental. He is able to manage and implement artistic, programmatic, schematic, and pragmatic skills in the competent delivery of project execution. Proper communication and careful reflection and consideration of client goals aid in his understanding of a well-accomplished design. He is geared toward successful design performance through rigorous means and methods.
Ralph is a graduate of The Georgia Institute of Technology where he obtained both a Bachelor of Science and Master of Architecture degree. He has served on the executive boards of AIA Georgia and NOMAtlanta for over 5 years. As an NCARB licensing advisor, Ralph also volunteers on the NCARB Practice Management subcommittee and renders advice to collegiate students whenever possible. He serves as a Project Pipeline presenter and volunteer for the program held annually. Ralph is also an associate and project architect in the Atlanta office of HOK.
Regional VP: Bryan Lee, Jr., NOMA
Bryan is an architect and leading design justice advocate. As the founder and director of Colloqate Design, a nonprofit design practice, Bryan is committed to using design as a tool for social change. Bryan is also a founding organizer of the Design As Protest Collective and Dark Matter University, which work to uplift the voices and perspectives of marginalized communities in the built environment.
Bryan has led two award-winning architecture and design programs for high school students, one through the Arts Council of New Orleans and the other through the National Organization of Minority Architects. Bryan is the National NOMA President-Elect and the South Region Vice President. Bryan has received numerous awards and fellowships, including the 2018 Fast Company Most Creative People in Business, the Architectural League’s Emerging Voices award in 2019, the 2021 Cooper Hewitt National Design Award, and a 2023 United States Artist Fellow.
NOMAtlanta Committee Leaders
Project Pipeline Co-Director: Monica Magcalas, NOMA, LEED GA
Monica Magcalas is a Technical Designer at Gensler. With 6 years of experience, her portfolio includes K-12, workplace, and healthcare projects. She has a Master of Architecture from the Georgia Institute of Technology and a Bachelor of Architecture from Clemson University. Her main objective is to encourage and assist aspiring young designers by exposing them to design and giving them the tools to think creatively.
Project Pipeline Co-Director: Jonne Smith, NOMA, RA, NCARB, LEED GA
Jonne Smith has five years combined experience in Architecture, Interior Design, and Urban Planning. She is a recently licensed architect with a multifaceted skill set and experience in several project types – Libraries, Mixed Use, Civic, Higher Education, Religious, etc. She is passionate about working collaboratively to produce creative, functional, and quality architecture. She seeks to practice architecture as a storytelling technique that creates experiential and environmentally conscious community buildings and environments. She is continually seeking opportunities to further foster diverse and inclusive communities and to mentor and motivate peers in the profession. Currently, Jonne works as a Project Architect at Moody Nolan in Atlanta, GA.
Membership Director: Deysy Cruz Escobar, NOMA
Deysy Cruz Escobar is an alumna of Iowa State University, she is currently a Technical Designer in Gensler’s Atlanta Work Studio. A Native of Toluca, Mexico, she has developed a portfolio in the Workplace practice areas ranging from workplace consumer goods; Office Buildings – Repositioning, Landlord services; Consulting + Real Estate since joining Gensler. While at Iowa State University she assisted in founding the NOMAS chapter serving as secretary the year it launched to interim vice president Junior year. She currently serves on Gensler’s DEI and Committee. As a part of the DEI committee, she participates in initiatives to build upon creating a culture of diversity and inclusion in the workplace. Her mission is to use her skills and knowledge in efforts to elevate the quality of life and serve as a voice to underrepresented communities.
Academic Affairs Director: Bangseh Akuchu, NOMA
Bangseh Akuchu is a Strategist/Designer at Gensler Atlanta in their Work studio. Over his career, he has gained experience in various areas including Senior Living, Student Housing, Low Income Housing, & Civic Projects. Now at Gensler, he is focused on Workplace efforts in their design and consulting practices ranging from interior fit outs to Future of Work and Workplace Guidelines, for their Professional Services, Financial Services, & Consumer Goods areas. Bangseh is a graduate of The Georgia Institute of Technology where he obtained both a Bachelor of Science & Master of Architecture degree and a Master of Business Administration. While at Georgia Tech, he participated in their NOMAS GT and EQIA GT chapters serving as NOMAS President his final year of graduate school. As President, he helped lead various new opportunities for the organization and raised funding to send twelve of their members to the NOMA Conference that year. Bangseh strives to be a resource for college students and the future generation of architects by volunteering for our local Project Pipeline program and various DEI/Community Impact efforts through Gensler. He hopes to help them find their way into the profession and understand that there are many different paths to achieving their goals of becoming architects
Professional Development Director: Ebehi Ijewere, NOMA
With over six years of experience, Ebehi Ijewere has worked with architecture firms in Lagos, Miami, and Atlanta. She has gained experience in commercial, healthcare, educational, aviation, civic, industrial, multi-family and retail projects. Ebehi currently works as a Lead Architect at Jacobs engineering and is one of two Communications Directors on the AIA Atlanta Board of Directors. Her passions for design and community development led her to create a design podcast – Layers of Design, a platform where designers and architects share their stories and experiences. Layers of Design participates in competitions that explore solutions to issues within different communities, hosts events that spark conversations, and inspires the community through volunteer experiences. Aside from building Layers of Design and working as a designer, Ebehi enjoys hiking, traveling and is always in search of her next design / community challenge.
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Co-Director: Ava Baptiste, NOMA
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Co-Director: Candace Seda, NOMA
Communications, Public Relations & Marketing Director: Ken Higa, NOMA, AIA, IIDA, LEED AP
Ken Higa hails from Honolulu, Hawaii, and is a fourth-generation Japanese-American. He is currently a Principal and the Higher Education Practice Leader for The Beck Group in Atlanta. A registered architect with thirty years of experience, Ken’s career has been shaped by exploring and building connections between design, business, higher education, and philanthropy. Ken received a BArch from Rensselaer and an MBA from Georgia State University. Throughout his career, Ken has served in leadership roles for a variety of professional and community organizations and is currently active with the Architects Foundation, the Society for College and University Planning, Charles R. Drew Charter School, IIDA Georgia Chapter, Roots Down Georgia, and the Georgia State University Panther Athletic Club. He was awarded the 2022 AIA Georgia Bronze Medal and received the 2022 James G. Fausett Service to the Profession Award from AIA Atlanta.
Community Affairs Director: Bianca Moore, NOMA
A recent graduate from Florida A&M University, Bianca was born and raised in Wilmington, Delaware. She is the first aspiring architect in her family and is making history by adding to the low percentage of black women in the architecture career. Her life is influenced by all forms of art, and she loves to showcase her personality through her clothes, nails, and paintings. Bianca inspires to make a difference in the black community with her architecture. She recently relocated to Atlanta, GA, to start her architecture career and earn her Master’s Degree at the Georgia Institute of Technology.