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| 24 Oct 2023 | |
| Equity + Justice |
| Women in Architecture |
By WIA Co-chairs, Sarah Curry & Elisa Medina-Jaudes
President Joe Biden has appointed Olivia Mae M. Asuncion, AIA, as a Public Member to the U.S. Access Board. Asuncion succeeds Board Public Member Karen Braitmayer, who had been appointed by President Barack Obama and served as Board Chair and Vice-Chair in 2013 and 2012, respectively. She will be sworn in this month.
The U.S. Access board is an independent federal agency that provides leadership in accessible design under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and other laws. The Board is structured to function as a coordinating body among federal agencies and to directly represent the public, particularly people with disabilities.
Olivia’s expertise has championed accessibility in the design and construction of public safety buildings, public sector office and community spaces, and K-12 educational facilities. She received her undergraduate degree in Architecture at the University of California Berkeley and a Masters of Architecture from University of Oregon. Her professional career began at Equity Community Builders helping non-profit organizations with their construction management needs.
Currently, Olivia is a Project Architect at Quattrocchi Kwok Architects, working on K-12 educational facilities. Olivia is also passionate about improving architecture through research. Her project “Accessible Evacuation: Improving Fire Safety and Building Evacuation for People with Disabilities”, has been presented in various symposia , and won First Place for the Student Best Design Award at the Environment Design Research Association’s 46th Annual Conference. She has also collaborated with University of Oregon professors on the post-occupancy evaluation project, “Building Design for Users with Disabilities: Building Performance Evaluation of Ed Roberts Campus.”
Congratulations to Olivia!
To read more about Olivia and her mission, please find sources below:
https://www.aia.org/articles/6649030-olivia-asuncion-aia-is-opening-doors-for-p
