People

Simeon Bruner

Founder

Simeon Bruner created the Rudy Bruner Award for Urban Excellence, named for his late father, to foster a better understanding of the impact of architecture and design in the urban environment and to promote best practices for effective urban placemaking. As a practicing architect for more than 30 years and founding partner of Bruner/Cott, Simeon has been a leader in the field of urban architecture and an advocate for the creative revitalization, transformation, and renewal of historic buildings and sites to create meaningful new city spaces. The US Department of Housing and Urban Development and the US Conference of Mayors have recognized Mr. Bruner for his pioneering work.

Anne-Marie Lubenau

Director

Anne-Marie Lubenau, FAIA is an architect, educator, and writer dedicated to increasing understanding of design of the built environment and its impact on our lives. She has more than three decades of experience leading projects and programs that engage people and communities in design to foster more beautiful, inclusive, and resilient cities. As director of the RBA from 2012-2022, Anne-Marie oversaw the creation of new public programs, publications, and webinars in collaboration with national partners. She is a Lecturer in Urban Planning at Harvard Graduate School of Design and serves on the Boston Civic Design Commission and Association of Architecture Organizations board of directors, and regularly contributes to national and international forums on design and cities. Anne-Marie holds a BArch from Carnegie Mellon and was a 2012 Harvard Loeb Fellow.

Kylie King
Program Manager

Kylie King hails from the Appalachia region of Ohio. Her research intervenes in histories of architectural design, alternative economics, and critical theories of racial capitalism and white supremacy in a rural context. Much of her work explores abolition and autonomy in rural planning procedures, historical shifts in political economy and political aesthetics as an inscription into the built environment. King holds an MSc in Adaptive Reuse Architecture from the Rhode Island School of Design; presented her work as Forecast Forum Fellow at the Haus der Kulturen der Welt; published in Emergency Index, TANK Magazine and CARTHA’s special issue on Invisible Structures (2021); member of the Little Cities of Black Diamonds.

Robert Shibley

Consultant

Robert Shibley, FAIA, FAICP, is Dean of the School of Architecture and Planning at the University at Buffalo (UB). He founded The Urban Design Project and merged it with the UB Regional Institute, where he developed an award-winning ensemble of urban design and economic development plans for the City of Buffalo and the region.

Jay Farbstein

Consultant

Jay Farbstein, FAIA, PhD, is an architect by training. He leads a consulting practice in Los Angeles that specializes in helping public sector clients develop and document their requirements of building projects as well as in post-occupancy evaluation.

Richard Wener
Consultant

Richard Wener, PhD, is an environmental psychologist and professor emeritus in the Department of Technology, Culture, and Society at the Tandon School of Engineering of New York University, where he led the Sustainable Urban Environments program. He has done extensive research on the effects of built environments on individuals and communities.

Danya Sherman

Consultant

Danya Sherman, Founder, Sherman Cultural Strategies is a Boston-based consulting firm that works locally and nationally at the intersection of community development, the arts, and social justice. They bring teams of consultants together to support the evolution of values-driven partners in the philanthropic, non-profit, and government sectors through strategy, research, writing, and facilitation. Danya holds a Master’s in City Planning from MIT and a Bachelor of Arts from Wesleyan University (CT).

Alumni

RBA acknowledges previous staff and consultants for their contributions.

Emily Axelrod
Brandy Brooks
Danielle Gagnon
Tom Klein
Daniel Lear
June Lee
Jessica McFarland
Michelle Moon
Jennifer Olenn
Polly Welch