Executive Board
NOMA 2012 Officers
Sanford Garner, President
Through his role as founding partner at A2SO4, Sanford Garner has focused on historic preservation, master planning, project assessment, and urban design. His experiences and interests in these areas were developed through his architectural studies at Howard University, in Washington DC, Helsinki, Finland and at University of California, Los Angeles, and through his work with DC Preservation League and HABS/HAER (Historic American Building Survey/Historic American Engineering Survey). His work has received such notable recognitions as “Best in American Living for Best Smart Growth Community” by the National Association of Home Builders and Professional Builders Magazine, “Awards for Excellence” from the Urban Land Institute, and the American Planning Association’s “Implementing Smart Growth” Award, as well as numerous awards and citations for community development and design. In addition to his professional practice, Sanford has maintained a strong commitment to community service and development through his involvement with local and regional advisory councils and boards.
Kathy Dixon, 1st Vice President
Ms. Dixon is a licensed architect with more than 17 years of experience involving various building types and facilities. She has been involved in every stage of the construction process and has experience in educational, commercial, and government projects. A graduate of Howard University’s School of Architecture, Ms. Dixon continued her secondary education at UCLA, matriculating with a Master’s degree in Urban Planning, with a focus on Housing and Community Development. During her career, Kathy has worked on a number of educational facilities in the Washington D.C. Metropolitan area. She spent several years working on national contracts with Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) projects including Potomac TRACON and several Air Traffic Control (ARTCC) facilities across the nation. Prior to moving to government and institutional projects, she worked four years with McDonald’s Corporation developing new restaurants, site planning, designing commercial kitchens, and creating child oriented play areas. Currently Ms. Dixon is designing civic facilities and faith-based institutions including fire stations, churches, family life centers, schools and senior housing. Ms. Dixon has been certified by the USGBC’s LEED Program, the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB), as well as CSI’s Certified Documents Technologist (CDT) program. She is licensed in Maryland, Virginia, and the District of Columbia.
Kathy served as the Northeast Region Vice-President of the National Organization of Minority Architects (NOMA) for six years and has recently been elected as the First Vice-President/President-Elect. Ms. Dixon is also an active member at Shiloh Baptist Church in Alexandria, VA and serves as a Trustee.
Timothy Johnson, Vice President, South
Mr. Johnson is currently managing a staff of 104 people at the Economic Development Department who provide customer service, plan review, inspections and issue Occupational License for the City of Orlando. Major Accomplishments — Stabilize the review process in a time of increased construction activities, re-established a predictable review process, while provide above average customer service to the community. Increased staff from 73 to 100 and established a need for a satellite office. Adopted a fee structure to align with State Statute 553.80 Adopted the first Crane Ordinance in the State to not be challenged by the Crane Operators.
Andrew Thompson, Vice President, North East
Mr. Thompson is currently the principal of AR212 Architects located in East Orange New Jersey. Specialties include residential design in the tristate area of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.
Mr. Thompson served as the Chief Architect in the Design and Construction Department Facilities Management for Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) for 12 years. He supervised a staff of in-house designers and managed out sourced architects for multiple and complex projects. Mr. Thompson ensured the various outsourced design professionals adhered to MSKCC Construction Guidelines which were created by Mr. Thompson and his staff.
Prior to his tenure with MSKCC Mr. Thompson was an architectural designer and facilities planner with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey for 10 years. He was involved in the initial planning and design of the Air Train project at John F. Kennedy Airport . Mr. Thompson has worked on various facilities owned and operated by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, including One World Trade Center and various airport facilities.
From 1995 to 2000 Mr. Thompson served as Visiting Professor at Pratt Institute’s Undergraduate School of Architecture. In 2006 he taught a NYC Building Code and Zoning Course at the Mechanics Institute in New York City.
In 2006 he was cast as a participant on Archi-TECHS, for a pilot episode on the History Channel that explored various apparatus and systems to evacuate people from a high rise structure in the event of catastrophe and to get emergency service personnel and equipment to the scene effectively and efficiently.
Mr. Thompson received his Bachelor of Architecture Degree from Pratt Institute in 1991 and is a 1993 Graduate of Columbia University with a Masters in Architecture and Urban Design. He also holds an Associates Degree in Mechanical Engineering from New York City College of Technology.
Kevin M. Holland, Vice President, Mid West
The Director of Indianapolis Operations for Moody•Nolan since 2006, Mr. Holland is a registered architect in the states of Delaware and Indiana. Mr. Holland started his architectural career in 1989 and has been with Moody•Nolan since 1998, following his graduation from the University of Virginia with a Bachelor of Science degree in Architecture in 1988 and the University of Michigan with a Master of Architecture degree in 1998.
Mr. Holland utilizes his years of architectural experience in the design and production of higher education student-focused facilities, K-12 educational facilities and worship facilities. His strengths as an architect have always been in design and architectural detailing.
As a native of Wilmington, Delaware, Mr. Holland has been and is still very active in the community: he serves as a Steward and a director within the Music & Arts Ministry at St. Paul AME Church; President of the Board of Directors of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Center; the Advisory Board of the American Red Cross of Greater Indianapolis, and; Co-Chair of the Directional Signage Committee of the Indianapolis 2012 Super Bowl Host Committee.
Carlton Smith, Vice President, West
Carlton Smith, NOMAC ∙ AIA is the Managing Principal of MWA Architects the San Francisco-based architecture, urban design and interior architecture firm with regional offices in Oakland, Portland and Detroit. He holds a Master of Architecture degree from Tuskegee Institute. A registered architect in California, Michigan, Texas, The District of Columbia, North Carolina and Florida, Carlton is also certified by NCARB and has over 30 years of experience in architecture and firm management. He is a former President of The National Organization of Minority Architects (NOMA) and is a member of the NOMA Council. Carlton is also a member of the American Institute of Architects and has served on the Board of Directors of AIA San Francisco.
Aminah Wright, Secretary
Aminah is a native of St. Louis, Missouri who joined Jacobsen/Daniels Associates in 2009 as a Project Analyst. Before joining the firm Aminah worked in St. Louis as an Architectural Specialist for KAI Design/Build. While there she volunteered with Big Brothers Big Sisters, Habitat for Humanity and OASIS tutoring volunteers. She currently serves as a board member for the National Organization of Minority Architects (NOMA) as the Correspondence Secretary. Ms. Wright earned a Bachelor of Architecture from Southern University A&M College, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. She is now pursuing her Master’s in Business Administration. Ms. Wright has been engaged in various projects that include affordable housing, projects for classroom instruction, as well as commercial facilities. These projects can be found nationally from St. Louis to Kansas City and Dallas to New Orleans. Each of these projects required a great deal of organizational and leadership skills for a successful completion. Ms. Wright’s background in Design and Urban Planning is a benefit to many technical projects. She has built vital relationships with clients as well as successful coordination with various Project Management teams.
Ameera Ashraf-O'Neil, treasurer
Ameera Ashraf-O’Neil is currently a Project Manager at UrbanWorks Ltd., Architecture, Interiors and Planning based in Chicago, Illinois. In her over ten years of career experience, she has employed as a project manager for the City of Chicago’s Department of Buildings and the State of Illinois’ Capital Development Board. Ameera has held the title of Program Manager and instructor at Westwood College of Technology as well as architectural designer at Smith & Smith, and Andrews’ Architectural firms. Ameera currently serves as the Treasurer for National Organization of Minority Architects (NOMA). She has served over the past twelve years as the secretary and membership chair of the local NOMA chapter in Illinois and Parliamentarian for NOMA. Ameera also served three years on the AIA Illinois board.
Najeeb Hameen, Parliamentarian