PROFESSIONAL JURY
Danielle Brazell
General Manager, Department of Cultural Affairs
Danielle Brazell is the General Manager of the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs (DCA), reporting directly to the Mayor and leading a full time staff of 35. Ms. Brazell works with the progressive arts agency’s Community Arts, Public Art, Grants Administration, and Marketing and Development Division Directors to oversee a $56 million portfolio of facilities, programming, and initiatives providing arts and cultural services in Los Angeles. Prior to being appointed to this position in the summer of 2014, Ms. Brazell was the Executive Director of Arts for LA. Under her stewardship, Arts for LA became a formidable coalition advancing the arts in the largest county in the country. Her additional professional experience also includes working as the Artistic Director of Highways Performance Space and as the Director of Special Projects for the Screen Actors Guild Foundation."
Fredrick Fisher AIA, FAAR
Principal, Frederick Fisher and Partners Architects
Frederick Fisher is an American architect whose professional practice is headquartered in Southern California. Fisher is most noted for building seminal academic institutions, museums, and contemporary residential projects throughout the United States, Europe, and Asia. His approach to architecture comes from a broad cultural and social perspective. Frederick received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Oberlin College and a Master of Architecture degree from UCLA. He chaired the Environmental Design Department at Otis College of Art & Design and has taught at Harvard, Columbia, USC, UCLA, and the Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc).
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Aura Garcia
Vice-President, Board of Public Works
Aura Garcia has dedicated her career to the advancement of her community through the education sector – most recently as executive consultant and grant writer in the Office of the President at Los Angeles Mission College. She began her professional career at the Los Angeles Education Partnership, and later at the Youth Policy Institute – where she secured funding and resources for the launch of the FamilySource Centers, which provide services and support for low-income families. Garcia also served as a Commissioner on the City’s North Valley Area Planning Commission. Prior to that, she worked as Mayor Eric Garcetti’s East Valley Area Representative and Regional Manager in Garcetti’s Office of Public Engagement. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Interdisciplinary Child Development from California State University Northridge and a Master’s Degree in Executive Leadership from the University of Southern California.
Christopher Hawthorne
Chief Design Officer, Office of Mayor Eric Garcetti
Christopher Hawthorne is the first Chief Design Officer for the City of Los Angeles, a position appointed by Mayor Eric Garcetti. Prior to joining City Hall, he was architecture critic for the Los Angeles Times from 2004 to March 2018. With Alanna Stang, he is the author of "The Green House: New Directions in Sustainable Architecture" (Princeton Architectural Press). His writing has also appeared in the New York Times, the New Yorker, Slate, Architectural Record, Architecture, Harvard Design Magazine and many other publications. He is professor of practice at Occidental College, where since 2015 he has directed the Third Los Angeles Project, a series of public conversations about architecture, urban planning, mobility and demographic change in Southern California. Hawthorne has also taught at UC Berkeley's Graduate School of Journalism, Columbia University and the Southern California Institute of Architecture. A frequent collaborator with KCET-TV in Los Angeles, he wrote and directed the hour-long documentary "That Far Corner: Frank Lloyd Wright in Los Angeles," which had its broadcast debut earlier this year, and received an L.A.-area Emmy Award for the 2016 KCET program "Third L.A. with Architecture Critic Christopher Hawthorne." His other professional honors include a mid-career fellowship from the National Arts Journalism Program at Columbia University, the Bradford Williams Medal from the American Society of Landscape Architects and a Residency in Criticism at the American Academy in Rome. Hawthorne grew up in Berkeley and holds a bachelor's degree in political science and architectural history from Yale.
Alan Loomis, AICP
City Urban Designer, City of Santa Monica
Alan is an award-winning urban designer, planner and educator practicing in the public policy arena. Presently he is the City Urban Designer for Santa Monica, where he is spearheading “Promenade 3.0,” a re-invention of the iconic Third Street Promenade. Previously Alan led the urban design program at the City of Glendale, starting in 2005 as the City’s first on-staff urban designer. In Glendale, he personally managed the design review of over 30 significant projects, working with some of the most prominent architects in the region during regular crit sessions. Prior to Glendale, he worked with the Pasadena firm Moule & Polyzoides Architects and Urbanists. Since 2014 he has served on the Pasadena Design Commission, and since 2019 on the Board of Advisors to the Woodbury University School of Architecture.
Norma Isahakian, PE
Executive Director, Bureau of Street Lighting
Norma Isahakian has been working in the City of Los Angeles for 29 years with the majority of that time in the Bureau of Street Lighting. She was an Assistant Director for twelve years, managing all program and activities including design, construction, maintenance and repairs, administration and all budgetary duties. The City of Los Angeles has the second largest municipal street lighting system in the nation with over 215,000 streetlights. She is responsible for delivering the Bureau’s largest programs, ensuring the City’s street lighting system is operational while overseeing the Bureau’s Assessment Fund and a $65 million annual budget. Isahakian grew up in East Los Angeles and is a graduate of Loyola Marymount University where she received her bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering. She has a Professional Engineering License in the State of California.
Ellen Wright
Director of Terminal Design, Los Angeles World Airports
Ellen is a licensed architect, and Director of Terminal Planning for the Capital Programming, Planning, and Engineering Group at Los Angeles World Airports. She is responsible for planning over $5 billion worth of terminal improvements over the next 10 years. In addition to leading the Terminal Planning and Building Engineering Groups, Wright oversees both the Public Art, and Signage Programs at LAWA. Prior to joining the Airport Authority in 2003, Wright worked as an aviation consultant for 18 years, serving clients at more than a dozen airports. Wright is actively involved in mentoring and tutoring students in middle school and high school. In her free time, she enjoys horseback riding, hiking, and cooking, and especially USC Football.