Team
The SOM Foundation is led by the Executive Director along with the appointed Officers and Directors, who represent all current SOM Partners.
The SOM Foundation is led by the Executive Director along with the appointed Officers and Directors, who represent all current SOM Partners.
Iker Gil
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Bio
Executive Director
SOM Foundation
Iker Gil has been the Executive Director of the SOM Foundation since 2019. He is the founder of MAS Studio and Editor in Chief of the nonprofit MAS Context. Gil has edited or coedited several books including Radical Logic: On the Work of Ensamble Studio and Shanghai Transforming. He has curated multiple exhibitions including Nocturnal Landscapes, Poured Architecture: Sergio Prego on Miguel Fisac, and BOLD: Alternative Scenarios for Chicago, part of the inaugural Chicago Architecture Biennial. He was cocurator of Exhibit Columbus 2020–2021 and Associate Curator of the US Pavilion for the 2018 Venice Architecture Biennale. He has taught at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC), University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC), and the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT).
Leo Chow
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Cochair
SOM Foundation
Leo Chow is a Design Partner in SOM’s San Francisco office. Chow has led a broad range of projects in the United States and Asia, including headquarters and commercial office buildings, residential and hotel towers, higher education facilities, and the planning of urban districts. Chow created the SOM Integrated Design Studio, an academic studio that focuses on tall building design and fully integrates structural engineers as coinstructors. He is a member of the San Francisco Arts Commission, serving on the Civic Design Review and Executive Committees.
Scott Duncan
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Cochair
SOM Foundation
Scott Duncan is a Design Partner in SOM’s Chicago office, where he leads the design of high-rise and mixed-use projects locally and around the world. Duncan serves as Chair of the Height and Data Committee of the Council for Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat, a member of the Board of Directors of the SOM Foundation, and a leader of The Earth Project, SOM’s multidisciplinary research project on planetary health.
Laura Ettelman
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Treasurer
SOM Foundation
Laura Ettelman is a Managing Partner in SOM’s New York office. Ettelman’s management approach is to maximize the integration of the architectural design and technical development with the engineering requirements of the project to meet the client’s goals. In 2020, Ettelman was one of two architects appointed by Mayor Bill de Blasio to New York City’s Advisory Council in the Construction and Real Estate Sector.
Kent Jackson
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Secretary
SOM Foundation
Kent Jackson is a Design Partner in SOM’s London office. Jackson’s creative approach to design responds to individual context and enables the integration of the natural and built environment. He is a leading advocate of the firm's pledge to meet the AIA 2030 Commitment towards a carbon-neutral built environment. He serves on the UK Advisory Board for the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat and is also a member of the Worshipful Company of Chartered Architects and the British Council of Offices.
Paola Aguirre Founder, Borderless
Germane Barnes Founder, Studio Barnes
Danei Cesario Associate, SOM
Leo Chow Design Partner, SOM
Chris Cornelius Founding Principal, studio:indigenous
Iker Gil Executive Director, SOM Foundation
Roberto Gonzalez Principal, RGB-Architects
Jia Yi Gu Director, MAK Center for Art and Architecture
Joyce Hwang Director, Ants of the Prairie
Ojay Obinani Associate Director, SOM
Quilian Riano Founder, DSGN AGNC
Maria Villalobos Hernandez Cofounder and Artist Creator, Botanical City
Robert L. Wesley Retired Partner, SOM
Amanda Williams Visual Artist
Michelle Benoit Editorial Consultant
Nathan Bluestone Graphic Design
Alison Kalantzis Administrative Assistant
Finn MacLeod Global Communications
Karen Widi Archivist
Span Website Designers