As part of the Robert L. Wesley Award, the SOM Foundation has established a mentorship program to support the recipients of the annual award. The program is structured around a series of sessions lead by a network of leading practitioners and educators.
Paola Aguirre
Founder, Borderless
Commissioner, Commission on Chicago Landmarks, City of Chicago
Senior Fellow, Chicago United for Equity
Council Member, Cultural Advisory Council, City of Chicago
Germane Barnes
Founder, Studio Barnes
Core Organizer, Dark Matter University
Assistant Professor, Director of The Community Housing & Identity Lab (CHIL), University of Miami School of Architecture
Danei Cesario
Associate, SOM
Founder, WALLEN + daub
Leo Chow
Design Partner, SOM
Cochair, SOM Foundation
Chris Cornelius
Founding Principal, studio:indigenous
Chair, University of New Mexico Department of Architecture
Iker Gil
Director, MAS Studio
Founder, MAS Context
Executive Director, SOM Foundation
Roberto Gonzalez
Principal, RGB-Architects
Jia Yi Gu
Director, MAK Center for Art and Architecture
Cofounder, Spinagu
Visiting Faculty, California College of the Arts
Joyce Hwang
Director, Ants of the Prairie
Core Organizer, Dark Matter University
Associate Professor and Director of Graduate Studies, University at Buffalo School of Architecture and Planning
Ojay Obinani
Associate Director, SOM
Quilian Riano
Founder, DSGN AGNC
Core Organizer, Dark Matter University
Associate Director, Kent State University College of Architecture & Environmental Design
Maria Villalobos Hernandez
Cofounder and Artist Creator, Botanical City
Core Organizer, Dark Matter University
Assistant Professor, Illinois Institute of Technology College of Architecture
Robert L. Wesley
Retired Partner, SOM
Amanda Williams
Visual Artist
Paola Aguirre
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Bio
Founder
Borderless
Paola Aguirre is the founder of Borderless, an urban design and research practice based in Chicago. Aguirre has been trained as an architect and urban designer, and her professional experience includes working with government, universities, and architecture/urban design offices both in Mexico and the United States. She is also founder of Borderless Workshop, a research and collaborative platform focused on rethinking cities within the US–Mexico border region. On that front, she is the creator-producer of Mapeo Workshops that work with multiple universities and students from different programs to research, critically discuss, and creatively think about urban challenges using mapping as a main tool. She has been acknowledged by Next City Vanguard’s 40 Under 40 (2016), Impact Design Hub’s 40 Under 40 (2017), and Newcity Design 50: Who Shapes Chicago (2018).
