SMIBE Board of Directors

Sarah Lorenzen, AIA Sarah Lorenzen is an architect and an assistant professor in the Architecture Department at Cal Poly Pomona where she teaches courses in architecture, urban design and film. Sarah is also the resident director of the Neutra VDL House, and she is a principal at Multimedia design firm Plasmatic Concepts. Recent projects include a 30-minute documentary film about the Los Angeles River, funded by the Graham Foundation, a short motion graphics piece about Informal Urbanism in Mexico City, and an temporary exhibition space in Mumbai, India. Sarah holds degrees from the Atlanta College of Art (BFA), Georgia Tech (M.Arch) and SCI-Arc (M.Arch MR+D.)

Bill Ferehawk Bill Ferehawk is a documentary filmmaker who uses the built environment as a lens to examine important issues of American life. Recent films: Eero Saarinen: Shaping the Future, Vladamir Ossipoff: True to Form and Lustron: The House America’s Been Waiting For. Bill holds a Master of Architecture degree from Yale School of Architecture and a Bachelor of Arts in Art History from University of California, Berkeley.

Mitchell De Jarnett Mitchell De Jarnett’s practice spans multiple design fields including new media, public art, and architectural design. He recently completed a large public plaza / environmental artwork (with partner, artist Lita Albuquerque) at the California State Capitol in Sacramento. Mitchell serves as an officer on the Board of Directors of the Grand Central Art Forum. He has taught at SCI-Arc, Otis, UCLA, and is currently an Assistant Professor of Architecture at Cal Poly Pomona. Mitchell attended CSU Long Beach School of Fine Arts and the UCLA Graduate School of Architecture and Urban Planning.

Orhan Ayyüce Orhan Ayyüce is an architect and a senior editor at Archinect. Born in Izmir, Turkey, Orhan lives and works in Los Angeles. He studied architecture and graduated from SCI Arc in 1981. His articles and are regularly featured in Archinect and translated to several languages via international blogs and architectural portals. He is also a regular columnist for Arkitera.com based in Istanbul and currently publishes his personal blog elseplace.

Peter Tolkin, AIA Peter Tolkin is an architect and a photographer. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree from UC Santa Cruz, a Master of Fine Arts degree in Photography from the California Institute of the Arts, and a Master of Architecture degree from Columbia University. Peter Tolkin Architecture projects include Saladang Song Restaurant, Pasadena Christian Center, Metlox Town Square in Manhattan Beach, Claremont Village Expansion, City of Pasadena Bike Transit Center, and the Taking the Reins Urban Farm. Peter’s photographic work includes projects such as “Airline Food,” “Wexner’s Center,” and (a)way station.” Peter has been recognized with numerous AIA awards and his work has been published in The New York Times, Architectural Record, Dwell, Domus, Abitare, and Interior Design among others. He has served as design instructor, lecturer, and critic at Cal Poly Pomona, Woodbury University, California College of the Arts, Art Center, Columbia and Sci-Arc.

Juan Azulay Juan Azulay is the director of the 10-year old Los Angeles-based firm Matter Management. His award-winning practice ranges widely in discipline, methodology and media – spanning work in architecture, such as the Aquatic Terrarium for the New Barcelona Zoo (2001) and a winning entry to the MAK’s Vertical Garden Competition (2006) to film – such as the feature-length The Blue of Noon (2010) and film fest nominee short Yu Tsun (2008). Azulay received his B.Arch from SCI-Arc and his Master of Science in Advanced Architectural Design (MSAAD) from Columbia. He is currently on the Design and Visual Studies Faculty at SCI-Arc, he also has taught at Columbia and at the ETSAV. Azulay’s work has been featured in Arquitectura Viva, Quaderns, Oeste, Vanidad, Ed Keller’s Chronomorphologies, Architect, La Vanguardia, Espai Picasso, Abstract, Architectural Record, LA Architect, and his work is part of the permanent collection at the MAK in Vienna.

Janet Sager With a broad educational background in fine art, design and visual culture, Janet Sager is a seasoned marketing advisor to the Los Angeles design community for more than twenty years and brings her experience, professionalism and extensive resources to the SMIBE board. Janet works collaboratively and innovatively with practitioners of all creative disciplines and both for–profit and not-for-profit institutions. Her consulting practice specializes in strategic communications, brand development and positioning, as well as market research for architecture, design and arts organizations. Prior to her entrepreneurial debut in 2005, Janet served for nine years as Director of Business Development for Pritzker award-winning architect Thom Mayne, of Morphosis Architects and for six years as Director of Research and Publications for the nationally celebrated Santa Monica-based architecture firm Moore Ruble Yudell.

Evan Mather Evan Mather is an American filmmaker and landscape architect – known for his short films spanning multiple genres including animation, film title design, documentary, music video, and mockumentary. His films have screened at dozens of festivals including Sundance, SXSW, Rotterdam, One Reel, and as part of the Independent Exposure touring microcinema series; featured on National Public Radio and in publications including Time, Newsweek, The New York Times, Wired, and RES; and broadcast on the Sundance Channel and Documentary Channel. In 2002 a retrospective of his work played at the Seattle Art Museum. His 2007 film So What? received the 2008 Communications Award of Honor from the American Society of Landscape Architects. Evan lives in Los Angeles with his wife and daughter.