Climate Change, Housing Disruption, and Community Design

Dahlia Nduom is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Architecture at Howard University. She received a BA in Architecture and Visual Studies from the University of Pennsylvania and a Master of Architecture degree from Columbia University. She is a licensed architect who has practiced and taught in the US and Ghana. These educational and professional experiences have informed her research interests which investigate the relationship between history, culture and perception and the impacts on the architecture of the African Diaspora and their role in shaping definitions of the home and what it means to dwell. She investigates cultural, economic, social, political and sustainable issues to understand the spatial implications and systems occurring in the home to begin to address design criteria for housing suited to the complexities of our time.

Joseph Ashmore is the Head of the Humanitarian Preparedness and Response Coordination Support Unit at the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the United Nations Migration Agency, in Washington DC. Over the past 22 years Joseph has worked leading teams in global operations, humanitarian shelter and settlements, with the UN, NGOs and Civil Protection organizations. He has deployed into more than 40 crisis and consulted for 13 different international organizations. Joseph became interested in shelter and settlements whilst working as a researcher on visualization in the Department of Architecture at the University of Cambridge UK. He is currently an Honorary Fellow at UCL, UK and holds a masters in International Negotiation and Policy at the Geneva Graduate Institute.

Bradford C. Grant is the Interim Chairperson and Professor of Architecture in the Department of Architecture of the College of Engineering and Architecture at Howard University. He has been in leadership roles at Hampton and Howard Universities as Chairperson, Director, Associate Dean and Interim Dean. As a registered architect and distinguished educator, he has extensive experience in community design, contemplative practices through drawing in design education and environmental justice in architecture. His community design work, research on the role of African American architects and his teachings on “Drawing as Meditation” has earned him the Virginia Downtown Development Association Award, the American Institute of Architects (AIA) Education Honor Award, the AIA Institute Honor for Collaborative Achievement and the Center for Contemplative Mind in Society’s Contemplative Practice fellowship. He has served as past president of the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture, Humanities DC, the Center for Contemplative Mind in Society and the Healthy Building Network. He is the co-founder of the “Directory of African American Architects”, the first comprehensive survey, analysis and report on the numbers and role of the African
American Architect. He was appointed as the inaugural “Instagram Artist in Residence” at the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery, Washington DC.

Ms. Maria de Irantzu (Iru) Serra Lasa is an expert advisor in disaster management with a focus in Humanitarian Shelter and Settlements and post disaster reconstruction, including Housing, Land, and Property rights in crisis contexts. In her practice she provides actionable advice and strategic guidance to non-for-profit organizations, the UN, Academia, Local governments, and corporate partners to increased understanding of the impacts of climate change, disasters, migration, and man-made crisis in the built environment and marginalized communities. She has worked over 15 years across Asia- Pacific, Africa, the Americas and Europe supporting post disaster response and recovery. In the past 8+ years she has led Habitat for Humanity International global efforts in Disaster Risk Reduction and Response, providing support to a network of Habitat affiliates of more than 1100 US Habitat Affiliates and 70 Country National Offices. Prior to that she worked with the Red Cross (Spanish Red Cross, The International Federation of the Red Cross, American Red Cross) providing humanitarian shelter and settlements advisory services for Red Cross Disaster Response and Recovery Operations. Ms. Serra Lasa is an Architect and Urban planner by training, from the Universidad Politecnica de Madrid, Spain.