AIA|WA Board of Directors

Tom Rieger, AIA

Tom Rieger AIA is a licensed architect and Principal at Carve Architects in Olympia, Washington. Tom has over 20 years of experience working on a variety of project types in the Pacific Northwest with a focus on mixed use housing and urban design.

Tom earned his Bachelor of Architecture degree from Washington State University. Tom is a Past President of AIASWW and is an active participant in his community and serves on the board of the Olympia Film Society, assisting in their efforts to restore the historic Capitol Theater and bring art, film and music to the South Sound. When time allows, Tom enjoys spending time on the beach sculpting sand at local competitions.

Dave Buescher, AIA

Dave Buescher AIA is the Chief Operating Officer at HDG Architecture in Spokane. He holds degrees in both Architecture and Environmental Design from the University of Colorado.

His broad base of architectural experience ranges between commercial, higher education, residential, and civic projects. He has demonstrated continued and significant volunteer experience in the architectural field both locally and statewide. In Spokane, he has been heavily involved with the local AIA chapter and was president in 2018; he has also participated as a member of the Design Review Board and Arts Commission. Sustainable construction and environmental issues have long been a passion that have guided Dave’s involvement on the City of Spokane’s Climate Action Subcommittee. Consequently, Dave helped to formulate the city’s climate action plan and has been involved with the AIA|WA Climate Committee since 2019.

Douglas Ito, AIA

Douglas Ito, AIA joined SMR Architects in 1996 and has been a principal since 2009. He actively advocates for affordable housing at both local and state levels and is currently co-chair of AIA Seattle’s Housing Committee. He also participates as a member of the City of Tacoma’s Affordable Housing Action Strategy Technical Advisory Group. He recently served on the Board of Directors for the Housing Development Consortium of Seattle and King County, including two years as Board President. Douglas also is dedicated to preserving the historic fabric of communities throughout the state. His contributions to historic preservation include not only his rehabilitation work, but also his community participation as a former member for the Board of Directors for the Washington Trust for Historic Preservation and as the former Chair of the Pioneer Square Historic Preservation Board.

Jed Ballew, AIA

Jed Ballew is a partner at Zervas Architects in Bellingham. He found his love of Architecture at a young age through experiencing the rich Art Deco and mid-century buildings in his previous hometown of Tulsa, Oklahoma. He has over twenty years of experience working on various project types including historic preservation, healthcare, multi-family residential, tenant improvement and education.

Jed received a Bachelor of Architecture degree from Oklahoma State University in 1999 and practiced architecture in Tulsa before relocating to Bellingham in 2017. While living and working in Tulsa, Jed actively supported and served on the board for the Eastern Oklahoma Chapter of the AIA as well as local non-profits and he was an active member of the community.  As a recent resident of the beautiful State of Washington, he is becoming more engaged in Bellingham, the state and surrounding communities through his work with Zervas, as well as through volunteer opportunities. Jed is married and has two teenage children. In his free time he enjoys being around his family, playing the drums, mountain biking, trail running and hiking.

Clarissa Easton, AIA

Clarissa Easton AIA has practiced architecture in the public sector in Washington, Texas, and Missouri; she is currently Legislative Campus Modernization Project Director for the State of Washington Department of Enterprise Services. She has served as President of Central Missouri AIA and on the Board of Directors of AIA Dallas. In every setting, she has been a strong advocate for equity, diversity, and inclusion in architectural education and the profession. She considers servant leadership in support of AIA Washington Council from the Southwest Component a privilege and pleasure.

Rushyan Yen, AIA

Rushyan Yen AIA has a background in studio art, urban ecology, and sustainable design. She received dual master’s degrees in architecture and environmental management from Yale University and received a Thomas J. Watson Fellowship to travel the world for a year researching a textile art form known as Batik. “My design work straddles architecture, urban design, art, and ecology to create healthy and vibrant spaces for people to live, work and play. I have spent much of my life creating bridges between societal, human, and environmental needs. While the result has often expressed itself in built form, I have come to see that it is through policy, advocacy, and cross-disciplinary collaboration that fundamental change is possible.

Kyle Leeper, AIA

Kyle Lepper is the co-founder of WL Architects in Richland, WA. In his 12 years of experience, he has worked with both public and private clients to oversee the design and construction of institutional, civic, industrial, commercial, multifamily residential, and retail projects across the country. Kyle has served as the design lead, project manager, and project architect for a wide range of projects across multiple building sectors that range in scale, budget, and program. 

Kyle developed his passion for building design and construction at the University of Idaho, where he earned a Bachelor of Science in Architecture and a Master of Architecture degree. Kyle currently holds a board position at AIA Central Washington. He frequently volunteers at the Pet Overpopulation of Tri-Cities, where he donated his services to design their spay and neuter clinic that was constructed in 2021. In his free time, Kyle and his wife Jessica love to play golf and spend time with their two dogs, Ernie and Palmer. 

Brittany Porter, AIA

Brittany is a Seattle-based architect and designer of high-performance, sustainable workplace and multifamily housing projects. She is a Senior Associate at Weber Thompson and is currently the project architect for Northlake Commons, a mass timber, LEED Platnium targetting, biophilic workplace on the shores of Lake Union.

Passionate about low-carbon architecture that promotes health and wellness for all, Brittany is a Certified Passive House Consultant and LEED Green Associate.  She was the designer of Pax Futura, Seattle’s first passive house multifamily building, and the winner of the 2020 PHIUS Passive House Projects Multifamily Award. She served on the Passive House Northwest Board of Directors through 2021, was the AIA Young Architect Regional Director of the Northwest & Pacific Region through 2022, and acted as liaison to the national AIA Committee on the Environment (COTE). 

She earned her B.S. in Architecture from the Georgia Institute of Technology and her Master of Architecture from the University of Oregon. 

Away from her desk, Brittany enjoys a smattering of hobbies, including rock climbing, gardening, and a beginner’s attempt at wheel-thrown pottery.

Dennis Adjetey, AIA

Dennis is a recent graduate from the University of Washington Tacoma, with a Bachelor’s of Urban Design degree. He currently works at McGranahan Architects in Tacoma  as an Architectural Associate. As an Associate AIA member without an architectural degree, Dennis is looking to take advantage of Washington’s non-traditional path to licensure. In his free time Dennis enjoys spending time with his family, photography, carpentry and woodworking. Dennis and his partner love to travel, and look for any opportunity to experience other cultures. 

Tanya Kataria, AIA

Tanya is an Architect at Weber Thompson, serving the community by designing affordable housing that advances the health and wellness of occupants throughout Seattle and Tacoma. She is a fierce advocate for affordable housing beyond project work too. In her hometown of Edmonds, she was chosen to join the Citizen’s Housing Commission to devise policies that expand the range of housing options across the city.

In addition to being a LEED Green Associate, Tanya is a WELL Accredited Professional, a standard that focuses on the impact of a building on human health and wellness. Sustainability is one of Tanya’s core passions and she seeks to integrate sustainable strategies into her projects whenever possible. She is a member of Weber Thompson’s Sustainabiliteam, helping set goals and lead sustainability initiatives within the firm.

Tanya is also part of the inaugural cohort of AIA’s Next to Lead program which is a pilot association program that removes barriers to AIA leadership positions for ethnically diverse women.

Katie Cherrier, Assoc. AIA

Katie Cherrier, Assoc. AIA graduated from the architecture program at Spokane Community College in 2020. In the spring of 2021, she received a Certificate in Women’s Leadership from Gonzaga University. Her passion for community and problem solving led her to serve as president of the Spokane AIAS Chapter, during which time she had the opportunity to travel and attend the AIAS Forum conference in Toronto and the AIAS regional West Quad Conference in Honolulu, and she was able to virtually attend the AIAS Grassroots Conference as a past-president mentor for her chapter. Katie joined Integrus Architecture as an intern after college, where she recently celebrated her second year as an architectural associate.