AIA ALASKA STATE CONFERENCE
Emerging Horizons – A focus on reimagining the built environment in the face of rapid, ecological, cultural, and technological change. While rooted in the unique challenges and opportunities of Alaska’s climate, geography, and communities, our hope is that the conference continues to invite architects, designers, researchers, and policy-makers to explore the future of architecture through a distinctly northern lens.
Scroll down to learn more about our KEYNOTE SPEAKERS, HOTEL details, and how to become a SPONSOR or EXHIBITOR.
CONFERENCE SPONSORS
Thank you to our Event Sponsors! Click on their logos in the slider below to visit their websites.
KEY SPEAKERS
Neil Heller is a nationally recognized urban planner and designer focused on aligning municipal regulations with community-desired development outcomes through pro-forma-based approaches that quantify the physical and financial effects of policy. As Principal of Neighborhood Workshop and faculty at the Incremental Development Alliance, Neil integrates design, planning, housing policy, and real estate development to create equitable, context-sensitive housing solutions. His 3D models, site plans, and proformas serve as tools for exploring zoning opportunities and financial feasibility. A small-scale landlord and housing advocate in Portland, he brings firsthand knowledge of regulatory and operational challenges for 2–4-unit buildings and ADUs, promoting reforms to unlock missing-middle housing. His work – highlighted by the Sightline Institute – demonstrates how practical, data-driven planning and community-based financial models can expand affordability and accessibility in urban neighborhoods. 
Ambassador Mike Sfraga, Ph.D., was appointed interim chancellor of the University of Alaska Fairbanks in July 2025. A longtime Alaskan and leading Arctic expert, he has served as the nation’s first ambassador-at-large for Arctic affairs and twice chaired the U.S. Arctic Research Commission. Sfraga is the founding director of the Polar Institute at the Wilson Center, a Fulbright Scholar, and a frequent advisor on Arctic and foreign policy, testifying before Congress and engaging internationally on Arctic security, climate, and governance. His career spans nearly four decades of leadership in academia, government, and policy, focusing on the geopolitical and environmental complexities of the Arctic and its global connections. A geographer by training, Sfraga earned the first Ph.D. in Northern studies and geography from UAF, as well as degrees from UAF and Bowling Green State University. Widely recognized as a speaker and thought leader, he co-edited Navigating the Arctic’s 7Cs and continues to shape high-level dialogue on Arctic affairs through roles with the Council on Foreign Relations, the Munich Security Conference Arctic Security Roundtable, and other international platforms.
Todd Ferry is an architect, educator, and researcher widely recognized for his groundbreaking work in public interest design. He is a Senior Researcher at Portland State University’s Center for Public Interest Design where he served as Associate Director for over a decade, creating transformative programs in areas such as alternative shelter, mobile placemaking, and community visioning. Ferry is also Studio Director at Pendulum Architects, overseeing the firm’s projects in the Mid-Atlantic region ranging from stadium design to off-grid housing. He holds a Master of Architecture from the University of Texas at Austin, and a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy from the University of Georgia. Ferry will be joined by his colleagues Todd E. Nicewonger (PhD) an Ethnographic Research Specialist at Virgina Tech, and Sergio Palleroni, a professor and director of the Center for Public Interest Design at Portland State University. 
Simon Taylor is an architect and the Principal at Taylor Architecture Group, who has lived in Canada’s north for over 30 years. TAG is a Canadian Architectural, mechanical, Electrical, and Interior Design firm headquartered in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, but also with offices in Whitehorse, Yukon, and Ottawa, Ontario. The firm primarily serves indigenous communities in Canada’s Northern Territories with projects ranging from single-family residences through to $100M+ institutional facilities. In addition, the firm pursues architectural research based upon economic and social development within indigenous communities with an aim in expanding community self-reliance through design and construction involvements with local management and employment.
Glen Berry, FAIA, is a registered architect in Utah, Texas, Idaho, and Nevada, and is certified with the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB), and the American Institute of Architects (AIA). Glen has worked on the planning and design of 149 science building projects worldwide, built or under construction, totaling $5.5 billion in construction value and 11.5 million square feet. He has also worked as a lab planner Architect for several firms, including RFD, HERA Lab Planners, Jacobs, HOK, and Gensler. He currently works as an independent lab design consultant, providing lab planning and design services to Architects worldwide. Glen was inducted into the College of Fellows of the American Institute of Architects on February 18, 2022.
Malu Borja Lopez is an Architect partner of Ecuadorian-based studio Al Borde (2007) with David Barragán, Pascual Gangotena, and Esteban Benavides. The studio’s work has been widely recognized with prestigious awards such as the Bancastato Swiss Architecture Award 2024, the Global Award for Sustainable Architecture 2013, and the Schelling Architecture Prize 2012. Al Borde is a collective project whose ethos opens the design and construction stages to the active participation of its users. Its aesthetic is a result of a material and energy discussion around the current modes of production of Architecture. Malu has a MA in Development with a major in Gender, Conflict, and Social Justice Perspectives (2023). She has practiced architecture as a designer, teacher, and facilitator of collaborative creative methods with diverse communities in Latin America. She is currently teaching at the School of Architecture and Environment of the University of Oregon awarded with the Design for Spatial Justice Fellowship.
