Dr. Meria Carstarphen has been named the new superintendent of Atlantic Public Schools. Carstarphen most recently served as district superintendent of the Austin Independent School District in Austin, Texas, prior to which she was superintendent of Saint Paul Public Schools. Carstarphen also worked with public school systems in the District of Columbia, Tennessee and Ohio, and has taught at the middle school and elementary levels.
Kwame Foundation has named Yolonda Lankford as its new executive director. The Kwame Foundation is a nonprofit charitable organization founded by Kwame Building Group CEO and Chairman Tony Thompson, providing mentoring and scholarship opportunities for youth in underprivileged communities. Prior to joining Kwame Foundation, Lankford worked with the St. Louis Cardinals’ Cardinal Care and the Antwan Moore Memorial Scholarship fund.
John Tran, AIA, LEED AP, NCARB, has been hired as design principal at the Phoenix office of architecture, engineering and planning firm SmithGroupJJR, Tran will join the leadership team for the firm’s practice in Arizona and the southwest, while providing support to all SmithGroupJJR offices. He is an award-winning designer with 20-plus years of experience, and has led projects as senior designer, project designer and design principal.
Dr. Randy Avent has been named the first president of Florida Polytechnic University, the newest institution in the Florida State University system. Avent is currently the associate vice chancellor for research development, as well as a professor computer science, at North Carolina State University. He received his Bachelor of Science in Zoology from the University of North Carolina, and his Master of Science in Electrical Engineering from North Carolina State University.
Jeanne Qiu, AIA, CDT, LEED AP, has joined the St. Louis office of HOK as a lab planner in the firm’s Science + Technology practice. In her new position, Qiu will be responsible for the planning, programming and design of lab spaces for both university and corporate clients. She is currently working on the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) lab design in Thuwal, Saudi Arabia and office and lab space for BioGenerator in the CORTEX district in St. Louis.
Lorena Tellez Toffer, AIA has been named a recipient of the AIA’s 2014 Young Architects Award. Toffer is a project architect at Corgan Associates, where she concentrates on higher education, museum facilities and adaptive reuse projects. Toffer earned a Bachelor of Arts in architecture from Monterrey Tech, a Masters in architecture from Texas A&M, and is a registered architect both in Texas and Mexico.
Eric Chang, LEED AP, has been promoted to associate vice president of HGA’s Los Angeles office. Chang was previously a project manager with the firm and has more than 15 years experience working on higher education and commercial projects. He holds a master’s degree in design studies from the Graduate School of Design at Harvard University, and a Bachelor of Architecture from California State Polytechnic University in San Luis Obispo, Calif. Chang joined the firm in 2001.
John Curtis, AIA, LEED AP, has been named a principal at New York-based architectural and design firm CetraRuddy. In his new role, Curtis will be responsible for the design delivery of buildings and communities demonstrating the highest level of design innovation, technical excellence and sophisticated project management.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has presented John Clements, former director of transportation for Kings Canyon Unified School District in San Joaquin Valley, Calif., with the region’s prestigious Environmental Champion award. Clements was recognized for his work to deploy zero-emission, battery-electric school buses and refrigerated lunch delivery trucks in the San Joaquin Valley, and for his statewide work as a clean transportation advocate.
Valerie Greer, AIA, LEED AP, vice president and senior architect at HOK’s St. Louis office was named in this year’s St. Louis Business Journal 40 Under 40 class honoring young professionals. Greer served on the core design team for the $12.5 million, 5.5 million-square-foot King Abdullah University of Science and Technology in Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest LEED Platinum project.
