2026 MEMBER SPOTLIGHTS

September MEMBER Spotlight | Oksana Ramos

✨ About Oksana

🔹 Associate at Cunningham | Quill Architects in Washington, DC, since 2011
🔹 Registered Architect
🔹 Bachelor of Architecture graduate of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York, with international study experience in India
🔹 Washington, DC native and first-generation Mexican American architect whose work and leadership connect design, cultural identity, mentorship, and community engagement

Leadership & Professional Development
🔹 Immediate Past Chair of AIA|DC LA.IDEA — Latin American Interior Designers, Engineers & Architects, where her leadership has helped strengthen visibility, professional connections, and opportunities for Latinx designers within the profession
🔹 Selected for the 2024–2025 AIA Next to Lead cohort, a national leadership development program created to prepare a diverse cohort of women architects for greater leadership within AIA and the profession
🔹 Serves as an advisor to the 2026 AIA Small Project Design Knowledge Community and is involved with the AIA|DC Women in Architecture Committee, continuing her commitment to mentorship and professional advancement
🔹 Promoted to Associate in 2026, recognizing her continued leadership, mentorship, and contributions both within the firm and throughout the architectural community
🔹 Brings more than a decade of experience to architecture, approaching design through detailed research, rigorous process, and an understanding of architecture, planning, and the communities projects serve
🔹LEED GA

Design Experience & Community Impact
🔹 Developed a career grounded in thoughtful design, research, planning, and a rigorous approach to the built environment
🔹 Her professional perspective extends across architecture, planning, art, and theory, bringing a multidisciplinary lens to the way she approaches design and community
🔹 Actively engaged in the Washington region through organizations including AIADC LA.IDEA and DCNOMA

Speaking at the 2026 NOMA Conference
🔹 Oksana will join fellow design leaders at the 2026 NOMA Conference for “Unidos in Action: The Power of Cross-Organization Coalition”
🔹 The session explores how architects, NOMA chapters, and affinity organizations can use strategic alliances and coalition-building to expand representation, mentorship, advocacy, and leadership opportunities
🔹 Oksana brings her experience with LA.IDEA, AIA, ArqCo, and cross-organizational advocacy to a discussion focused on creating more equitable and representative pathways throughout the profession

DC NOMA is proud to spotlight Oksana Ramos and celebrate her continued dedication to design, advocacy, representation, and coalition-building. As she prepares to represent these values on the national stage at the 2026 NOMA Conference, her leadership serves as a powerful example of how collaboration and community can help shape a stronger, more inclusive future for the profession.

September MEMBER Spotlight | Guido Seoanes Perla

✨ About Guido

🔹 Associate AIA, NOMA with more than 20 years of experience in architecture, design, and project coordination across the United States and Colombia
🔹 Senior architectural professional whose experience spans academic and laboratory facilities, federal projects, public transportation, residential, mixed-use, and institutional design
🔹 Urban sketcher, artist, furniture designer, architectural designer, historian, and advocate for architectural and cultural heritage
🔹 Passionate about connecting architecture, history, art, and community while preserving the stories and cultural identities embedded within the built environment

Leadership & Professional Development
🔹 Current member of the Communications Committee for DCNOMA, supporting the chapter's efforts to celebrate its members, strengthen professional connections, and increase visibility within the design community
🔹 Active NOMA member since 2008 and an early collaborator in establishing the NOMA Pacific Northwest Chapter, helping expand representation and inclusion within the profession
🔹 Served as Chair of the AIA Seattle Diversity Roundtable from 2008–2010, advancing diversity, equity, inclusion, and education within architecture
🔹 Helped lead the AIA Seattle Diversity Roundtable to national recognition in 2010, when the committee received an AIA Diversity Recognition/Best Practice honor for its work advancing diversity within the profession
🔹 Continues his professional service through organizations including NOMA, AIA, DCNOMA, and Docomomo DC, reflecting a longstanding commitment to architectural advocacy, education, and preservation
🔹 Brings an international perspective to architecture shaped by professional and creative experiences across Washington State, Washington, DC, Northern Virginia, Southern Maryland, and Colombia

Architecture, Design & Project Experience
🔹 Has contributed to projects ranging from single-family and multifamily residential developments to mixed-use, academic, laboratory, federal, and major public transportation projects
🔹 Project experience includes Orr Elementary School in Washington, DC, where he contributed as Project Coordinator and to production, as well as the Morgan State Science Building in Baltimore
🔹 His career has evolved from design and production roles into multidisciplinary coordination and project leadership, supporting complex projects across different regions, scales, and building types

Cultural Heritage & Community Impact
🔹 Founder of the Bureau of the Modern Movement (BMM), an international nonprofit volunteer organization established in 2020 to preserve and celebrate the architecture, history, culture, gastronomy, and legacy of the Modern Movement, particularly throughout Latin America
🔹 Organized BaMoMo 2025 in Barranquilla, continuing an initiative centered on architecture, cultural heritage, public education, and collective memory
🔹 Uses research, public programming, sketching, and storytelling to connect communities with the architectural history of their cities and advocate for the preservation of culturally significant places

DC NOMA is proud to spotlight Guido C. Seoanes Perla and celebrate his continued contributions to architectural practice, cultural preservation, artistic expression, professional advocacy, and the communities whose stories inspire his work.