People

ANFA Board

Margaret Tarampi

President 2025
Associate Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience; Director of University Interdisciplinary Studies; Director of Spatial Cognition and Physical Environments (SCaPE) Laboratory
University of Hartford
West Hartford, United States

Sergei Gepshtein

Vice-President, Portfolios
Scientist and Principal Investigator, Salk Institute for Biological Studies; Director, Center for Spatial Perception & Concrete Experience, University of Southern California
La Jolla and Los Angeles, CA, United States

melissa farling

CFO & Vice President
Principal, Multistudio
Phoenix, United States

Kris Mun

ANFA Secretary
Principal of studioMUN, architecture, landscape & design || Founder of SensoryArchitecture(s)
Venice, CA , United States

David Kirsh

President, Jan 2021 – Dec 2023
Cognitive Science, UC San Diego, Director: XRLab, Interactive Cognition Lab.
La Jolla, CA, United States

Kurt Hunker

Immediate Past President
Principal, Kurt C. Hunker, Architect, San Diego, California, USA; Professor Emeritus, NewSchool of Architecture + Design, San Diego; Fellow of the American Institute of Architects; author and presenter on topics ranging from the architecture of Alvar Aalto to public school design.
San Diego, CA, United States

Alison Whitelaw

Founding member, Past President, 2011 – 2012
Retired Principal, Platt/Whitelaw Architects, Inc.
San Diego, CA , United States

Thomas D. Albright

Past President, 2013 – 2014
Professor and Director
Vision Center Laboratory, Salk Institute for Biological Studies
La Jolla, CA, United States

Meredith Banasiak

Director of Research, Boulder Associates Architects.
Host of the Science + Design video podcast. YouTube @Science_and_Design .
Bio at www.meredithbanasiak.com
Westminster, CO, United States

Cara Armstrong

Northfield, VT, United States

Eve Edelstein

Stanford School of Medicine Faculty, Designer, Researcher, & Public Speaker.
I translate clinical, neuroscientific, and anthropological knowledge into design solutions. Adjunct Professor, Stanford University School of Medicine, Neuro-Architecture Consulting International, CEO, Clinicians for Design Co-founder, Innovative Design Science President, Faculty at Pratt & Venice.
Palo Alto, CA, USA, United States

Claire Gallagher

Professor Emerita
School of Education, Georgian Court University
Spring Lake, NJ, United States

Sarah Goldhagen

After having published Welcome to Your World: How the Built Environment Shapes Our Lives, I continue to consult with clients and write about architecture, cities, and design from a human-centered perspective, advocating for design practices grounded in neuroaesthetics and environmental psychology.
New York, United States

Frederick Marks

Fred, AIA, LEED AP BD+C, Six Sigma Green Belt, is currently a Visiting Scholar and Research Collaborator at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in La Jolla, CA. He has been a licensed architect for 30+ years and has a planning & design specialty in healthcare and laboratory science facilities.
La Jolla, CA, United States

Upali Nanda

One of the 6 pioneers of Eberhard's original cohort as a grad student, Dr. Nanda now serves on the Board of Directors
Global Director of Research for HKS; Associate Prof of Practice at Taubman College and member of ANFA board, Dr. Nanda is an award winning researcher working at the intersection of human perception and design, dedicated to bridging practice and academia, art and science, brain and building.
Ann Arbor, United States

Alan Penn

Professor in Architecture and Urban Computing
The Bartlett School of Architecture
University College London
London, United Kingdom

Satchidananda Panda

Principal Investigator, Panda Lab, Regulatory Biology Laboratory
Salk Institute
La Jolla, CA , United States

Ramesh Rao

Director, Division of California Institute for Telecommunications and Information Technology (Calit2)
Professor, Electrical and Computer Engineering, Jcaobs School of Engineering
University of California, San Diego
La Jolla, CA, United States

Matthew Smith

Architect, University of California San Diego Capital Program Management
La Jolla, CA, United States

Laura Wolszon

Laura was an Associate Scientist at Columbia University, specializing in brain neurophysiology. At UCSD, she was a Senior Licensing Officer and Manager of Strategic Partnerships, initiating its first scientist/architect collaboration on wayfinding. She taught Neuroscience for Architecture at NSAD.
La Jolla, CA, United States