HMFH Architects' senior principal, Laura Wernick, AIA, REFP, LEED AP has been elected by the members of the Boston Society of Architects (BSA) as its 2011 vice president/president-elect.
A BSA member since 1984, Wernick most recently served on the board of directors as secretary and as commissioner of public policy. She has also served as chair of the BSA ethics committee and the nominating committee and has been a member of the BSA educational facilities committee since 1991.
Wernick is a leader in the national dialogue on architecture and education and was one of 10 architects invited to the American Architectural Foundation's School Design Charrette in 2007. She has organized regional conferences on educational facility design for the Council for Educational Facility Planners International (CEFPI) and for the American Institute of Architecture's (AIA) committee on architecture for education.
"This is an exciting time for the BSA as we plan for moving into a new building. It is important that we take advantage of this opportunity to strengthen the BSA's service to its members and to expand public awareness of the important role that architects and the BSA play in protecting the natural environment and enhancing the built environment," said Wernick.
As HMFH's vice president, Wernick has been involved in all aspects of project development and oversees all personnel and staffing management. Notable projects include the Concord Elementary Schools project, which consolidates nine aging elementary schools into three new buildings that have an innovative Learning Corridors at their core; the renovation of a portion of Harvard University's Paine Hall to accommodate the technically complex electro-acoustic program and the Preservation award-winning addition to the Thompson Middle School in Newport, R.I.
A member of the Council of Educational Facility Planners, International (CEFPI) since 1993, Wernick is past president the Northeast Regional Council of CEFPI and was voted the CEFPI Northeast Regional Planner of the Year for 2004. She served as president of CEFPI Urban Educational Facilities and is currently board president of the Child Care Resources Center.
Wernick has served as chair of the designer selection board of the Mass. Dept. of Housing and Community Development and has been a member of the Society of College and University Planners since 1998. A graduate of Cornell University with a Bachelor of Architecture degree, Wernick holds NRCARB registration and is registered in Mass., R.I., N.H., and N.J.