Spring Awards 2026
The College of Architecture and Planning's annual Spring Celebration and Awards event marks the close to the academic year, honoring the accomplishments of students, faculty, and staff. It's a cherished time to gather as a community, share memories, and reflect on the creative and academic milestones of the past year.
CAP students, faculty, and staff were honored with the following awards at the 2026 Spring Celebration and Awards Ceremony held on Wednesday, May 13.
Outstanding Student Awards
Architecture Undergraduate Outstanding Student Award
Samantha Guerra Bolon
Architecture Graduate Outstanding Student Award
Madeline Fulmer
Dania Morelli
Anna Nielsen
Urban and Regional Planning Outstanding Student Award
Bryn Hall
Landscape Architecture Outstanding Student Award
Phillip Runnings
Urban Design Outstanding Student Award
Daniel Schumacher
Department and Program Awards
Architecture Department Awards
Medal for Academic Excellence, AIA
Dania Morelli
Alpha Rho Chi Medal
Timoteo “Timo” Mason
Landscape Architecture Department Awards
ASLA Honor Award
Max Jakiela
ASLA Merit Award
Phil Runnings
Robert Vibert
Landscape Architecture Foundation Olmsted Scholar Nominee
Rachel Thody
Urban and Regional Planning Department Awards
Exceptional Service Award
Amanda Spidel
Exceptional Research Award
Mark Schenberger
MURP Leadership Award
Peyton Robbins
MURP Teaching Assistant Award
Hogan Henz
Urban Design Program Award
Studio Excellence Award
Taya Loran
Urban Design Champion Award
Hogan Henz
PhD Graduates 2025-26
Liz Dzwonczyk, PhD
Steven King, PhD
Jonathan Burton, PhD
Tau Sigma Delta Honor Society Recognition
Tau Sigma Delta Honor Society
Audrey Ilg
Gino Nicolai Loevy
Samantha Sarai Guerra Bolon
Gabriel Storm Herrada
Jonathan Matthew Eilert
Nguyen Gia Hy Vu
Ilene Becerra-Bermudez
Lorelai Catherine Brunner
Mollie Loren Davidson
Myles Rule
Lena Maria Gomez
Jackquelin Perez
Madeline Irene Fulmer
Anna Claire Nielsen
Dania Morelli
Sawyer C Janney
Ian Rhees Ellis
Hannah Madison White
Matthew Lawrence Winans
Mia Adrienne Kuniko Mettais
Kara Hand
Daniel Schumacher
Jessica McCaig
Phillip Scott Runnings
Bryn K Hall
Caleb Armand Yoder
Mackenzie Taylor Knox
Christina M Noto
Leslie Catherine Sullivan
Caleb Battersby
Architecture Studio Awards
Undergraduate Architecture Studios
Featuring work from some of our undergraduate studio award winners listed below.
Undergraduate Architecture Studio 1: First in the sequence of two foundational design studio courses, this course introduces students to the fundamental principles of three-dimensional design and composition. Students learn to
translate and express ideas through willful manipulation of form and space, in a sequential series of exercises.
Studio: Seth Donnell
Tennyson Dryden
Studio: Lior Galili
Aaliyah Flores
Studio: Nikolas Makela
Clementine East
Studio: Trevor Motzko
Coren May
Undergraduate Architecture Studio 2: Second in the sequence of two foundational design studio courses, this
course introduces students to the formal and spatial vocabulary of Architecture and its organizational principles through a series of micro-scale architectural design exercises.
Studio: Morgane Copp
Jose Romero Bermudez
Studio: Raymond Shih
Judah Perez Chuc
Studio: Erika Sweigert Nava
Matthew Dowling
Studio: Michelle Frankle
Brien Schlange
Undergraduate Architecture Studio 3: First in the sequence of two foundational design studio courses, this course
introduces students to the fundamental principles of three-dimensional design and composition. Students learn to
translate and express ideas through willful manipulation of form and space, in a sequential series of exercises
Studio: Claire Glass
Jason Oringer
Studio: Alex Yueyan Li
Jonathan Ramirez & Sabrina Szostak
Undergraduate Architecture Studio 4: Second in the sequence of two elemental design studio courses, this course focuses on the design of small-scale buildings to advance students’ understanding of the role of context in design communication. Students learn to translate non-formal concepts into sequential architectural experiences in deference to program and site.
Studio: Kae Donahue
Drew Duchouquette & Joanah Martinez
Studio: Patricia Joseph Gill
Shenarra Acquah & Jimmy Avalos
Studio: Sarah Vanderpool
Talia Saleh & Julian Smith
Studio: Aaron Cleveland
Mollie Davidson & Aundra Coleman
Studio: Iman Amery
Julia Bayarsaikhan & Gabriel Rives
Studio: Lior Galili
Kylie Wilson & Alanna Hamman
Undergraduate Architecture Studio 5: First in the sequence of two analytical design studio courses, this course
introduces students to analysis and design as complementary processes. Students learn how to form design intentions based on analytical study of the relationship between architecture and culture. Focused on the design of small-scale buildings, students learn to incorporate structure, light, and material as expressive elements of an architectural composition.
Studio: Kurt Streich
Anais Ene
Studio: Sarah Hearne
Alexander Karakatsanis
Undergraduate Architecture Studio 6: Second in the sequence of two analytical design studio courses, this course
advances students’ understanding of the relationship between architecture and culture and their ability to design
intermediate scale buildings as effective settings for cultural rituals. Students explore the role of history and precedent in the design process along with the role of detail in architectural compositions.
Studio: Leyuan Li
Santiago Aguilera Cepeda, Alaina Harris, & Esra Hima
Graduate Architecture Studios
Featuring work from some of our graduate studio award winners listed below.
Graduate Studio 2: The second of two elemental design studios focused on translating organizational and spatial systems, principles and concepts into architectural systems. Through a number of small scaled design exercises students learn how organizational and spatial systems can be leveraged in the design of their buildings.
Studio: Annicia Streete
Shawn Sisernos
Studio: Pipsa Happo
Sebastian Marques
Studio: Sheena Rude
Dallas Dorman
Graduate Studio 4: The second of two analytical studios, Graduate Studio IV builds upon ideas developed in the previous studio concerning how the analysis of the program in terms of action and perception inform the formal strategies and the design of specific architectural experiences.
Studio: Maria Cole
Lance Holland
Studio: Felix Tannenbaum
Zechariah Simpson
Studio: Keith Loftin
Matthew Saavedra
Graduate Studio 6: This is the second of two reflective studios, which focuses on the comprehensive
design of an architectural project including considerations of structural systems, environmental systems, life safety
concerns, regulatory considerations, wall sections, building assemblies and significant detail.
Studio: Stephen Dynia
Mia Mattais & Hannah White
Studio: Julee Herdt
Matt Winans & Colby Sroda
Studio: Matt Shea
Sidney Renelt &
Valentina Cartagena
Studio: Michael Jenson
Madyln Kessler & Abigail Arredondo
Alumni and Advocate Awards
Don Johnson, Korey White, and Kaia Nesbitt attended the 2026 Spring Celebration and Awards and accepted their awards in person.
CAP Rising Star Award
The Rising Star Award recognizes alumni in the early stage of heir career who have already distinguished themselves in the field
Becca Buthe
Becca is a graduate of the Master of Urban and Regional Planning program and currently works as a project manager and senior planner for the Renaissance Planning Group in Washington DC. After graduating from CU denver, Becca initially pursued her dream to work on war recovery planning, securing a job with an international non-governmental organization that placed her in Syria to assist with the war recovery.
Following her time in Syria, Becca joined Smart Growth America (SGA), a national nonprofit promoting sustainable and equitable development. Now, with Renaissance Planning Group, Becca has led several large projects and has traveled all over the country working with small and large cities on Federal Transit Administration, a subsidiary of the Federal Highway Administration, and Environmental Protection Agency-funded projects, from coal country to the low country, to review of small starts transit funding, including Denver's Colfax Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) funding.”
CAP Keystone Award
The CAP Keystone Award honors mid-career alumni whose exceptional achievements, leadership, and impact exemplify excellence in their field.
Korey White
Korey is a graduate of both the Master of Architecture and Master of Urban and Regional Planning programs. She is currently a design practice learning lead and principal at DLR Group in Chicago.
Korey has been nonstop in her accomplishments and representation of our college and programs since she graduated. Prior to joining DLR Group, Korey held positions at Stantec, RNL, and Path21 Architecture & Planning. Korey is passionate about creating more equitable and inclusive communities, and brings this passion to her work in architecture and urban planning. Raising the bar within our disciplines, Korey has been actively involved with the American Institute of Architecture (AIA) to help advance the future of the profession. She currently serves as the At-Large Director to the AIA National Board of Directors and the AIA Liaison to AIAS National.
CAP Legacy Award
The CAP Legacy Award honors the recipient's career of leadership, innovation, and public service. Their influence is deeply woven in their community, and this award celebrates their enduring legacy defined by their vision, stewardship, and commitment to the public good.
Kaia Nesbitt
Kaia is a graduate of the Master of Landscape Architecture program. She is currently a senior vice president and the global director of urban design, planning, and landscape architecture at HDR in Denver. In 2025, she was elevated to the American Society of Landscape Architects Council of Fellows in recognition of her outstanding contributions to the profession. She is also currently the Colorado District Council Chair for the Urban Land Institute and is the first landscape architect to serve in this role.
Kaia is an award-winning landscape architect whose interdisciplinary design perspective and practice has influenced and expanded urban design and landscape architecture in a variety of settings, including health-oriented development, parks as infrastructure, net zero community development, and the intersection of mobility and land use. Her commitment to interdisciplinary practice and designing for a more just and equitable world really rings true for all of us.
Kaia has also served CAP over ten years as a lecturer, seven years on the CAP Advisory Board, including two years as the board’s chair, and countless years of enduring support for the landscape architecture department.
Don Brandes
Don is a graduate of the Master of Landscape Architecture program. Don served as president of Design Studios West, Inc. for 31 years, shaping metropolitan Denver and communities nationwide as a landscape architect and urban designer. Don is a member of the American Society of Landscape Architects, Urban Land Institute, a Board Member for the Colorado Trust for Public Land, and has served as a Director for the Downtown Denver Partnership, Inc.
At CU Denver, Don established a scholarship for landscape architecture students, has donated consistently for over 20 years, and served for many years on the CAP Advisory Board. Don’s passion for CAP and dedication to helping students succeed is unparalleled.
CAP Champion Award
The CAP Champion Award was established to help us kick off a yearlong celebration honoring a century of built environment education in Colorado as we look forward to shaping the next 100 years. The CAP Champion Award recognizes without our incredible community who advocate on the college's behalf and provide support to fund our programs, providing opportunities to our students so that they can carry on the tradition of shaping the built environment for generations to come.
Don Johnson
Don graduated from CU Boulder in 1962, and, ten years later, founded the interior architecture, planning, and architecture firm, Aegina Associates. In 2022 Don was awarded an honorary degree by the Board of Regents for his service to CAP.
As Managing Trustee of the Dr. C.W. Bixler Family Foundation, Don has supported CAP through the Bixler Global Initiatives, an educational exchange program between CAP and architecture schools in Finland, Japan, and Spain. Seeing an opportunity for experiential learning and applying design principles to real-world problems, Don’s support resulted in the creation of the award-winning ColoradoBuildingWorkshop.
Don served on the CAP advisory board and has been a member of the Benson Society and the Heritage Society. From 2010-2016, Johnson served on the Board of Trustees for the CU Foundation.
Don shared his hopes for the future of the College of Architecture and Planning as we look to the future of the built environment, “In my twenty-year engagement with the College of Architecture & Planning, I see it is now on a path to what I call CAP 2.0, making it a Princeton on the Platte with the expansion of the ColoradoBuildingWorkshop and an excellent new campus-wide leadership team. In my mind, CAP graduates will have the responsibility and opportunity to design and plan ever more beneficial, beautiful, healthy, regenerative structures and communities, with water, food, and energy sufficiency."
Faculty and Staff Awards
Faculty Inclusive Excellence Award
Priyanka deSouza
Leyuan Li
Excellence in Teaching by a Lecturer
Hani Hage
Staff Excellence Award
Mike Harring
Roxy New
Recognition of Promotions, Years of Service, and Retirements
Faculty Promotions
Kevin Hirth, Associate Professor
Jody Beck, Professor
CAP Staff Promotions
Colleen Rufolo, Senior Finance and Accounting Professional
Years of Service Recognition
Ann Komara, 35 years
Kyle Danforth, 15 years