Photo credit: Florian Göpfert on Unsplash
Event Description
Introduction and welcome to AIAISC’26, the AIA International Spring Conference 2026, featuring AIA President, Illya Azaroff, FAIA.
Speakers
Segene Park, AIA, AIA International President
Michelle Montgomery, AIA, NCARB, LEED AP, 2026 Spring Conference Co-Chair and Emerging Professionals co-chair, AIA International
Illya Azaroff, FAIA, 2026 AIA President
Speaker Bios
Segene Park is an internationally recognized architect and master planner, serving as President of AIA International and a global urban and infrastructure strategist. He has built a distinguished career with leading firms including Epstein (Annex5) and Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM), and currently leads projects at Nikken Sekkei in Tokyo. His work spans residential, office, hospitality, museums, convention centers, high-rise and supertall buildings, sustainable and interior design, transit-oriented development, smart cities, and landscape architecture.
Notable projects include a 354-meter tower in Russia, showcased at the Venice Biennale, and multiple international competition-winning projects with Nikken Sekkei, earning consecutive Architecture and Urban Planning Awards in Moscow.
Beyond practice, Segene is a global thought leader. He has spoken at the United Nations High-Level Political Forum (HLPF), ULI Asia Pacific Summit, and the Seoul Architecture Forum, and lectures across APEC countries. He is an instructor for ULI Japan’s UrbanPlan Program and an adjunct professor at Nihon University, mentoring the next generation of architects. He is also a longstanding member of The Cliff Dwellers, contributing to international arts and architecture discourse.
In professional organizations, Segene has held leadership roles at AIA Japan and AIA International, including President, Vice President, and Secretary. He chaired the 2025 Osaka Expo and the AIA International Spring Conference, fostering significant growth in participation, partnerships, and global recognition. He also spearheaded the Japan–China Academic Exchange, now expanding worldwide, building collaborations with leading organizations across Asia and beyond.
Segene’s work reflects a commitment to empowering architects globally, fostering interdisciplinary collaboration, and promoting innovation in design and professional practice.
Michelle Montgomery is an Associate Architect at ZGF Architects with a diverse portfolio including inpatient and outpatient healthcare, professional and recreational sports, mixed-use development and corporate office. Michelle brings expertise in all aspects of architecture, from technical design to documentation to construction administration. Her experience living abroad in Italy, paired with working on various project types, gives her a unique lens through which she integrates universal principles into the design and construction process.
Michelle sits on the advisory board of the NCARB International Workgroup. She is a Co-Chair of the AIA International Emerging Professionals Committee as well as that of AIA Continental Europe.
Illya Azaroff, FAIA, is an architect, geographer, and internationally recognized leader in disaster response, climate adaptation, resilient design, and regenerative planning strategies with over 30 years experience.
He is the founder of +LAB architect whose mission is to build resilient capacity while giving underserved communities greater voice and visibility. He is a professor at New York City College of Technology (CUNY). He works with cities, governing bodies, and design teams around the world to build resilient capacity. Illya often receives foreign delegations on behalf of the U.S. Department of State.
He has served AIA in several key roles, including as the 2021 AIA New York state president, on the Strategic Council (2016-2018), and as founder of DFRR Design for Risk and Reconstruction committee at AIANY (2011-2021). He previously worked in Germany, Italy, and Holland. Illya has a Master of Architecture degree from Pratt Institute and bachelor's degrees in geography and architecture from the University of Nebraska at Lincoln.
