Vol. 19, Issue 03 2021
NOMA national President Jason Pugh Jason Pugh, AIA, AICP, NOMA, LEED AP Pugh, is the 2021-2022 President of the National Organization of Minority Architects. He is a Senior Associate Architect and Urban Designer at Gensler’s Chicago office. He is a licensed architect and certified planner. He manages a variety of projects which engage the extended community and end-users, following projects from schematic community-based master plans through full construction. Pugh has a passion for helping develop underserved communities and the next generation of designers and architects. He previously served as the president of the Illinois NOMA chapter 2015-2016, and also served on Chicago’s Associate Board of the ACE (Architecture, Construction, and Engineering) Mentor Program. Pugh has a Bachelor of Arts from Howard University, one of seven Historically Black Colleges and Universities with an architecture accreditation, and a Master of Science in Architecture and Urban Design from Columbia University.
Beresford Pratt (BP): How did you initially become involved with NOMA prior to becoming president. Jason Pugh (JP): I’ve been involved with NOMA since I was an undergrad student at Howard University. I got more engaged in my third year of the five year program and helped to restart the dormant NOMAS chapter on campus. I served as the first student chapter president after the restart, and I was able to build a connection with the first Black AIA president Marshall Purnell, as well as Kathy Dixon, who would later serve as a national president for NOMA. The local NOMA chapter supported a lot of our initiatives on campus, from seminars to guest speakers, receptions, etc. We worked hard to engage students, local practitioners, architects, and designers. However, while in grad school at Columbia U., I lost touch due to the intensity of the MSAUD program, but I did rejoin after moving to Chicago a year and a half later, in 2007. I intentionally sought to connect with the local Chicago chapter and met some amazing folks. The chapter has a long, rich history and legacy, and I was excited to reconnect with Black professionals. Many continuously encouraged me to step up and serve on the local board, but I was hesitant since I wasn’t sure how long I’d be staying in Chicago. Once I switched firms and began working for Gensler, I felt like I would be around longer and could step up and lead. I eventually served as the local chapter President from 2015 to 2016. At the time, I focused on reactivating the chapter, developing more structure/organization, and creating tangible
value in being a part of the organization. I helped build our profile, and expanded a lot of the programming and our presence across the city. Bryan Hudson, a fellow NOMA member and leader on the National Executive Board at that time, asked me to step up and serve within his former position as the Midwest University Liaison, and provide a conduit between the student chapters and the professional chapters throughout the region. When Bryan was elected as President-Elect of NOMA, I ran for his vacant seat once again, stepping up when asked to lead as the Midwest Regional Vice President. After a few years, I was voted in as President-Elect and ultimately the National President of NOMA. It was never my goal or target to become the national NOMA President. I simply had many champions across the organization encouraging me to step up and lead. I had focused on my current positions, and before long, I was serving in a larger capacity. B P: Wow, that’s quite a robust background that really paints the picture of stepping up when called. Looking at today, as you took on the torch as the new National President of NOMA, what is your mission and some of your primary goals to push NOMA forward? J P: My predecessor, Kimberly Dowdell, did an amazing job of steering the ship and guiding us through the unprecedented storm that was 2020. It was obviously nothing we ever expected or experienced between the global COVID-19
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