HomePlusOne-Advisory Board | Better Living Design

Sponsors:

William J. Brace Charitable Trust Fund Program

Advisory Committee

We would like to gratefully acknowledge the members of the Advisory Committee below. Bringing perspectives and expertise from an array of different professional fields, these experts helped inform the structure and content of this competition.

James Evrard

James Evrard, AIA, NCARB, ALEP is an architect and planner with CRB’s Life Sciences group in Kansas City, Missouri. A graduate of Kansas State University and the University of Missouri–Kansas City, he brings experience across residential, civic, commercial, healthcare, education, and nonprofit projects. James is passionate about design from planning through construction and is an active leader within the American Institute of Architects. He has served on the AIA Kansas City board, currently co-chairs the AIA KC Advocacy Committee, and co-created the chapter’s Legends & Leaders series.

Matthew Kleinmann

Matthew Kleinmann is a community development leader with training in architecture and urban design, based in Kansas City, Kansas. His work connects housing, public health, neighborhood investment, and community-led design. As Director of Community Development at Vibrant Health, he leads capital planning, community engagement, and place-based strategies that advance health equity through the built environment. He also co-founded the Dotte Agency at the University of Kansas School of Architecture & Design, an award-winning participatory design collaborative focused on community health, public-interest design, and shared civic infrastructure.

Dominic Musso

UMKC, Architecture and Urban Planning

Craig Eichelman

AARP - Missouri

Glenda DuBois

AARP - Kansas

Lauren Harness

Lauren Harness, a licensed architect from Western Kansas, is dedicated to designing spaces that strengthen communities. A Kansas State University graduate, she developed a passion for early ideation and community-driven projects, starting with a city park visioning and capital campaign. Her career spans adaptive reuse in Kansas City, campus master planning with Ennead Architects in New York, and mission-driven design with MASS Design Group in Boston. Now Director of the Kansas City Design Center, Lauren advances community access to design and prepares students to address urban challenges and shape a better future.