Paola Capo is Manager of Disaster and Community Assistance at the AIA. She strives to provide architects and communities with the resources they need to create healthier, more sustainable and equitable built environments. In her current role, she divides her time between managing the Disaster Assistance Program (assisting architects and AIA chapters before and after disaster events occur) and supports the Communities by Design program (which matches communities with interdisciplinary expertise to achieve community aspirations). In her time at AIA, Paola has supported several other portfolios related to sustainability and climate action, including the 2030 Commitment program, the Materials Pledge, and the Committee on the Environment, with a focus on building robust programs and resources.

In 2020 she completed IAP2’s Foundations in Public Participation Program, and in 2019 she participated in UC Berkeley’s [IN]City program to expand on her knowledge in urban planning and design. She graduated from Georgetown University in 2017 with a degree in Science, Technology, and International Affairs, concentrating on Energy and the Environment—a degree inspired by the many places she lived growing up as an Army brat.

Erin Simmons is Senior Director of Design Assistance for Communities by Design, a program of the Architects Foundation. For more than 18 years, Erin has provided technical assistance to hundreds of communities around the world, leading democratic planning processes and training workshops focused on empowering citizens to create equitable, sustainable, and resilient communities. Her work has been featured in hundreds of news articles and publications, and she has spoken extensively as a subject matter expert on the topics of participatory planning, sustainability, and community revitalization. 

Prior to her work with Communities by Design, Erin worked as historic preservationist and architectural historian for an environmental and engineering firm, where she practiced preservation planning, created historic district design guidelines and zoning ordinances, and conducted historic resource surveys. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in History from Florida State University and a Master’s degree in Historic Preservation from the University of Georgia. Erin is an Academician of the Academy of Urbanism in London, UK.