Commissioners & Staff

The Public Design Commission is composed of 11 members, who serve pro bono: an architect, landscape architect, painter, sculptor, and three lay members, all of whom are nominated by the Fine Arts Federation (an arts consortium) and appointed by the Mayor; and representatives of the Brooklyn Museum, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York Public Library, and Mayor’s Office. The President and other officers of the Commission are elected by its members.

Commissioners

• Signe Nielsen, President, Landscape Architect
• Philip E. Aarons, Vice President, Lay Member
• Kenseth Armstead, Painter
• Laurie Hawkinson, Architect
• Karen Kiehl, Brooklyn Museum
• Deborah Marton, Lay Member
• Manuel Miranda, Lay Member
• Susan Morgenthau, The New York Public Library
• Ethel Sheffer, Mayor's Representative
• Dr. Merryl H. Tisch, The Metropolitan Museum of Art
• Mary Valverde, Sculptor

Staff

• Keri Butler, Executive Director
• Grace Han, Senior Director of Capital Projects
• Julianna Monjeau, Archivist & Senior Records Manager
• Rebecca Macklis, Deputy Director for Architecture, Urban Design & Special Initiatives
• Jenna E. Miller, Urban Design & Policy Manager
• Carolina Llano, Project Manager
• Mary Beth Betts, Tour Manager
• Gail Cornell, Gary Deane, Gail Green, Deirdre LaPorte, and Patricia Orfanos, Docents