Gerald D. Hines College of Architecture + Design

Associate Principal | Page & Turnbull

Elisa Hernández Skaggs, the 2025 Distinguished Alumni Award recipient of the UH Alumni Architecture & Design Awards, is an architect committed to the creative transformation and adaptation of historic structures for contemporary uses. Her projects range from large scale rehabilitation projects to designing accessibility improvements that provide equal access to historic buildings. Her expertise includes entitlements, tax credits, and evaluations for compliance with the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards. Her projects have extended the life of significant cultural assets, revitalized communities, and promoted inclusivity. Her projects include the iconic Ghirardelli Square, the Hallidie Building (one of the first curtain wall buildings in the United States), and the Cheech Marin Center for Chicano Art & Culture, the first public space in the United States dedicated to celebrating Chicano Art and Culture. She is an Associate Principal with Page & Turnbull, a full-service architecture, design, planning, and preservation firm in San Francisco.

Skaggs is committed to elevating preservation in the public discourse as evidenced by her service and community involvement at both the local and national level. She is the Board Chair for San Francisco Heritage, a non-profit organization whose mission is to preserve and enhance San Francisco’s unique architectural and cultural identity. SF Heritage has played a crucial role in preserving numerous historic buildings in San Francisco, which contribute to the city's character.

She is currently the Chair for the AIA National Historic Resources Committee’s (HRC) Advisory Group. The HRC’s mission is to identify, understand, and preserve architectural heritage. Her responsibilities include programing for the AIA’s Conference on Architecture and a bi-annual colloquium at Taliesin West. Her involvement with the HRC has led to partnerships with the National Park Service and the National Trust.

Skaggs serves on the steering committee of the AIASF Latinx in Architecture (LiA). Her commitments to LiA include programing to benefit the Latinx design community and contributing to partnerships with local schools that support Latinx students through scholarships and mentorship. This year, Elisa shared her story in Volume III of Latinas in Architecture, a book series dedicated to encouraging the licensure of Latina architects.

Global Strategic Programme Manager, Workplace | BP

Micki Washington, is a licensed architect and registered interior designer with over 24 years of experience in corporate interiors, real estate strategy, and design leadership. She currently serves as Global Strategic Programme Manager at BP, where she is driving innovative, human-centered transformation across the company’s real estate portfolio, aligning workplace strategy with the future of work on a global scale.

Her leadership extends beyond the corporate realm into community and industry impact. Washington currently serves her second term as President of the Houston Chapter of the National Organization of Minority Architects (NOMA), where she has led initiatives that expand equity, access, and visibility for underrepresented voices in architecture. Under her leadership, the chapter launched its first-ever scholarship program, expanded varied advocacy events, and forged meaningful partnerships with professional leaders and organizations across Houston.

Washington was selected as a national cohort member of Tarkett’s inaugural Workplace Design Advisory Council, where she collaborates with other design thought leaders to shape research, innovation, and trends for the evolving workplace.

She is the 2025 recipient of the UH Alumni Architecture & Design Award for Leadership, the 2025 IIDA TX/OK ICON Award, celebrating her lasting influence on design leadership, has been published in varied articles from Work Design Magazine, Metropolis, Fast Company and Wall Street Journal with additional recognitions including the 2023 HBJ Women Who Mean Business, 2023 Bisnow Houston Women Leading Real Estate, and 2022 Bisnow Women in the C-Suite Leading CRE.

A proud alumna of the University of Houston Gerald D. Hines College of Architecture and Design (M.Arch ’04), Washington has recently returned as an Adjunct Professor, teaching History & Theory of Interior Architecture to third-year students and mentoring the next generation of diverse design professionals.

Principal Industrial Designer | Dell Technologies

Mason Bonar is a graduate of the UH Industiral Design program. An accomplished industrial designer with nearly two decades of experience shaping global consumer and commercial products, he brings a refined, systems‑level approach to design that balances performance, manufacturability, and emotional clarity. He is currently a Principal Industrial Designer at Dell, where he leads the design and strategy of high‑end mobile workstation laptops, including the flagship Pro Precision 9, as well as the Dell power adapters portfolio. His work spans full product-line ownership, from early concept and advanced design through production launch, serving global markets.

Previously at Dell, Bonar played a key role in defining mainstream business notebooks (Latitude), education-focused Chromebook and Windows devices, and next‑generation concepts, helping shape long-term strategy and visual language across categories. His leadership emphasizes close collaboration with engineering and manufacturing teams to ensure care up unto the very last detail.

Prior to Dell, he served as a Senior Industrial Designer at Microsoft in Helsinki, contributing to the design and development of peripherals and audio devices. Before that, he spent over four years at Nokia, based in Beijing, designing mobile phones for the global market at high-volume scales. His time at Nokia honed his expertise in cost-sensitive design, complex problems, and mass production understanding. Other brands he has designed for at various consultancies included HP, Polycom, Vatti and Haier. Having worked across North America, Europe, and Asia, he brings a global perspective to industrial design— combining strategic thinking, technical rigor, and a human-centered approach to create products that are functional, considered, and quietly distinctive.

Outside of his professional design work, Bonar is an avid sports enthusiast, footballer and golfer, finding time to remodel his Austin home, but spending much of his efforts coaching his children's sports teams, and most importantly, serving his wife and local church.