John Peterson, AIA, Founder & President, Public Architecture, San Francisco, CA. Peterson created Public Architecture in 2002 and joined its staff fulltime in October 2008. John serves as the chief spokesperson and strategist for Public Architecture as well as design director and a member of the board of directors. John maintains a small private architectural practice, Peterson Architects, which for over 15 years has dedicated an extraordinary amount of time to pro bono work, serving arts institutions, city agencies, community development corporations, nonprofit organizations, and social service agencies. John has been appointed by Mayor Gavin Newsom to both the San Francisco Green Vision Council and Open Space Task Force. He is also an elected member of the South of Market Business Association board of directors as well as past chair and a current member of the Urban Solutions board of directors. John is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Nice Modernist award from Dwell magazine and the Jefferson Award for Public Service. In 2009, John was recognized alongside Executive Director John Cary with the 2009 Designer of the Year Award from Contract Magazine. John earned his Bachelor of Fine Arts and Bachelor of Architecture from the Rhode Island School of Design. During the 2005-2006 academic year, he was a Loeb Fellow at the Harvard Graduate School of Design.