Passionate in his pursuit of continuous engagement and advocacy for design and the profession, Jeff Yrazabal, AIA is leading the AIA Trust into 2024 as Chair. AIA has proven to be a steadfast way to harness this passion with other roles through the years which include past Co-Chair of AIA Portland COTE, President of AIA Portland, and as AIA Pacific NW Young Architect Regional Director. Jeff also serves on the Board for Sport Oregon and recently for the Architectural Foundation of Oregon. Then, of course, for his day-to-day you can find Jeff in Portland, Oregon at the newest location for his global firm Populous, who has designed and delivered some of the most iconic civic, sports and entertainment destinations around the world.

Jeff offers an innovative and dynamic form of leadership to the clients and communities that he serves by challenging conventional models of organization. He is skilled at building high-performance teams and follows a design process rooted in creativity, diligence, and dialogue between project stakeholders.

Jeff Yrazabal’s design approach can be characterized as the creation of spaces that are that are informed by a strong social and environmental conscience. He is passionate about designing structures that elevate human experiences and build community. Curating a design process driven by curiosity and inclusivity, Jeff leverages a diverse skill set to solve complex problems and work toward a common vision.

For Jeff, each project is an opportunity to rethink what draws people together – pulling from the diversity of projects, people, and communities that he has worked with throughout his career. He holds decades of experience in the civic, entertainment and sports architecture industry, and has designed numerous high-profile collegiate spaces.

Needless to say, we’re thrilled to have all of Jeff’s leadership, thoughtfulness and talent available to us as Chair this year and to serve the greater AIA membership!