Leah Rominger

2016 - Leah is an architect who values the insights of the communities she's serving. She says, “I love going to the task force meetings and hearing input from community members - sometimes the best and most creative ideas come from neighbors who do not have any formal design training! Sometimes it just takes one comment from a community member to help you think outside the box and change the course of the design for the better.

“Designing successful public spaces definitely requires reaching out to the community to make sure community members feel like their wishes and concerns are being heard. This is critical so that once a project begins, the community feels invested in their project and wants to move it forward, see the project get funded and built, and then continue to maintain the project for years to come."

Leah received a 2016 Outstanding Volunteer Award from the Collaborative.