These mentors have come from various fields of urban planning, architecture, landscape architecture, and more to work with the SHADE Summer Institute Interns on the Chinatown Urban Acupuncture Project.
Jason DeMarco, AIA, NCARB, LEED AP BD+C brings experience and talent through all phases of design and production on Institutional, Commercial, Residential, and Specialty Projects. He is knowledgeable with a wide range of design software, including Building Information Modelling, that facilitates integrated design collaboration among team members and efficient qualitative production. Jason excels at building common ground and facilitating effective communication among team members and stakeholders.
Denise P. Bekaert, R.A., A.I.A. is an architect in New York and Hawaii with degrees in architecture & urban studies. She has worked for almost 30 years in design and construction documentation and administration, as well as master planning and site design. Her projects have included inner city high-rise residential, tenements, historic landmark buildings, new construction for the elderly, gut rehabs, transient/homeless housing & facilities, and single family homes. She has also designed commercial restaurants, exhibit spaces, and community meeting places. She is a Certified Disaster Response and Safety Assessment Inspector. For the past several years she has provided forensic investigations & analysis, and has recently relocated permanently to Oahu.
Thomas Lee is Vice President of Development for Hunt Hawai’i. Prior to joining Hunt in 2006 Thomas worked for a home builder in Portland, OR, and assisted a commercial real estate broker with owner/tenant representation for over 1 Million square feet of Class A office/flex space in the East Bay, California. As Vice President at Hunt, Thomas manages various development projects in Hawai'i with multi-disciplinary roles. He has overseen the leasing & development of over 1 Million square feet of industrial and commercial space at both Waikele & Kalaeloa. He worked on Palamanui, a 725-acre master-planned community on the Big Island [and soon to be home to new UH Community College at Palamanui]. Thomas also managed a 1,500-unit 400-acre oceanfront rental property in Ewa Beach. On that property, he also managed all aspects of the state's largest beach nourishment & shoreline revetment project. Thomas is highly engaged and involved in the sustainable aspects of his projects and a proponent for good urban planning, sustainable living, and green construction.
Mr. Fujimori is a senior urban planner with SSFM, a registered landscape architect, and a LEED AP. His experience includes both planning and design projects for private and public clients in Hawaii, on the mainland U.S. and many international countries of Asia, Central America and the Middle East. The planning projects range from campus master planning, community plans, town centers, parks and recreational plans, transit and highway facilities, and bikeway plans. Mr. Fujimori's designs include urban transit corridors, corporate campuses, institutional sites, urban streetscapes, parks and recreational facilities. He incorporates principles of smart growth and sustainability in his work and has a strong focus on Complete Streets. Mr. Fujimori is a member of SSFM's Planning Group and focuses on urban design and large scale planning projects.
