Maryland Board of Architects March 2026 Business Meeting Minutes

DATE: March 25, 2026
TIME: 11:00 AM
LOCATION: 100 S. Charles Street, 3rd Floor Conference Room, Tower 1, Baltimore, MD 21201
Video Teleconferencing:
Phone Number: (US) +1 567-250-3071 PIN: 211 193 419#

Members Present

• Cynthia Shonaiya, Chair, RA
• Paul Edmeades, RA
• Douglas Polt, RA
• Kevin Sneed, RA
• Kuo Pao Lian, RA
• Casey Dawkins, PhD

Member Absent

• Gretel Lott, CID

Staff Present

• Zevi Thomas, Executive Director
• Raquel Meyers, Assistant Executive Director
• Peggy DallAcqua, Board Counsel
• Noraida Lozano, Board Administrator

Other Present

• Sherry Nickerson, Representative, AIA Maryland
• Mellissa Cannata, Representative, Amber Books

Call to Order

Before turning the meeting over to Chair Shonaiya, Mr. Thomas introduced Ms. Peggy Dall'Acqua to the Board as the interim Board Counsel in Mr. Venuti's absence. Ms. Dall'Acqua introduced herself and stated she will be joining the Maryland State Board Meeting for two months during Mr. Venuti's parental leave.

Ms. Cynthia Shonaiya, Chair, called the Business Meeting of the Maryland Board of Architects to order at 11:04 a.m. virtually, via Google Meet at https://meet.google.com/tbt-uxif-gth, Phone Number: (US) +1 567-250-3071, PIN: 211 193 419#.

Approval of Minutes

The members reviewed the minutes of the Business Meeting held on February 25, 2026. Motion (I) was made by Mr. Polt, seconded by Mr. Edmeades, and unanimously carried by the Board to approve the minutes without corrections.

Complaint Committee Report

Mr. Dawkins presented the following report on behalf of the Complaint Committee:

• 03-AR-25 - Recommended closure
• 11-AR-25 - OAH Hearing rescheduled for April 3, 2026
• 13-AR-25 - The settlement offer has been reached
• 05-AR-26 - Awaiting response from the respondent
• 06-AR-26 - Awaiting response from the respondent
• 07-AR-26 - Requesting more information from the respondent
• 08-AR-26 - Opened. Awaiting the outcome of a civil case
• One conduct review – Awaiting NCARB's final decision.

Motion (II) was made by Mr. Edmeades, seconded by Mr. Polt, and carried by the Board to accept the Complaint Committee Report.

Review of Applications

Applications for the Architectural Registration Exam (ARE)

Mr. Edmeades presented the report for the Architectural Registration Exam (ARE) and reciprocity applications.

There were seven (7) ARE applications administratively approved:

• ALUMBRO, Juan Miguel Miggy
• DEMIRCAN, Zeynep Dila
• KHANAL, Roshna
• WALLERICH, Nader
• PAYNE, Michael
• POKROVSKAYA, Aleksandra
• VETTER, Alexa

There were eight (8) ARE applications approved by the Board:

• BERSON, Liam
• CHATTU, Sreeram Venkat
• HODGSON, Joanie
• LESTER, Victoria Hilda
• McARTHUR, James
• PLENT, David
• REISINGER, Sara Louise
• UNDERWOOD, Luke

Applications for Reciprocity

There was one (1) application for reciprocity approved by the Board:

• VOSS, Andre

Mr. Edmeades commented on the following applicants:

Candidate with initials L.B. bachelor's degree was not supported by transcripts. Ms. Shonaiya confirmed that the applicant updated his application with the transcripts. Mr. Edmeades stated that with the transcripts submitted, the candidate would qualify to sit for the exam but would need additional AXP hours.

Candidate with initials E.C. needs to resubmit her application for the Board's clarification. Her ERC forms do not match her supervisor's certification. Mr. Edmeades confirmed that once her ERC forms match, she will qualify for the ARE but needs to complete the AXP requirements. Her application can be administratively approved, and Ms. Shonaiya agreed.

Candidate with initials A.L. needs additional work experience hours to meet the MD Board's requirements for educational equivalency to qualify for the ARE.

Ms. Shonaiya asked the admin to confirm that one of the ARE candidates' (J.H.) initials with two last names for clarification.

The Board agreed to consider one of the candidates' (S.R.) misdemeanor that occurred 20 years ago, since it has been expunged.

Ms. Shonaiya requested that Mr. Edmeades conduct training sessions on reviewing applications before his tenure on the Board concludes this summer. Mr. Edmeades agreed to provide an outline of the procedure for evaluating ARE and reciprocal applications. Ms. Shonaiya is seeking one or two members to lead the application review process. Mr. Edmeades has offered his availability as needed by the Board.

Motion (III) was made by Mr. Dawkins, seconded by Mr. Edmeades, and unanimously carried by the Board to approve fifteen (15) ARE applications, one (1) reciprocal application, with one (1) pending ARE application and one (1) denial.

Old Business

Pathways to Licensures Forum

Mr. Dawkins reported that the Pathways to Licensure Forum is in progress. On March 24, 2026, Ms. Patricia Ramallo, NCARB Assistant Vice-President of Outreach and Operations Programs, provided a list of ARE candidates in Maryland who have not yet obtained licensure. The committee is awaiting a response from Morgan State School of Architecture regarding a meeting to discuss the next steps.

Recap of the NCARB Regional Summit

Ms. Shonaiya reported that Mr. Edmeades, Mr. Sneed, Ms. Lott, and Mr. Thomas, along with herself, attended the NCARB Regional Summit on March 20-21, 2026, in Oklahoma City. The conference was well attended, and the sessions were engaging.

Ms. Shonaiya reminded Board members about the NCARB Annual Business Meeting, June 25-27, 2026, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. She requested Mr. Thomas circulate the NCARB draft resolutions and candidates' packets for the Board's review at the April 22, 2026, meeting.

Mr. Sneed shared with the Board that, in his opinion, Jakiel Sanders, Bobbi Jo Duneman, and Emmanuel Moreno stood out as candidates for At-Large Directors, to which Mr. Edmeades agreed. Ms. Shonaiya agreed with Mr. Edmeades that the Board could discuss NCARB's ABM Board of Elections during the April 22, 2026, meeting and decide on potential votes at the May 22, 2026, meeting.

Strategic Plan

Mr. Edmeades reported that the NCARB Region 2 group had a productive work session and considered various proposals the region needs to address. A draft of the Strategic Plan is being prepared and should be available for discussion at the Annual Business Meeting in June 2026.

New Business

Outreach Program

Ms. Shonaiya informed the Board that she was contacted by Jaclyn Faulkner, AIA Maryland Director. Their upcoming event will be in November this year. She encouraged the Board to take part in recognizing newly licensed architects in Maryland.

Correspondence

None

Executive Director's Report

Mr. Thomas informed the Board that he met with the Member Board Executives on Thursday, March 26, 2026, during the regional summit. They began working on establishing best practices across different jurisdictions. Key topics included addressing the fraudulent use of seals and registration numbers, as well as the uniformity of CPC (Continuing Professional Competency) or learning units among member boards.

Pathways to licensure were also discussed, specifically, likely statutory or regulatory changes each jurisdiction would need to implement to adopt NCARB's proposed changes to competency qualifications.

Regarding federal accessibility requirements, he mentioned that some of the Board's non-compliant documents must be updated by April 2026. He clarified to Ms. Shonaiya that the document content would remain the same, only the format would change.

Board Counsel's Report

Ms. Dall'Acqua stated that there is no update on the Legislative task force since the committee. Mr. Venuti will schedule a meeting once he returns in early June. Legislative update, Senate Bill (SB 653/ HB 1180), purported to enhance disciplinary action by this Board, is currently pending in committee.

Following the February hearing, the committee made amendments, including a provision to authorize the board to establish an electronic portal for anonymous, confidential reporting of suspected architectural practice violations.

AIA Maryland Audience Participation

Ms. Shonaiya inquired about (SB 653/ (HB 1180) requiring verification of architect identification by local jurisdictions, which was discussed at the February 25 meeting. Ms. Nickerson, AIA Maryland representative, stated that the bill had received readings in both chambers, and she anticipates it to be sent to the Governor desk.

Executive Session

None

Adjournment

There being no further business to discuss, Motion (III) was made by Mr. Edmeades, seconded by Mr. Dawkins, and unanimously carried by the Board to adjourn the meeting at 11:55 a.m.

The next Board Meeting will be on Wednesday, April 22, 2026, at 11:00 a.m.