Brinda Somaya is an architect and urban conservationist. She founded Somaya and Kalappa Consultants (now Somaya Sampat) in 1978 after studying at Mumbai University and Smith College. Somaya was A.D. White Professor-at-Large at Cornell University; chaired the Board of Governors at the School of Planning and Architecture, Vijayawada; and served on the board of the Holcim Foundation for Sustainable Construction. She was conferred an honorary doctorate by Smith College in 2012 and received the Baburao Mhatre Gold Medal for Lifetime Achievement from the Indian Institute of Architects in 2014. She was named among the top 75 Indian women in STEAM by the Office of the Principal Scientific Advisor to the Government of India and was made an Honorary Fellow of the American Institute of Architects in 2025. Over four decades, Somaya has merged architecture, conservation, and social equity in projects ranging from institutional campuses and the rehabilitation of an earthquake-torn village to the restoration of an eighteenth-century cathedral, demonstrating that progress and history need not be at odds. Her work is guided by the belief that “the architect’s role is that of guardian—hers is the conscience of the built and unbuilt environment.” 

Jeanne Gang is the founding partner of international architecture and urban design practice Studio Gang. Known for a distinctive design approach that expands beyond architecture’ s conventional boundaries, she creates striking places that strengthen connections between people, their communities, and nature. Her diverse portfolio across the Americas and Europe includes the Gilder Center at the American Museum of Natural History; a new United States Embassy in Brazil; and an expansion of the Clinton Presidential Center. A MacArthur Fellow and the Kajima Professor in Practice of Architecture at the Harvard Graduate School of Design, Jeanne has been named one of TIME magazine’s most influential people in the world.

Billie Tsien is a New York-based architect, mentor, and leading voice in design and the broader cultural community. Her approach to architecture is rooted in a spirit of collaboration, and her portfolio is imbued with a sense of optimism, warmth, texture, and serenity. She is a founding partner of Studio Tsien and Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects. In parallel to her architecture practice, Tsien teaches at Yale University and is a devoted participant in many arts organizations. Her dedication to her work and to the cultural landscape at large has garnered her numerous awards, including the National Medal of Arts from President Obama, the 2013  American Institute of Architects Architecture Firm Award, and the 2019 Praemium Imperiale presented by the Japan Art Association. As an educator, arts advocate, and practitioner, Tsien is steadfast in her mission to create a better world through architecture. 

Bénédicte de Montlaur is President and CEO of World Monuments Fund, the world’s foremost private organization dedicated to saving extraordinary places while empowering the communities around them. She is responsible for defining and implementing WMF’s strategic vision in more than 30 countries and leading an international team that spans the globe. Her background mixes culture and the arts, politics, international diplomacy, and human rights. Prior to joining WMF, de Montlaur spent two decades working across three continents as a senior diplomat at the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs.