The Beverly Willis Architecture Foundation (BWAF)’s search for a new organizational leader has culminated in the appointment of Tizziana Baldenebro as its next executive director following a national search that began this fall.

Baldenebro, who replaces the long-tenured and well-admired Cynthia Phifer Kracauer, has past experience as the director of SPACES, a 45-year-old nonprofit that was founded to encourage community engagement with the arts in northeast Ohio.

Baldenebro was, along with other members of SPACES, most recently a co-curator of last year’s U.S. Pavilion at the Venice Architecture Biennale and comes to the position informed by her childhood in Los Angeles and subsequent experiences in cities like Detroit, Cleveland, and Chicago. 

"We are thrilled to welcome Tizziana to our organization as she takes the helm in guiding us through our next phase of growth and advancement in championing women in architecture, engineering, construction, and related fields," Angelica T. Baccon, the Board Chair of the Beverly Willis Architecture Foundation, said of her appointment. "Tizziana's extensive experience will bring a fresh perspective, helping us chart the course for the future of BWAF."

Baldenebro was recently a Ford Curatorial Fellow at the Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit and has served on the board of the influential FRONT International triennial while also working professionally as the editor-at-large for Columbia GSAPP's monthly The Avery Review, where her writing has won awards.

"I had the good fortune to meet Beverly shortly before her passing," Baldenebro said at the end of a news release. "I am so moved by the generations of women in our field who risked so much to advance the culture. It makes me deeply grateful for the opportunity to continue that effort with BWAF."

The BWAF is now operating full-time out of its newly-inaugurated headquarters (nicknamed 'The Bev') on the west side of Manhattan.