Chapter President Deborah Lubera Kawsky completed her undergraduate studies at Smith College and her Ph.D. in Art History at Princeton University. She is an Adjunct Associate Professor of Art History at Madonna University, where she is actively involved in community outreach projects in the Metro Detroit community. As a board member of Docomomo Michigan, she has coordinated events relating to Detroit art, architecture and urbanism - including national Tour Day events focusing on Minoru Yamasaki and on the legacy of Detroit's pioneering black architects. Dr. Kawsky’s book, Alexander Girard, Architect: Creating Midcentury Modern Masterpieces, published by Wayne State University Press in 2018, is the first study of Girard’s architectural works in Detroit. Her current research, writing and exhibition curation relate to the art and life of Artis Lane and to Alexander Girard's 1949 For Modern Living exhibition at the Detroit Institute of Arts.

Vice President Katherine White is an architectural and design historian. She is the Curator of Design at The Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan, where she focuses primarily on the institution's vast design collections. Previously, Katherine worked on the Michigan Modern Project, an initiative led by the Michigan State Historic Preservation Office to document Michigan’s leading role in the development of American modernism. Katherine holds degrees in art and architectural history, French, and historic preservation. Katherine volunteers her time as a founding board member of Michigan's DOCOMOMO chapter and as a member of the City of Kalamazoo's Historic Preservation Commission. 

Secretary Susan J. Bandes is Professor Emerita of Art History and Museum Studies at Michigan State University and holds a BA (NYU), MA and PhD (Bryn Mawr College) in art history. She was director of the Kresge Art Museum (predecessor to the Broad Art Museum) from 1986-2010. She both curated the exhibition and edited the book titled "Affordable Dreams: Frank Lloyd Wright and the Goesch-Winckler House" to celebrate the 50th anniversary of this Okemos, Mich., residence. More recently, she has explored Mid-Michigan Modernist architecture. Her book, "Mid-Michigan Modern: From Frank Lloyd Wright to Googie," was published by the MSU Press in 2016 and an expanded paperback edition will be out in October 2021. She is a founding member of Docomomo_US/Michigan.

Board member Ruth E. Mills is the senior architectural historian for Quinn Evans. She holds master’s degrees in both history and historic preservation. Her Modernist work includes National Historic Landmark nominations for Lafayette Park in Detroit and the McGregor Memorial Conference Center at Wayne State University, National Register of Historic Places nominations for the Fiberglas Tower in Toledo and Professional Plaza in Detroit, and a Conservation Master Plan for the Science Center at Wellesley College in Massachusetts. She is a past president of the Michigan Historic Preservation Network, a statewide non-profit advocacy organization.

Treasurer Kelly LaBoda Elliott is a designer, brand specialist, photographer, and managing partner for Bowlero Lanes & Lounge in Royal Oak, Michigan. Kelly spearheaded the comprehensive renovation and redesign of Bowlero in 2018/19. Her passion and influence for the mid century aesthetic extends beyond architecture and decor, into the realms of fashion and lifestyle. Kelly’s Southfield home, and Bowlero, have both been featured on numerous design tours, magazine spreads, and design editorials, and have served as a backdrop for many photo shoots, television shows, and special events. Before taking on the Bowlero project, she worked in the public school system for over 15 years as a school psychologist.

Communications Specialist Nicole Wrona is a classically trained, design-oriented artist. She was formally educated at Savannah College of Art & Design. After receiving a BFA in Photography, she relocated to New York City, where she worked with TIME Magazine photographer Gregory Heisler. Wrona’s work has been published in books, newspapers + magazines, and featured on album covers. She writes extensively about art, design, and architecture for numerous media outlets including Curbed and CBS Detroit, where she was an arts and entertainment columnist. She also served as Editor of several business news outlets specializing in real estate, construction and the automotive industry.

Board Member Brian D. Conway served as Michigan’s State Historic Preservation Officer for over twenty years, retiring in 2020. There he initiated the Michigan Modern Project todocument and promote Michigan’s significant role in the development of modern design. This work received a Docomomo Advocacy Award and has been the topic of lectures nationwide. Conway is the author of the book Michigan Modern: An Architectural Legacy and co-editor of Michigan Modern: Design That Shaped America. He served on the board of the National Conference of State Historic Preservation Officers and holds a Bachelor of Science Degree from the University of Michigan’s Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning and a Master of Architecture Degree from the University of Florida. Now splitting his time between Northwest Michigan and Southern California, Conway works remotely for the National Park Service Preservation Assistance Programs.

Board member Jacqueline Shinners is Professor Emerita at Northwestern Michigan College where she taught History of Art for 25 years and served as Curator of the Dennos Museum Center from 1990-2000. She holds an MA in the History of Art from Michigan State University. Her interest in modernism led to researching and documenting mid century modern architecture in Grand Traverse and Leelanau counties for the State Historic Preservation Office's Michigan Modern project. Most recently, through DOCOMOMO she has researched and developed Traverse City Architecture: Mid-century Modern Driving Tour, and has served on the Traverse City Historic Districts Commission since 2017. She he is currently preparing documentation to request nomination of the Shirley S. Okerstrom Fine Arts Building, an Architects Collaborative design, to the National Register of Historic Places.

Gregory Wittkopp is the Founding Director of Cranbrook Center for Collections and Research (2012 – present) and a former curator and Director of Cranbrook Art Museum (1985 – 2015).

As the director of the Cranbrook Center, Wittkopp is responsible for overseeing the management of Cranbrook’s Cultural Properties and Cultural Heritage Areas, including the 1915 Cranbrook Japanese Garden; the preservation and interpretation of Cranbrook’s three public house museums, including Cranbrook House, Saarinen House, and the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Smith House; and the oversight of the extensive collections of Cranbrook Archives.

As the Director of Cranbrook Art Museum, his major accomplishments included planning and overseeing the Art Museum’s $22 million construction project (completed in 2011), which included both the restoration of the original Eliel Saarinen-designed building and the addition of a new state-of-the-art Collections Wing. As a curator, he researched and directed the restoration of Saarinen House, which opened as a public house museum in 1994.

Gregory Wittkopp holds a B.S. in Architecture from the University of Michigan and an M.A. in Art History from Wayne State University. He also serves on the board of the Association of Midwest Museums.

Dale Allen Gyure, Ph.D., is Professor of Architecture at Lawrence Technological University and Chair of the Architecture Department. Dr. Gyure’s research focuses on nineteenth- and twentieth-century architecture, particularly the intersections of architecture, education, and society. He has published numerous books and articles to date, including Frank Lloyd Wright’s Florida Southern College (2010), The Chicago Schoolhouse, 1856-2006: High School Architecture and Educational Reform (2011), Minoru Yamasaki: Humanist Architecture for a Modernist World (2017), and The Schoolroom: A Social History of Teaching and Learning (2018). His research endeavors have been supported by awards from the Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts, the Wyeth Foundation for American Art, and the American Philosophical Society.

Christopher is a perpetual collector of information and objects with an endless curiosity and an appreciation for art, design, and architecture that has guided him both practically and spiritually.

With a broad spectrum of creative and professional experience; he found a harmonious intersection of his abilities and his particular interest in modernist architecture when undertaking the restoration of his family’s previous home which was designed in 1961 by architect Irving Tobocman. Recently he began work on their new residence, also designed in 1961, by architect Sanford Rossen.

Christopher has a fundamental belief in the importance of stewardship and a growing sense of urgency to learn about, and advocate for, the importance of historic context and the preservation of built environments.