Modern Architect Radio Show With Tom Dioro

For this episode of The Modern Architect, Tom is joined by Francisco G. Pulido, architect and principal of FGP Atelier. Francisco is a renowned architect noted for his expressive yet rational design approach. You can find him on the web at https://fgp-atelier.com .

Peter Prescott, a University of California at Berkeley graduate. Peter was rigorously trained as a CPA at one of the world's premier firms, PricewaterhouseCoopers. With a Masters Degree in Taxation, Peter combines the rigors of keen expertise in specific tax laws with the practical experience of real life implementation.Peter holds a Personal Financial Specialist (PFS) issued by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and has received a professional designation from UCLA's Personal Financial Planner (PFP) program.He is also an Accredited Investment Fiduciary® (AIF), which is focused on issues for trusts, 401(k), pension plans and other situations involving fiduciary expertise.For more information, you can visit: https://prescott500.com

Welcome to a new episode of The Modern Architect. This week, Tom talks with Rick Viczorek.Rick was first elected to the Dana Point City Council on November 4, 2014 and served as the City's Mayor in 2018. Rick was re-elected to the City Council on November 6, 2018 and served his second term as Mayor in 2020.Rick graduated from UCLA with a degree in Political Science and earned his law degree from Santa Clara University School of Law. After several years as an attorney in private practice, Rick joined the United States Marine Corps, and served two tours on active duty.For more information, you can visit: www.danapoint.org

The Modern Architect is back for Season 6! In our first episode of the season, Tom welcomes Richard Petrie.Richard is the world's leading architect marketing coach. He has a degree in marketing from University of Canterbury in New Zealand. Formerly he was a professional athlete for the New Zealand national cricket team.His client's success together with Richard's connection with Enoch Sears and Eric Bobrow to form the Architect Marketing Institute took him onto a much more focused path. Nowadays, 75 percent of his time is spent solely on helping architects win better projects.Richard is married, with three teenage children, and lives in Wellington, New Zealand.For more information, you can visit: https://archmarketing.org

Tom is joined by Aaron Merriman, who is a principal at Lujan-Merriman Development Group.LMDG employs a simple, yet proven strategy toward property acquisition and management. Their acquisition criteria involves identifying investment opportunities that provide a balance of price, quality, steady cash flow, location, risk, growth potential and rental upside. First and foremost, they are recognized as cash flow investors.Aaron brings nearly 20 years of real estate and financial management experience as both an operator and investor with early stage and large companies across multiple industries. He has also maintained a 98% investor retention rate since LMDG's inception in 2005.

Tom's guest is Ron Factor, president of Geolam, Inc., an importer and distributor of premium hybrid architectural building products from Japan.He was also a partner at Deloitte in Toronto, where he founded and led the international consulting firm's global supply chain management consulting practice.Ron has taught industrial engineering and has given numerous presentations to professional and industry associations on various supply chain and business topics.

In this episode of The Modern Architect, Tom talks to Lisa Skelly.First working with oils and settling on pastels as her favorite medium, Lisa has studied with some of the best Plein Air Artists in the country, including Ken Auster, Debra Huse, Camille Przewodek, Karl Dempwolf, and many more. After her family home burned down in the Sonoma County wildfires of 2017, the Skelly family relocated to Newport Beach, Ca, and Lisa resumed her longtime love affair with the Pacific Ocean. This is where Lisa met and connected with Debra Huse, the founder of Debra Huse Studio Gallery. Debra and Lisa became fast friends and as kindred spirits they are sailing into the future together as partners of The Huse-Skelly Gallery. Lisa's art is the culmination of the coast, waves, and love painted through her lens.

Tom Dioro is joined by Jim Killet.Jim and Nancy Killett founded Lahaina Galleries in 1976. The best of local and international artists are featured in this 3000 square foot gallery at the Shops of Wailea and in Newport Beach, CA. Customers and visitors marvel at both the variety and skill of the art on exhibit.  

In this episode of The Modern Architect, Tom is joined by Katia Griggs. She is the founder and president of Griggs Systems, INC. Katia serves as an independent manufacturers' representative for architectural products in California and limited parts of Nevada. Established in 2003 and incorporated in 2007, Griggs Systems focuses on establishing and maintaining a professional and responsive relationship with the architect, installer and manufacturer. Their success is directly linked to the success of delivery and workmanship of their product, and LEED quality materials.

In this episode of The Modern Architect, Tom is joined by Christian Douglas.Christian is an award-winning landscape designer, licensed contractor and urban farmer. For over 22 years he has created beautiful and productive outdoor spaces. Combining his formal training in classical design and his passion for sustainable agriculture, Christian has created innovative landscapes in his native England, Jordan, Nepal, Australia and throughout the United States, with food at the heart.Christian co-owned a design and fine gardening company in the UK for 12 years, winning awards at the prestigious Chelsea Flower Show. His primary work focused on the redesign and construction of country estates and London Townhouses.For more information, visit www.christian-douglas.com

For this episode, Tom is joined by Craig Severance. Craig is a founder of iMod Structures and has more than 25 years of experience in real estate acquisitions and financing and was an early pioneer in utilizing technology to expedite these processes.He also served as a managing director, head of acquisitions and member of the Investment Committee at AMB Property Corporation, where his group completed over $3 billion in acquisitions. Craig holds a BA from Middlebury College and an MBA from Stanford University.

Tom's guest is Branka Knezevic, architect and founder of Plāna, a Los Angeles based architecture and design studio rooted in design, ecological and social sustainability, and effective project management. Their mission is to create environments that are timeless, inspirational and bring forth positive outcomes.

For this episode, Tom is joined by Mary Giuseffi, CEO of Luxachrome i, a commercial luxury paint line, and color services for architectural and trade professionals.Mary is also a former Ford model, personal brand expert, Amazon number 1 best selling author, speaker, TV guest, fashion and color authority and award-winning humanitarian.

Tom Dioro is joined by the dynamic and inspiring René Silvin. René was born in New York, and grew up in Switzerland. After earning his bachelor’s degree from Georgetown University and an MBA from Cornell University, he spent 25 years in the investor-owned hospital industry.Since retiring after surviving a late-stage cancer, René has published five books, including a memoir about his friendship with the late Duchess of Windsor. René is also Chairman of the Palm Beach Landmarks Preservation Commission. He is listed in Who’s Who in the World.

Tom speaks with Ken Lowney, architect and founder of Lowney Architecture. Lowney Architecture is a multidisciplinary practice with its headquarters in Oakland, CA. They are quite engaged with clients and projects in the commercial, civic, academic, and housing sectors.Lowney is considered one of the fastest growing practices in the East Bay and ranks among the San Francisco Business Times' top firms in Northern California.

In this episode of The Modern Architect, Tom is joined by Richard A. Viczorek, Mayor of Dana Point, California. Rick was first elected to the Dana Point City Council in 2014 and served as the City's Mayor in 2018. Rick was re-elected to the City Council for a second term in 2018 and is currently serving his second term as Mayor.Rick graduated from UCLA with a degree in Political Science and earned his law degree from Santa Clara University School of Law. After several years as an attorney in private practice, Rick joined the United States Marine Corps, and served two tours on active duty. Rick then went into the United States Marine Corps Reserve, where he continues to serve today at the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. He has been mobilized three times and deployed once to Iraq.  After his last mobilization, Rick relocated to Dana Point and works as an attorney.

Tom talks to Lindsay Anyon Brier. Lindsay has a truly innate talent for beautifully curating rooms and environments, which is evidenced in her well-appointed San Francisco store and the high-profile homes she has designed. Lindsay is the child of an antique shop owner and a real estate developer and grew up in the San Francisco Bay area.

For this episode, Tom is joined by Jason Wolf, Chief Strategy and Information Officer at Veev. Jason grew up watching his entrepreneur father start and grow one of Israel's major real estate companies. In 2018 and after 25 years in various high-tech entrepreneur and executive roles in Silicon Valley, he joined the team at Veev as Chief Strategy and Information Officer.

Tom is joined by Todd Sherer, CEO and Founder of Fleq. Fleq believes that a mortgage is a silly way to finance a home purchase and offers a debt-free solution that combines the freedom of renting with the benefits of home ownership and adds new features that are not available anywhere else to home buyers.

Tom's guest is FAIA and Founder of Atelier Jones. Susan's firm seeks out sites, buildings and materials with inherent but underutilised value to harvest their embodied energy, their catalytic power for owners and communities, as well as their beauty. Her work creates delight and wonder in leftover, dirty, forgotten places and spaces, and materials, while creating new uses in innovative and beautiful ways.Susan has also forged this cross-disciplinary approach through embracing methodologies mined from sustainability and materials research, from historic preservation and adaptive reuse movements, real estate development as well as community activism.