Maya Mahgoub-Desai

Maya Mahgoub-Desai

Resources & Archiving

M.Arch.

Maya Mahgoub-Desai is the current Chair of Environmental Design and an Associate Professor in the Design for Health program at OCAD University. Maya’s current research is funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC / CRSH) and the Government of Canada’s Sustainable Development Goals Program and investigates themes related: to human-environment behaviour, public health policy and public realm design, addressing equity in design education (with a focus on disability) and inclusive teaching pedagogies.

As the Senior Urban Designer for Moriyama Teshima Architects, Maya has led several urban and peri-urban campus, community and municipal plans which focus on sustainable approaches, cultural resilience, and a collaborative community engagement process. Her portfolio includes serving as a subject matter expert for Waterfront Toronto; developing master plans for Qatar's Education City, Surrey City Development Corporation, and the Town of Whitby; and campus plans for the University of Lethbridge, Wilfrid Laurier University, and Conestoga College.

Maya also remains actively engaged in professional and volunteer activities that focus on health and equity. Maya currently serves as a committee member of the RAIC Promoting Equity and Justice Advisory Committee and as an Executive member of BEAT, co-leading the annual BEAT Forum. 

Persis Lam

Persis Lam

Resources & Archiving

M.Arch, OAA

Persis Lam is a Toronto-based architect, born and raised in Vancouver, BC. Her practice is inspired by collaborative and beautiful design rooted by site and community relationships.  Her drive for elegant design solutions to solve real problems stems from a technical and common sense.  She believes each design has a story that is revealed in the final built form.  She graduated with a Diploma of Building Technology at BCIT, Bachelor of Environmental Design and a Master of Architecture from Dalhousie University, where she received the RAIC Ernest Wilby Memorial Scholarship and the Rosetti Scholarship 2005: Havana. Since joining Diamond Schmitt Architects in 2002, Persis has worked on a range of academic, commercial and residential projects, including: the Hudson Condominiums in Toronto; the School of Medicine at Queen’s University; Lethbridge Leisure Centre in Alberta, the Papadakis Integrated Sciences Building at Drexel University in Philadelphia and 505 Richmond Great Hall.

Persis enjoys mentoring in the architecture community, has been a guest critic at University of Waterloo School of Architecture, a speaker at Engineers Without Borders Conference and continues to support collaboration at all levels of the design field. As well as keeping a strong focus on design and project management at Diamond Schmitt Architects, Persis enjoys spending time with her two young children and participates in the office rock band, Thundertrϋss.

Persis is an Executive Committee Member of BEAT and focuses on BEAT Talks which is a small private event at a host architectural firm that showcases their work and the people behind it.