LEADERSHIP
The ICAA – LA Chapter Leadership consists of nine board members. There are four executive members. The Chapter also has six committees that govern programs, education, communications, sponsorships, membership and awards. If you would like to become more involved in ICAA-LA, please visit the contact tab at the top of our webpage to fill out our committee interest form.
Executive Members
Chris Elberson
PresidentChris Elberson is a native of Lafayette, Louisiana and received his Bachelor of Architecture from LSU in 1994. Born and raised in the field of design, he follows a family passion for art and the development of the built environment. In over 24 years of professional practice, Elberson has led the design of complex projects in a wide range of building types.
As Director of Design for Somdal Associates, he oversees the design of all projects from concept to construction documents, working closely with a team of designers to ensure the consistent quality level that drives his practice. His engaging design process concentrates on first developing a detailed design program for clients including building image and brand goals, program compliance and ultimately physical design drivers.
With a range of experience on many different types of projects, he specializes in healthcare design. Elberson works with regional healthcare providers in Louisiana, Texas and Arkansas.
Elberson is a Past-President of AIA Louisiana and AIA Shreveport and serves as an active professional mentor within the region. He is also passionate about community leadership, serving on several non-profit community boards.
Nicholas Dubuc
Vice President | Chairman of EducationNicholas was born and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana, surrounded by great architecture, food, and music. He attended Louisiana State University, and earned a Bachelors of Architecture in May 2020. At LSU, he participated in many academic, fraternal, and religious organizations. Nick's final undergraduate year, he served as the Vice-President of Students for Historic Preservation, where he facilitated numerous workshops and lectures by ICAA Louisiana Chapter. After graduation, he accepted a full-time position as Intern Architect at Kevin Harris Architect, LLC in September 2020. Nick is currently studying for the Architecture Board Examinations to become a licensed architect in the state of Louisiana. He is a current member of the ICAA Louisiana Chapter, and serves on the Membership and Program Committee Boards. He recently completed the requirements for the ICAA Certificate in Classical Architecture. he aspires to educate himself, clients, and the broader public in the merits of classical design in improving our neighborhoods, institutions, and government through an appreciation of beauty in our built environment. His goal is to usher in the next generation of classical design, continuing Louisiana’s rich legacy of the classical architecture.
Kevin Harris, FAIA
Treasurer | President Emeritus | President - National College of ChaptersKevin Harris, FAIA, is a nationally recognized expert and international speaker on single-family residential and renovation design. He is the owner of Kevin Harris Architect, LLC in Baton Rouge, LA. He has received more than a dozen design awards and has been published in over 50 books and publications.
In his free time, Harris serves on several industry boards and task forces, and is a frequent lecturer at industry and association events. Harris holds degrees from LSU’s School of Architecture, and Harvard University’s Graduate School of
Design. He taught for 10 years at LSU before pursuing a full-time practice and currently serves on Harvard’s GSD Alumni Council. He holds an NCARB certificate, is licensed to practice architecture, and has designed Forever Homes in four states. In 2009, Harris was elevated to Fellowship in the American Institute of Architects for notable contribution to the advancement of the profession of architecture. Harris' first book was published in July 2015, "The Forever Home", an Amazon #1 Best Seller, provides the foundation to confidently explore what you want, plan your dream home, and find the right professional to make it a reality.
Laura Thomas Saucier
Secretary | Awards Committee ChairBiography coming soon.
Board Members
Andrea Thigpen
Board Member
Andrea's love of classical architecture began early in her life. Growing up in West Baton Rouge, some of her most vivid childhood memories are of long, leisurely Sunday afternoon drives with her family along River Road. She was mesmerized by the historic plantation houses still left dotted up and down the Mississippi River banks. Later studying architecture at Louisiana State University, Andrea had the opportunity to explore her interest further, minoring in Architecture History and spending a semester in Rome, Italy studying classical masterpieces. After earning her Bachelor of Architecture, Andrea relocated to New Orleans, Louisiana, where she currently resides. Andrea focusses on custom residential design, working primarily on beach houses in the Florida Panhandle region. Her work is strongly influenced by the historic homes she has grown up admiring.
Andrea is excited to be chairing the planning committee for our inaugural A. Hays Town Awards. When she is not designing or planning for the A. Hays Town awards Andrea enjoys crafting Mardi Gras costumes, walking her dog around The Garden District, and sampling the vast variety of cuisines New Orleans has to offer.
Chris Merckle
Board MemberChris Merckle is a graduate of the School of Architecture & Design and the Graduate School at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette (ULL), where he earned his Master of Architecture degree in 2009. Since then, he has designed and managed significant commercial projects and renovations throughout the Shreveport-Bossier City region and South Louisiana. Chris specializes in high-end residential, commercial, and ecclesiastical architectural design, bringing the Spirit and character of Southern living to every project. He is currently completing his licensure and plans to continue contributing to the development of Louisiana with Somdal Associates.
Chris has always been deeply inspired by the beauty of Louisiana, especially its rich architectural heritage. He believes Louisiana's Classical European roots make the region so unique, but also vulnerable. With the support of organizations like the Louisiana Chapter of the Institute of Classical Architecture and Art, these traditions can be preserved, and future generations can be educated on what makes the Applied Arts of Louisiana so special and enduring.
Chris is always drawing, sketching, painting, or crafting something special for his family. He lives in Shreveport with wife, the Honorable Emily S. Merckle, and their two wonderfully mischievous children, Mary-Hallie and Wright.
Henry Bein
Chair | Communications CommitteeHenry Bein is a registered Architect and holds a bachelor's degree in Architecture from Louisiana State University as well as a Certificate in Classical Architecture from the ICAA. Henry grew up in San Clemente, California, a town renowned for its relaxed Spanish Colonial Revival style of Architecture. After visiting Louisiana as a child, he became enthralled with both its playful and rustic vernacular buildings and eventually moved to Baton Rouge to pursue his architecture degree.
During his time in Louisiana, Henry cultivated his love for classical and traditional architecture through apprenticing under local residential architect and historic preservationist, Kevin Harris Architect, LLC. An avid pencil sketcher and watercolor painter, he has also led courses in plein-air drawing for LSU architecture students and local practitioners. His love of travel and culture has led him all over the United States, the Caribbean, Europe, and Egypt. In 2023, Henry relocated back to his home State of California and joined Appleton Partners where he continues to pursue his passion for contributing to regional architectural traditions. Although based in California, he retains his love for Louisiana and continues to serve the local ICAA Chapter as Chair of Communications.
Chad Graci
Chair | Membership CommitteeChad Graci is the owner, founder and lead designer at Graci Interiors. A native of
New Orleans and prolific interior designer, Chad's work has spanned the
continent, taking him to Los Angeles, Aspen, Kansas City, Indianapolis, Boston
and New York City. His firm specializes in residential design across all scales,
with his signature aesthetic giving life to every interior he touches.
He's taught interior design courses at LSU, where he earned a degree in
architecture, with further studies at the New York School of Interior Design.
Before launching his own design firm, he cut his teeth working for some of the
most illustrious names in the business, namely Greg Jordan, David Easton, and
Michael Carbine. He's had work featured in Architectural Digest, House Beautiful,
Traditional Home, Southern Home and Flower Magazines.
As with his own personal wardrobe, his design style leans classic, with a bold,
unique slant that brings a New York sensibility to the south and elsewhere. As an
avid supporter of the arts, he is a board member of the Louisiana Chapter of the
Institute of Classical Architecture and Art and has been involved in various
volunteer projects over the years with the New Orleans Museum of Art, the
Ogden Museum of Southern Art, and the Preservation Resource Center.
Jeremy Corkern
Chair | Membership CommitteeBiography coming soon...
Staff
Courtney Kiel
Chapter DirectorCourtney Kiel has a long-standing interest in architecture, art, and the cultural life of place. Shaped in part by growing up in Southern California, Texas, and Kauaʻi, her perspective reflects an early exposure to distinct regional traditions and landscapes. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Art History and an Arts Management Certificate from Sweet Briar College. She has spent many years working in real estate with historic, character-driven properties, bringing a close, practical engagement with the built environment.
A collector of antique accessories and objets d’art, Courtney is particularly drawn to travel ephemera and personal adornment from the Victorian period through the late Art Deco era, as well as to the ways architecture, craft, and daily ritual intersect. Her love of travel is matched by a deep appreciation for Louisiana's cultural richness and distinctive architectural heritage.
She serves as Chapter Director of the Institute of Classical Architecture & Art (ICAA) Louisiana and is a member of the Louisiana State Museum Board (Cabildo), where she serves on the Collections Committee and the Architectural Review Committee.
In Memorium
Michael Rouchell
Founding MemberMichael Rouchel was a native of New Orleans and received his BARCH from Tulane's School of Architecture in 1989 and MARCH in 2004. While attending
architecture school in New Orleans, Rouchell would often spend time in the
architecture library between classes browsing through books and periodicals
on historic architecture, as well as commute daily using the Saint Charles Avenue Streetcar. By fifth year thesis, the love for traditional architecture was well established despite the school's modernist persuasion. Rouchell's thesis project was to take on a competition that
occured a few years past that called for the expansion of the New Orleans
Museum of Art, except that Rouchell's design was for a classical design that
grew organically from the original building's Greek classicism. After graduation, Rouchell worked for Eean McNaughton Architects
(1989 -1991) and Kessels Diboll Kessels (1992) before working with John C.
Williams (originally Arthur Q. Davis and John C. Williams) for the past 27
years. Rouchell was a registered architect in the State of Louisiana
since 1994 and in the State of Alabama since 2006. During a conversation with other traditional architects, Rouchell once suggested that Louisiana and New Orleans needed its own ICAA Chapter. The
suggestion was tossed back, "Well, Why don't you start one?" In late 2015,a petition letter to the Board of Directors of the ICAA was sent, and
approval for a Louisiana ICAA Chapter was granted in early 2016. Besides
founding the Louisiana ICAA Chapter, Rouchell served on the board
as Vice President and was involved in several of the committees, including:
the Awards Committee, the Education Committee and the Communications
Committee.
Brian Frazier
Board MemberBrian Frazier is a federal prosecutor dedicated to historic preservation. Since 2000, Brian has served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney, first in the Southern District of Florida and then in the Middle District of Louisiana. He has prosecuted violent crime, financial crime, narcotics trafficking, public corruption, terrorism, and espionage, and in 2007, secured the landmark conviction of Jose Padilla, the U.S. citizen and designated enemy combatant who trained with al-Qaeda in Afghanistan. For this case, Brian’s team won the Attorney General’s Award for Exceptional Service, the U.S. Justice Department’s highest honor. From 2008 to 2011, Brian served as the Justice Department attaché to the United Arab Emirates and the Gulf Region, where he worked in eight Middle Eastern countries on national security issues. In 2013, Brian was appointed Chief of the National Security Section in the Southern District of Florida. Brian came to the Middle District of Louisiana in 2018 and was named Chief of the Criminal Division in 2020. Prior to working at the Justice Department, Brian started his career at Neal & Harwell, a litigation boutique in his hometown of Nashville, TN. Brian graduated from Dartmouth College, the University of Cambridge, and Yale Law School, and clerked for Judge Patrick E. Higginbotham of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. Brian owns a late classical house, circa 1840, collects American classical furniture and Southern silver and fine art, and has served on the Board of Directors of the Belmont Mansion in Nashville.
ICAA-LA Chapter Committees
Program Committee – program@classicist-la.org
Kelly Calhoun
Peter W. Patout
Edward Cazayoux
Courtney Coleman
Bill Brockschmidt
Jeremy Corkern
Education Committee – education@classicist-la.org
Nicholas Dubuc
Laura Thomas Saucier
Membership Committee – membership@classicist-la.org
Nicholas Dubuc
Peter W. Patout
Communications Committee
Kevin Harris
Laura Thomas Saucier
Awards Committee -awards@icaala.org
Andrea Thigpen
Kevin Harris
Edward Cazayoux
Brian Frazier
Sandra Stokes
Sponsorship Committee – sponsorship@classicist-la.org
Chris Elberson
Kevin Harris
*The italicized names are Committee Chairs*