Janet Fink

Executive Director

Janet Fink Named Executive Director of the Institute for Public Architecture

It is with great pleasure that the Board of Directors announces the appointment of Janet Fink as Executive Director of the IPA. Ms. Fink, who served the organization as Interim Executive Director since 2022, was officially promoted in March. Her involvement with the IPA extends back to 2020 when she joined as residency director, leading the selected topic design fellowships – “To Be or Not to BQE” and “Reconnecting Communities Across the BQE” – that explored alternatives to the crumbling and divisive Brooklyn-Queens Expressway. More recently, as interim director, Ms. Fink orchestrated the May 2023 symposium “BQE 2053: Towards a Decarbonized Sustainable Multi-Modal Transportation Network,” which drew over 30 guest speakers and elected officials to the full-day event on Governors Island.

Janet Fink is a practicing architect and experienced educator. Her firm, Fink & Platt Architects, restores and expands historic buildings and spaces in New York City and beyond. Additionally, she teaches architecture and urban design studios as an adjunct associate professor at New York Institute of Technology. Ms. Fink has a BA in Architecture from UC Berkeley and an MArch from Columbia University GSAPP.

“IPA Fellows are addressing some of the most urgent issues facing our city, namely, lack of affordable housing and the environmental injustices created by urban highways,” says Ms. Fink. “With last year’s symposium and this year’s oral history project, the IPA is highlighting not only the serious challenges that face communities along the BQE but also the tremendous opportunity communities have to shape the future of their neighborhoods. I’m excited to help continue the work of this worthy organization.”

“I cannot think of a single individual over the past several years who has contributed as much to the growth of our small but plucky not-for-profit, and I, along with the Board, am thrilled to have her lead us into the future as Executive Director.”

-Jonathan Kirschenfeld, Founder and President of the IPA