LOS ANGELES, CA, November 3, 2026—The Los Angeles Conservancy is thrilled to welcome R. Steve Lewis, NOMAC, FAIA, LEED AP, as our new Altadena Project Manager after a months-long search! An accomplished architect, urban designer, facilitator, and longtime local Altadena resident, Steve brings extensive professional experience and deep community connections to lead our Cultural Asset Mapping (CAM) Initiative, a three-year collaborative project that will document and celebrate the historic and cultural heritage that defines Altadena’s vibrant sense of place. Steve will begin his new role on November 9, 2026.

“Steve has a unique combination of design expertise and community connections that makes him an excellent fit to lead the Conservancy’s Cultural Asset Mapping Initiative in Altadena,” says Adrian Scott Fine, president and CEO of the Conservancy. “As the Altadena community continues to recover from the Eaton Fire, recognizing and honoring local cultural heritage is especially important to commemorating and celebrating Altadena’s stories, people, places, and unique identity.”

A founding partner of the Los Angeles-based firm of RAW International in 1984, Steve was an essential part of the firm’s growth and success for twenty years. In 2010, he concluded a two-year term as President of the National Organization of Minority Architects, traveling around the country advocating for architects-of-color, while cultivating the next generation of diverse architects and designers. In 2011, Steve launched a consulting practice – “Thinking Leadership – What we Do…Who we Are” – aimed at assisting clients attain superior outcomes through his engagement.

Steve returned to Los Angeles to join the firm ZGF Architects LLP as a principal leading the office’s planning and urban design practice in 2018. Before joining ZGF, Steve accepted an appointment by Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan to serve as Urban Design Director for the central region of the City. Prior to Detroit, he was with the firm TRC, as an Associate Vice President, representing the company to our Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority client for energy services.

More than anything, Steve is a facilitator of partnerships and alliances between groups and individuals who seek to use design to bring about positive change to our world. Please join us in welcoming Steve to the Conservancy!

About the Altadena Cultural Asset Mapping Initiative

The Mellon Foundation awarded the Conservancy a $1.5 million grant from the Mellon Foundation’s Humanities in Place program to significantly expand the Altadena Cultural Asset Mapping (CAM). The CAM Initiative is a community-designed process to recognize the living heritage of Altadena—its gathering places, local businesses, art, and traditions that may not fit traditional measures of architectural or historical significance but are deeply valued by residents and the broader community. Through a combination of spatial analysis, oral histories, and storytelling, CAM will visualize both tangible and intangible heritage across geography and time.

Led by the Los Angeles Conservancy in partnership with community organizations including Altadena Heritage and Altadena Historical Society, the CAM Initiative will map and share the stories, places, and traditions that represent Altadena’s multifaceted cultural landscape. This work will acknowledge the tremendous loss experienced by the Altadena community and help build a foundation for community-driven cultural preservation and placekeeping, local planning, and future recognition efforts.