Three alums to be honored at CED commencement
Three alums will receive the Distinguished Alumni Award at CED’s 2025 Commencement ceremony on May 20 at the Greek Theatre. The award honors alums who have exhibited outstanding public service, in its broadest sense, throughout their career. Since its inception in 1998, this award has recognized both practitioners and academics from a variety of disciplines. This year’s awardees are John Cary (MArch 2003), Lee Ehmke (MLA 1988), and Sujata Srivastava (MCP 2000).
“We are profoundly grateful for the contributions of each of our Distinguished Alums to their fields and to our college,” says William W. Wurster Dean Renee Y. Chow. “They serve as examples to current and future CED students who seek to use their education to make a difference in our world.”
JOHN CARY
MArch 2003
President & CEO, Eames Institute of Infinite Curiosity
An architect by training, John Cary is the founding president and CEO of the Eames Institute of Infinite Curiosity, which seeks to inspire creative problem-solving that positively shapes our world. Cary has spent the past two decades working with major philanthropic and thought-leadership organizations, including TED, the Aspen Institute, and the Obama Foundation. He is the author of two books, including Design for Good: A New Era of Architecture for Everyone, the subject of his TED talk. Cary has received an American Academy in Rome fellowship and a Rockefeller Foundation’s Bellagio Center residency, among other honors.
LEE EHMKE
MLA 1988
President & CEO, Houston Zoo
Lee Ehmke is president and CEO of the Houston Zoo, guiding the institution’s transformation into a globally recognized zoo-based conservation organization. Since completing his education (JD UC Law San Francisco 1983; MLA UC Berkeley 1988), he has provided 37 years of strategic, operational and design leadership at the Wildlife Conservation Society’s Bronx Zoo, the Minnesota Zoo, and the Houston Zoo. Ehmke has served as president of the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums and is currently vice-chair of the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund. His work has garnered recognition, including eight Top Honors in Exhibit Design and five Conservation Awards from the Association of Zoos and Aquariums.
SUJATA SRIVASTAVA
MCP 2000
Chief Policy Officer, SPUR
Sujata Srivastava is the chief policy officer for SPUR, a Bay Area public policy organization. She leads policy research and advocacy spanning planning, housing, transportation, sustainability, and governance. Srivastava has more than 20 years of experience directing research and policy analysis for cities and regions in the United States and Latin America. Before joining SPUR, Srivastava was a consultant at Strategic Economics and at AECOM | Economics Research Associates, where she advised public and private-sector clients on affordable housing, transit-oriented development, small business development, and real estate development.