Board Member | Executive Director

Walmer Saavedra

Walmer Saavedra is the Co-Founder and Executive Director of Human Scale where he is responsible for overseeing the day-to-day activities and strategic planning of the organization.

Born in a small village in Guatemala and raised in the South Side of Chicago, he quickly learned about the quality of life of underserved communities. After being exposed to the field of architecture, he decided to use his passion for design and construction to create positive change in communities similar to the ones he grew up in.

Since architecture inevitably impacts people’s lives through the built environment, he believes that architects have a responsibility to implement conscientious design initiatives that aim to make people’s lives better. He also believes in the power that young people have in solving real world issues and is committed to providing resources and opportunities to the youth in order to create positive change.

Walmer graduated from the University of Illinois at Chicago in 2019 with a Bachelor of Arts in Architectural Studies degree. He is also a Project Manager at Related Midwest, a real estate development and construction management firm in Chicago. Outside of work, he enjoys playing sports and spending quality time with friends and family.

Board Member | Project Manager

Aylen Pacheco

Aylen is the Co-founder and Board Member of Human Scale where she oversees and implements the long-term goals and strategies of the organization. Additionally, she manages community projects.

She has completed internships with many firms including Landon Bone Baker Architects, Studio Gang, Krueck and Sexton Architects, and Related Midwest. She has won several city wide design competitions organized by the Chicago Architecture Foundation including the 2015 BP Pocket Park Design Competition, and multiple Newhouse Architecture + Design Competitions. In 2015 she was invited to be a student juror for the CAF’s international ideas competition, Chi-Design.

In 2017, she re-established the National Organization of Minority Architecture Students chapter at the University of Illinois at Chicago. She organized workshops, construction site tours, panel discussions, networking events, and seminars with the goal of enriching personal, professional, and academic skills.

Aylen graduated from the University of Illinois at Chicago in 2020 with a Bachelor of Science in Architecture degree. She was on the Dean’s list and was nominated three times for the School of Architecture Faculty Choice Award. In 2016, she was awarded an ACE Mentor Chicago scholarship due to her academic merit.

Project Manager

Jorge Luis Mayorga

Jorge is the Co-founder and Project Manager at Human Scale.

Jorge was the President of the UIC American Institute of Architecture Student chapter. He helped make the chapter more active by organizing firm tours, professional development events, and planning trips to the AIA National Forum. He also helped raise funds for local design build projects through his involvement in the Freedom by Design team. He volunteered and helped organize the AIAS Forum 2014 and the Snafoo Midwest Quad Conference 2017.

In 2015, he volunteered for the Chicago Architecture Biennial in the following exhibitions: Mark Wasiuta, Marcos Sanchez, Adam Bandler + GSAPP Exhibitions; Plan:B Architects’ Hollow Trunk project; and Kuehn Malvezzi + Armin Linke + Marko Lulic exhibition of House of One.

In 2016, he enrolled in the Architecture Association Visiting School in Haiti where he had the opportunity to design a house with bamboo as both an ecological savior, and response to the disproportionate devastation of the 2010 earthquake. He worked in a team composed of a local interior designer, local construction worker, and himself as an architecture student.

Jorge graduated from the University of Illinois at Chicago in 2017 with a Bachelor of Science in Architecture degree. In 2015, his studio project was admitted to the School of Architecture’s Year End Show.

Assistant Project Manager

Hsu Myat Aung

Hsu is the Co-founder and Assistant Project Manager of Human Scale.

She has been passionate about volunteering since she was ten years old when she participated in design build projects in Myanmar and Thailand. She knew that she wanted to study architecture when she was the creative director for an orphanage library project that focused on illiteracy in Mae Sai, Thailand.

During her architecture studies at the University of Illinois at Chicago, she took the opportunity to go to Port Au Prince, Haiti for the AA Visiting School Workshop where she took part as the group’s project leader. Her group core house project was chosen and built by the Unite De Construction De Logements Et De Bâtiments Publics (UCLBP) as a prototype due to the use of local materials, local labor, and the incorporation of the village culture.

She was the Freedom by Design Director of the AIAS student chapter at UIC, she then went on to serve one term as vice president in 2016. She took part as an Election Committee Member for the 2016 National Forum in Boston, and helped organize the Snafoo Midwest Quad Conference.

Hsu graduated from the University of Illinois at Chicago in 2017 with a Bachelor of Science in Architecture degree. In 2017, she was awarded the School of Architecture Pella Prize for best undergraduate project. In 2016, she was also a runner-up for the Chicago Women in Architecture scholarship award.

Board Chair

Omar Rodriguez

Omar is a Board Member at Human Scale where he oversees and implements the organizations strategies to meet the long-term goals.

In 2022, he joined the re-ignited Arquitectos student chapter at IIT. As the events co-chair, he has increased awareness and engagement with Latinx designers and makers. He also leads Architecture 101 workshops exposing young people to the field of Architecture and Design.

He believes change starts at the block level. Sharing the processes and facilitating conversations around what could make a healthy block and physically building a space creates a sense of ownership and pride. As designers we should design with, not for.

Omar holds an AAS in Architectural Drafting from Harold Washington College and is a BArch candidate at the Illinois Institute of Technology. He currently works for an architecture firm specializing in historic preservation and transit/infrastructure projects. Outside of work, he enjoys creating furniture and objects.

Assistant Project Manager

Alexander Casimiro

Alexander Casimiro is an Assistant Project Manager at Human Scale. He is involved in the design, construction and development of projects.

Born and raised in Chicago, Illinois, Alex is a first-generation Hispanic professional that dedicated his time to serve his community during his college years. He is a Lead Mentor with A Greater Good Foundation where he has worked at West40’s Regional Safe School, and with organizations like SocialWorks, throughout the Chicagoland area. He is an alumnus of AmeriCorps NCCC and is an Associate Board Member of BUILD Chicago.

As an alumnus of the ACE Mentor Chicago After School Program and Summer Design Build Workshop, he used the experience gained in the 2016, 2018, and 2020 Design Build Workshops to create his own way of giving back to the community.

In 2022, he was a Mentor with STOKED, a NYC/LA nonprofit that aims to close the opportunity gap and prepare underserved students for life after high school through Action Sports. Through STOKED, he became a VIP Stoked Mentor at Woodward PA in Fall 2023 and currently serves as a seasonal skateboard coach at Woodward, a world-class destination for skateboarding, BMX, scooter, parkour, roller skate & multisport.

Alex graduated from Triton College in 2021 with an Associates in Applied Science in Architecture degree, he also received certifications in Architecture Technology, Architecture Design and BIM in 2020. He is a lifetime member of the Phi Theta Kappa International Honor Society, where he served as Chapter President of the Chi Zeta Chapter at Triton College.

He currently serves as an Instructor with After School Matters running his Design, Build, & Skate program, a program that exposes Chicago teens to various aspects of the AEC Industry through the lens of skateboarding. He has managed numerous program types and models at After School Matters through the Michael and Debbie Sear Tinkering Space (Makelab) where teens use how to produce product prototypes, and much more.

Advisory Board Member

Angela Esposito

As Vice President of Learning at the Chicago Architecture Center (CAC), Angela Esposito is dedicated to educating and activating learners of all ages through dynamic, place-based experiences. Leveraging Chicago’s iconic architecture and diverse communities as a living classroom, Angela leads a passionate team of educators who inspire participants to explore the city’s rich architectural legacy and to recognize their agency in shaping the built environment.

Angela brings a unique blend of design expertise and educational leadership to her role. Before joining CAC, she held roles as a residential designer, project superintendent, and design assistant on HGTV, experiences that deeply inform her approach to public engagement and storytelling in design. Her career pivot to education reflects her belief in the transformative power of design literacy and community engagement.

A strong advocate for equity in the design professions, Angela has been recognized for her impact and leadership, including being named a 2023 Crain’s Chicago Business Women of Note in the Sciences honoree and receiving the 2020 Girls Inc. of Chicago award. She remains committed to opening doors for underrepresented voices in architecture and design, championing inclusive learning spaces that empower the next generation of city builders.

Advisory Board Member

Vanessa Sanchez

Vanessa Sanchez is the Director of Education and Yollocalli Arts Reach at the National Museum of Mexican Art (NMMA). Born and raised in Chicago, Vanessa has dedicated her career to enhancing her communities. She has served as an arts administrator, program director and mentor in the cultural sector for over 15 years. Vanessa is a creative, civic-focused leader dedicated to enhancing her communities by designing and facilitating numerous community arts initiatives. She has collaborated with hundreds of youth, artists, journalists, media producers and civic leaders throughout Chicago garnering national and international recognition. Vanessa holds a BFA in Painting from the University of Illinois at Chicago, was an ambassador for the Creative Youth Development Summit in Boston, previously served as the Board Vice President for Villapalooza, the Little Village Music Fest, and is an artist and collaborator in the Chicago Artists Creating Transformation (ACT) Collective. She completed the 2020 Leadership in Democracy program through the McCormick Foundation and in 2024 was a graduate of the Civic Leadership Academy (CLA) through the Harris School of Public Policy at the University of Chicago.

Advisory Board Member

Shreya Singh

Shreya Singh oversees the financing, planning and execution of Related Midwest’s affordable housing portfolio as a Senior Development Associate.

Her work includes the $20 million rehabilitation of Riverwoods, a midrise building with 125 units that provides affordable housing for low-income seniors in Kankakee, IL. Singh assisted with the second phase of Related’s redevelopment of Lathrop on Chicago’s North Side, working in partnership with the Chicago Housing Authority and securing 9% tax credits from the Illinois Housing Development Authority. In addition, Shreya is leading the $70 million development of 4300 W. Roosevelt in Chicago’s North Lawndale neighborhood. Part of the city’s INVEST South/West program, this project will transform a 21-acre site with the creation of two industrial facilities, a community park and a pair of Innovation Centers designed to maximize opportunities for the neighborhood.

Singh is a member of Urban Land Institute and founding member of South Asians in Real Estate (SAIRE), the first industry group in Chicago supporting South Asian professionals in the real estate industry. A graduate of the University of Michigan, Singh received her MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, where she was a Goldie B. Wolfe Miller Scholar and co-chaired the Real Estate Club.

Advisory Board Member

Nate Tubbs

Nate Tubbs is a communications professional, organizer, and business owner with a passion for his neighborhood and partnership in the city of Chicago. He has worked in the non-profit sector for many years in design, marketing, consulting, and community organizing.

Originally from Buffalo, NY, Nate has lived in Chicago for over twenty years. He currently works with several organizations, coordinating initiatives such as Building Blocks of Peace with Together Chicago, and the Grounded Faith Chicago learning community with the Parish Collective. Nate was also a member of the 2023 cohort of the Chicago Peace Fellows.

Nate serves as a garden steward for the Island Oasis, a nature play garden he helped to develop on his block. He has also served in leadership of the Island Civic Association and the GR Clark Elementary Local School Council for many years.

Outside of work and organizing, Nate enjoys watching and coaching soccer, woodworking, DIY home improvement projects, and spending time with family and friends.