School honors five outstanding former students at annual event
Five former students from the Texas A&M School of Architecture who have distinguished themselves as leaders and humanitarians in their respective fields were honored at a banquet Nov. 18, 2022 at the Texas A&M Hotel and Conference Center.
The 2022 Outstanding Alumni were nominated by former students and selected for their outstanding achievements by a school committee.
Less than one percent of the school’s more than 16,000 former students have been recognized as Outstanding Alumni, the highest honor bestowed by the school to its graduates.
The 2022 Outstanding Alumni are:
John R. Breeding ‘74
Breeding, president and CEO of the Uptown Houston District and administrator of the Uptown Development Authority, managed the creation of public spaces in Houston’s Uptown, one of the U.S.’ most iconic mixed-use destinations.
His visionary leadership includes establishing nationally recognized standards for shaping effective partnerships in planning, design, funding and completing projects that incentivizes private development and creating cherished public spaces.
James A. DeLapp ‘03
DeLapp, executive director of public works in Mobile, Ala., leads 650 staff members in seven departments of the gulf coast city with a population of nearly 200,000 residents.
Prior to his position with the city of Mobile, DeLapp served as commander in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Mobile District, where he led a $3 billion mission in Puerto Rico’s recovery from Hurricane Maria and a study to widen and deepen the Port of Mobile’s entrance channel.
Mattia Flabiano ‘80
Flabiano is president and senior principal at Page, a global, multidisciplinary architecture and engineering design firm, where he became the youngest partner in the firm’s 124-year history in 1992.
He plays a significant role in the revitalization of Dallas’ downtown business district and chairs the AIA Large Firm Roundtable’s Advocacy Subcommittee, which connects design firm CEOs with federal legislators who can advocate for key issues facing architects across the country. As a member of the AIA’s Justice, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion subcommittee, he works to ensure the roundtable meets the challenge to double the number of registered black architects by 2030.
Natalie Campos Goodman ‘06
As the founding CEO of IncentiFind, a national database of “green” building incentives, Goodman connects commercial or residential properties to incentives for incorporating “green” building practices. She is accelerating company growth through strategic partnerships that integrate the company’s data into design, construction, and real estate software.
Previously, she served as a sustainability consultant to Fortune 1000 companies with a focus on resilience for Texas cities. She was also a disaster response leader after hurricanes Katrina and Harvey.
Jeffrey S. Kent ‘75
Kent oversaw almost $2 billion in award-winning healthcare facility modernization and expansion at Nemours, one of the largest children’s healthcare nonprofit organizations, and SwedishAmerican Health System. Before that he led the development, design and construction of major multi-use commercial, retail, and multi-family projects across the Midwest.
Now retired, Kent is president of the Association of Medical Facility Professionals, a nonprofit hub where healthcare and built environment leaders share ideas, gain knowledge, solve challenges, connect with peers, and shape the future of the industry.
