team
LEADERSHIP
tyler survant, AIA
Bozeman, MT | Cofounder + Board President
Tyler is an architect and cofounder of Building Bureau. Currently an Assistant Teaching Professor at Montana State University’s School of Architecture, he has previously taught architectural studios at Columbia GSAPP and the City College of New York and was a 2025-2026 Fulbright U.S. Scholar to Nepal.
Concerned with the social impact of the built environment, Tyler’s professional work has focused on projects abroad. For SHoP Architects he worked in Gaborone, Botswana for on-site construction administration of the Botswana Innovation Hub, a tech incubator for the country’s Ministry of Tertiary Education, Research, Science and Technology. He started working in Nepal in 2017 as project manager for a 50-bed hospital for Nepal’s Ministry of Health and Population. Tyler holds degrees in architecture from Washington University in St. Louis and Yale University and he is a licensed architect in the states of Montana and New York. ■
Contact | tyler at buildingbureau.org
anna leshnick, PHCC
Brooklyn, NY | Cofounder + Board Vice President
Anna is a designer and cofounder of Building Bureau. A certified Passive House Consultant with the North American Passive House Network in cooperation with the Passive House Academy, Anna is trained in energy-efficient design principles, thermal comfort, and indoor air quality. Originally from Moscow, she earned a degree in architecture from the Bezalel Academy of Art and Design in Jerusalem before relocating to the United States in 2018.
Prior to Building Bureau, Anna worked on the preservation of Tel Aviv’s White City, a UNESCO World Heritage site noted for its regionalist adaptation of Bauhaus “International Style” architecture to the cultural and climatic context of the Mediterranean. She also worked with an office in New York noted for its humanitarian work around the world. Anna served as 2024 Visiting Scholar at Montana State University’s School of Architecture. ■
Contact | anna at buildingbureau.org
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
arun rimal, PE
New York, NY + Kathmandu, Nepal | Board Member
Arun is a founding board member of Building Bureau. A licensed structural engineer in New York and New Jersey, Arun is the principal of the New York-based Office of Structural Design (OSD) and co-founder of Sustainable Future Nepal, a green construction company based in Kathmandu. Arun received a graduate degree in civil and structural engineering from Columbia University, where he later served as an adjunct professor at Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation (GSAPP) from 1990 to 2010.
Arun has been involved in a wide range of projects in his 28 years of practice. In addition to his commercial work in the United States, he has served as structural engineer for many award-winning humanitarian projects in the global South, including the reconstruction of several schools in rural Nepal destroyed by the earthquakes of 2015. ■
mary hubbard, PhD
Bozeman, MT | Board Member
Mary Hubbard is a recently retired professor of Earth Sciences at Montana State University (MSU). She has studied mountain belt formation around the world, with a particular focus on the structural geology and tectonics of the Himalayas. She served as a Fulbright Specialist in Nepal in 2017 and a Fulbright Scholar in Nepal in 2022.
Mary has previously held faculty positions at Utah State University, the University of Maine, and Kansas State University, and has served as head of the Department of Earth Sciences at MSU and the Department of Geology at Kansas State. At Utah State University, she served as Dean of the College of Science from 2007 to 2009 and as the Vice Provost for Global Engagement from 2009 to 2013. Mary is an active Rotarian in the Bozeman Sunrise Rotary Club and leads annual visits to support community-based projects in Nepal. ■
STAFF + AFFILIATES
amber tamang, RA
Kathmandu, Nepal | Affiliate
Amber is the managing director and senior architect of Creative Design Group (CDG), Building Bureau’s local architect partner in Nepal. He is a veteran architect with more than thirty years of experience in land use and urban planning, construction supervision, and design for major healthcare, commercial, and education projects across Nepal. As Director of East West Engineering Service, he was project manager of the multi-million-dollar, award-winning Bayalpata Hospital in Achham, Nepal.
Amber received his Bachelor of Architecture from Calcutta University in India and a Master of Business Administration from Sikkim Manipal University. He is a registered architect in Nepal and is a member of the Society of Nepalese Architects and the Nepal Engineering Council. ■
hanna wells
New York, NY | Community Coordinator
Hanna is a graduate from Brown University and recipient of a 2023-2024 Fulbright research grant studying the impact of national road building projects on traditional livelihood and handicraft in the Makalu region of Nepal. At university, Hanna concentrated in Urban Studies, a field that allowed her to combine her interests in anthropology, landscape architecture, and planning. She is committed to ethical research methods and seeks to merge such research practices with the formation of culturally responsible and environmentally sustainable landscapes and development. Prior to living in Nepal, Hanna worked in the planning office for the City of East Providence and at the Institute for Human Centered Design. She now works as a user experience researcher and designer and assists Building Bureau with Nepal partnerships and grant acquisition. ■
gaurav tiwari
Boston, MA + Kathmandu, Nepal | Affiliate
Gaurav is a program manager with over twelve years of experience working for the World Bank and other social impact organizations in Nepal, the USA, and several African countries. As Director of Operations at Possible Health, he managed multi-million dollar health projects, including an award-winning 50-bed government-owned hospital in rural Achham, Nepal, and led operations for a 400+ team spread across national and international locations. Gaurav has supported the implementation of Nepal’s National Health Insurance Program and worked as healthcare systems consultant for local governments in Far Western and Eastern regions of Nepal.
Born and raised in Nepal, Gaurav is currently based in Boston, where he consults for the SeedTree Foundation and supports Building Bureau on healthcare strategy in rural Nepal. ■
jamie macdonald
Philadelphia, PA | Affiliate
Jamie has dedicated his career to understanding how communities can thrive within the limits of the natural world around them. With experiences ranging from organic farming and land use planning to project management of federal energy and climate programs, he endeavors to understand the many facets of sustainable development and how they all work together. Jamie spent six years in Surkhet, Nepal, working as the Director of Sustainability for the BlinkNow Foundation with a focus on waste and water management, sustainable food production, and renewable energy. Within that role, he supported the design and construction of a green school campus, established a local food cooperative, and collaborated with educators to integrate place-based pedagogy into K-12 curriculum. He received his Master of Professional Studies in Global Development from Cornell University. ■
emily koekemoer
Bozeman, MT | Junior Designer
Emily works as an architectural intern for Building Bureau while completing her studies as a senior at the School of Architecture at Montana State University (MSU). Emily was a student in Tyler's fall 2024 third-year studio and took a lead role in a community-engaged design process with Olivia Everett and other stakeholders from the Imagine Butte Resource Center exploring alteration opportunities for the Phoenix Building, a 120-year old landmark in historic Uptown Butte, Montana. Through an MSU Outreach & Engagement Grant and alongside colleague Raleigh Carlton, Emily documented the findings of the studio and developed a report an arts hub which was issued to the National Affordable Housing Network (NAHN), the nonprofit owner of the building. Emily’s family is from southern Africa and, based on the connection to her heritage, she is particularly interested in Building Bureau’s nonprofit model and past and future work in sub-Saharan Africa. ■
olivia everett
Butte, MT | Affiliate
Olivia is a dedicated community organizer, fostering local engagement through art, education, environmental science and preservation. Born and raised in Butte, Montana, Olivia Everett is cofounder of the Imagine Butte Resource Center, a vibrant cultural hub in historic Uptown Butte. As the curator of numerous community exhibitions at the Foreground Gallery, a key component of the Resource Center, she has championed creative expression and cultural development in her hometown. Olivia has collaborated extensively on the revitalization of the historic Phoenix Block in Uptown Butte, blending her passion for creative community building with a commitment to sustainable restoration methods, preserving Butte’s unique architectural heritage. With her experience as an organizer in the fields of community engaged design, sustainable construction, restoration ecology, and permaculture, Olivia assists Building Bureau with project delivery and grants management. ■
Nepali translation provided by Hom Acharya, EdD, Cornell University Department of Asian Studies. Former Building Bureau interns and affiliates include Zena Miriam Mangesha, Viviana Alatorre, Ezra Bush, Mo Espinoza Chaney, Andrew Lodmell, Sam Maletic, Max Smyth, and Stephanie Weddle.
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