Civita Institute Board of Directors
Nancy joined the Board of Directors in 2007 and served as Treasurer from 2011-2017. She was elected President in 2018 and has annually been re-elected to serve since then. Nancy led The Civita Institute to become a Provider of the American Institute of Architects Continuing Education System in 2014 and co-leads the 'Historic Preservation and Sustainable Design in the Etruscan Hill Towns of Central Italy' AIA education program.
In 2024, Nancy was honored to give a keynote presentation at Riseba University in Riga, Latvia entitled 'The Civita Institute - a Legacy of Architect Astra Zarina'. She was a teaching assistant to Professor Zarina in 1984-85 and a student in her Architecture in Rome I and II programs in 1983-84. Nancy earned her graduate degree in Architecture at Columbia University in 1988 and co-created with Stephen Day, ‘Outside the Walls – Rome’s Modern Quarters’, as a post-graduate Kinney Traveling Fellowship.
Until 2018, Nancy’s career focused on the administration, design, and construction of award-winning public schools in the Pacific Northwest where she also participated in the creation of the 'Washington Sustainable Schools Protocol' in 2006. She served as the President of the Washington Chapter of Council of Educational Facility Planners International in 2007-08 (dba A4LE). In 1993-94, Nancy was President of the Board of Directors for the Cherokee, a New York City Landmark co-op in Manhattan's upper east side.
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Christina has contributed to the success of The Civita Institute for decades, as a volunteer and a major donor. In 2014 she became a Civita Institute Creative Retreat Fellow and prepared (with co-author Robert Wallace) the 'Facilities Maintenance and Management Plan for The Civita Institute'. Christina has served for many years on the Civita Institute Facilities Committee and has participated in many facilities' work groups in Civita di Bagnoregio.
Her professional work in preservation is extensive, including significant work with historic property conservation at the Presidio and Fort Mason in San Francisco, a city where she resides when she is not traveling the world.
In 2017, Christina was chosen to be a James Marston Fitch Fellow and wrote the 'Architecture of the Salish Sea Tribes'. She has also been an Associate Fellow of the Getty Center Museum in Los Angeles. She holds a B.A. from the University of Washington and a Master of Science in Historic Preservation from Columbia University in the City of New York.
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Stephen is principal and founder of Stephen Day Architecture PLLC in Seattle. He is an architect and developer focusing on the revitalization of historic buildings and cultural properties; an awardee of the National Trust for Historic Preservation Honor Award, of Historic Seattle's honor award, and a Washington State Historic Preservation Office honoree.
Working with Astra Zarina in Rome as a student, and later as her teaching assistant in Italy, was a profound experience that still resonates in his life and work. Stephen was honored to be the NIAUSI (Northwest Institute for Architecture and Urban Studies in Italy dba The Civita Institute) president for 6 years during a pivotal time for the organization, leading the efforts in transferring the Civita properties and collections, coordinating the collaborative process between Astra Zarina, Anthony Heywood, and the Board of Directors to further the long-held goal of establishing The Civita Institute in Italy for fellowships, professional and academic educational programs, and research centered on these remarkable historic properties.
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Elaine Latourelle, Architect, Director, Past-President
Elaine re-joined the Board of Directors in December 2022 for the purpose of assisting the board in a careful and deliberate outreach for individuals with the expertise and capacity to serve on the Board of Directors of The Civita Institute. She brings veteran experience and commitment to this endeavor. She is a former president of NIAUSI (NW Institute of Architecture and Urban Studies in Italy) dba The Civita Institute and has served several terms as a board member. She has been a major donor to the Institute since its inception and she also serves on the Legacy Advisory Group of The Civita Institute.
In 1976, Elaine founded Elaine Day LaTourelle & Assoc. (EDL&A) which became one of the first few women-owned architecture firms in Seattle. For more than 25 years, EDL&A provided consultant services in public architecture, primarily libraries including the Seattle Public Library, and community college projects. Elaine also began teaching in the University of Washington’s College of Built Environments in 1976 and is now professor emerita. As a colleague and friend of the late Professor Astra Zarina, she was co-professor in the UW Architecture in Rome programs of 1986 and 1999.
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Luis Medina is Principal at Studio 397 Architecture in New York, where he brings together design excellence, sustainability, and constructability. Trained as a Certified Passive House Designer and with a background in finance and construction management, he approaches architecture through a pragmatic yet creative lens, balancing vision with the realities of building. At Studio 397, Luis’s work spans complex urban projects, including Google’s workplace and hospitality spaces (such as 111 8th Avenue) and Barclays’ stay-in-place transformation of 745 Seventh Avenue. His team has also contributed to civic and corporate efforts such as the Penn Station Reconstruction and Turner Construction’s New York Headquarters, experience that deepens his understanding of how design and building processes intersect.
Luis’s engagement with the Civita Institute began with the Design Climate Action Fellowship in 2022, where he explored the intersections of sustainability, heritage, and place. He is also a two-time Pantheon Institute Fellow in Rome (2024, 2025). These experiences in Italy continue to inform his architectural practice, reinforcing his commitment to linking contemporary design challenges with enduring lessons from historic settings.
His work and research have been featured in major media and design outlets, underscoring his role in advancing architecture that bridges practice, culture, and sustainability.
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Brooks Romano is an architect in Seattle. She has a BS in Interior Design from UNC-Greensboro and a M. Arch from the University of Oregon. While at the U of O she participated in their Rome study program, held in the University of Washington Rome Center, where professor Astra Zarina served as a reviewer for the project.
Brooks has served on several boards since 2002. Recently she was a participant in The Civita Institute’s AIA continuing education program, ‘Historic Preservation and Sustainable Design in the Etruscan Hill Towns of Central Italy,’ where she earned three years’ worth of WA state’s required Health/ Safety/ Welfare learning units.
She has traveled through Italy extensively and visited Civita di Bagnoregio twice. Her fondness of Civita and love of Italy summarize her interest in serving on the board.
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Tory has been a developer of multi-family workforce housing for more than three decades and now consults as a real estate advisor supporting organizations and projects that deliver more housing affordability for Puget Sound communities. She began her career in historic preservation but soon pivoted toward community development with a focus on housing. For most of her career she has been financing, building, and operating multi-family housing for low-income working people, driven by the conviction that economic access to desirable housing is the foundation of a healthy equitable society.
Since her first visit to Italy as a graduate student, she has repeatedly been drawn back to dive deeper into the country and revisit beloved places. In 2026, she participated in the 'Historic Preservation and Sustainable Design in the Etruscan Hill Towns of Central Italy' educational program offered by The Civita Institute and CrossCulture. She speculates that The Civita Institute presents a particularly privileged vantage point from which to indulge her overlapping fascination with Italy and its way of living, with historic vernacular buildings and towns, and with intentional community building in these places.
Born and raised in Seattle, Tory has a BA from Harvard College, pursued graduate studies in Architectural Conservation at Heriot Watt University in Edinburgh, and received an MBA in Real Estate Finance and Development from George Washington University. She has served on the Seattle Design Commission, the Seattle Housing Levy Oversight Committee, and the Washington State Affordable Housing Advisory Board.