Josh Sirefman, M.U.P.’03, and Christopher Locke, M.Arch ’16, honored with Taubman College alumni awards
Alumni Josh Sirefman, M.U.P. ’03, and Christopher Locke, M.Arch ’16, have been recognized with awards for their remarkable accomplishments and continued contributions to the Taubman College community. Sirefman and Locke both were honored during a ceremony held in October at the college. Read more about the winners below and look for profiles of each of them in an upcoming issue of Portico.
Josh Sirefman
Distinguished Alumnus 2025
Josh Sirefman, M.U.P. ’03, exemplifies leadership in urban development and is a leader and pioneer in the field of urban technology. His recent role leading the Michigan Central Innovation District in Detroit’s Corktown district spans public and private sectors, putting his experience in planning, negotiating, and implementing complex development strategies to work, fostering what Fast Company has called “the most important economic project in Michigan.” His work with U-M and Taubman College as a volunteer, mentor, and collaborator demonstrates his ongoing commitment to the college and the next generation of built environment leaders.
As a co-founder and head of development at New York-based Sidewalk Labs, now a subsidiary of Alphabet, Sirefman was an early leader in urban technology. In addition to other major projects, he oversaw the design of a futuristic neighborhood near downtown Toronto that proposes adaptable modular buildings, passive house construction, and deep implementation of urban tech.
As founder and president of Sirefman Ventures, he led transformative development projects for a range of corporate, nonprofit, and government entities, including Cornell University’s successful effort to build its Cornell Tech campus in New York, the University of Chicago’s transformation of Hyde Park, and the repositioning of the New York Public Library’s renovation of its flagship building.
Before founding Sirefman Ventures, he was senior vice president for U.S. development at Brookfield Properties. He also held a series of high-level roles within the administration of Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, including chief of staff to the deputy mayor for economic development and rebuilding, and interim president of the New York City Economic Development Corp.
Sirefman was responsible for bringing Newlab, an organization he had worked with in Brooklyn, to Detroit. Newlab supports tech startups and entrepreneurs and has been particularly successful in bringing emerging mobility-focused companies to Detroit from across the country, jumpstarting a new economic pathway for Southeast Michigan. Michigan Central has won numerous awards for design and innovation, including the Construction Association of Michigan’s 2024 Project of the Year.
Sirefman remains highly engaged with Taubman College. He serves on the Urban Technology Advisory Group and was key to launching the new degree program. He gave the keynote lecture at the college’s 2018 Shaping Future Cities Symposium and helped host an alumni event at Sidewalk Labs in New York. He served on the external review committee commissioned by Dean Massey for the Urban Planning Program. He has also served as a guest lecturer at U-M, Columbia University, and New York University. He sits on the boards of Fist and Heel Dance Company, New York Restoration Project, the Lowline, and Spaceworks.
Christopher Locke
Outstanding Recent Graduate 2025
Christopher Locke, M.Arch ’16, works on strategies to help architects deliver critical design services in diverse and underserved communities. This work has been accomplished through research, advocacy, community organizing, and the delivery of well-executed buildings. Notable projects from his time with ZGF Architects include Cal State Los Angeles, a 150,000-square-foot services building, and the ZGF Office Tenant Improvement. In 2016, he co-founded Designing in Color (DCo), a think tank and distributive digital initiative aimed at diversifying the way architecture is taught and practiced, and a 2019 honoree of the AIA Diversity Recognition Program, celebrating architects and organizations actively committed to advancing equity, diversity, and inclusion within the architecture profession.
Building on DCo’s efforts, Locke launched Collective Unbound earlier this year. The social benefit organization designs opportunities for communities to flourish, free from the legacies of exclusion and colonial harm, with a team of designers, architects, and community organizers located throughout the U.S. that facilitates educational programming, creates workshops, designs socially responsible projects, and distributes digital initiatives, all rooted in principles of design justice.
Locke is currently an associate, job captain at Steinberg Hart and a member of the SoCal chapter of the National Organization of Minority Architects in Los Angeles, where he is actively engaged in youth mentorship through the organization’s pipeline project summer camp. In 2017, Locke co-founded small talks: LA, a community-based organization created to assemble a network of people and construct safe spaces to amplify disparate voices in the city. He is currently studying and sharing stories of the housing crisis across Los Angeles through filmmaking.
Locke helped shape and energize the student-led movement, Design Justice Actions, which pushed Taubman College toward creating a more just and inclusive future. He contributed an article to the Fall 2020 issue of Portico: “Living a Double Consciousness: The Complexities of Navigating White Supremacy While Black.”
Photo credit: Devin O’Neill
