Uploaded July 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
The President’s Medal is The Architectural League’s highest honor and is bestowed, at the discretion of the League’s President and Board of Directors, on individuals to recognize extraordinary achievements in architecture, urbanism, art, design, and the environment.
In this video, Architectural League president Mario Gooden presents the 2025 President’s Medal to philanthropists Elise Jaffe + Jeffrey Brown in recognition of their extraordinary impact on architecture and design. The medal was presented at a gala dinner held in the Crossing of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in Manhattan. There, we celebrated Elise + Jeffrey’s shared commitment to an expansive culture of architecture and honored Jeffrey’s memory.
Elise + Jeffrey were celebrated in the President’s Medal citation and in remarks by League president Mario Gooden, director of Mario Gooden Studio: Architecture + Design and professor at Columbia GSAPP; Emanuel Admassu and Jen Wood, founding principals of AD-WO; Deborah Berke, founding principal of TenBerke and dean of the Yale School of Architecture; Michael Maltzan, founding principal of Michael Maltzan Architecture; and Karen Stein, architectural advisor,critic, and faculty member at the School of Visual Art. The event was co-chaired by Deborah Berke, Amanda M. Burden, Sarah Herda, Jing Liu & Florian Idenburg, Michael Maltzan, Jennifer Newsom & Tom Carruthers, and Karen Stein.
The President’s Medal is The Architectural League’s highest honor and is bestowed, at the discretion of the League’s President and Board of Directors, on individuals to recognize extraordinary achievements in architecture, urbanism, art, design, and the environment.
In this video, Architectural League president Mario Gooden presents the 2025 President’s Medal to philanthropists Elise Jaffe + Jeffrey Brown in recognition of their extraordinary impact on architecture and design. The medal was presented at a gala dinner held in the Crossing of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in Manhattan. There, we celebrated Elise + Jeffrey’s shared commitment to an expansive culture of architecture and honored Jeffrey’s memory.
Elise + Jeffrey were celebrated in the President’s Medal citation and in remarks by League president Mario Gooden, director of Mario Gooden Studio: Architecture + Design and professor at Columbia GSAPP; Emanuel Admassu and Jen Wood, founding principals of AD-WO; Deborah Berke, founding principal of TenBerke and dean of the Yale School of Architecture; Michael Maltzan, founding principal of Michael Maltzan Architecture; and Karen Stein, architectural advisor,critic, and faculty member at the School of Visual Art. The event was co-chaired by Deborah Berke, Amanda M. Burden, Sarah Herda, Jing Liu & Florian Idenburg, Michael Maltzan, Jennifer Newsom & Tom Carruthers, and Karen Stein.
