Stacy Bourne, FAIA, NOMA

Founding Principal

The Bourne Group

Stacy A. Bourne, FAIA is an award-winning architect & disaster preparedness expert, speaker, and author, with over 35 years of lived experience in surviving and rebuilding after 12 major hurricanes.  

Through my cultivated resilience strategies, educational tools, and speaking events, I focus on disaster preparedness for communities, institutions, and commercial property owners to save lives, protect property, and support business continuity.

She is the founding principal of The Bourne Group, LLC (est. 2000) and a nationally recognized leader in hurricane-resilient architecture.  She was elevated to the AIA College of Fellows in 2012 - an honor held by fewer than 3% of AIA members.

Hurricanes transformed her practice into a mission. She contributed to roof-replacement programs, resilience strategies, and building-code advocacy, later expanding into commercial and institutional renovations - always centered on community engagement.

Stacy addresses climate resilience, disaster response, equity, and the evolving role of architects in the climate crisis.  Her coloring book series, Be The Architect, launches in April 2026 with Disaster Smart - Wind Ready, which educates children ages 9 to 11.

With decades of recovery and leadership, Stacy advances innovative solutions to climate challenges—bridging architecture, advocacy, and education to equip communities for a more resilient future. 

Dr. Guirong 'Grace' Yan

Professor of Civil, Architectural, and Environmental Engineering

Missouri S&T

Dr. Guirong (Grace) Yan is a Professor of Structural Engineering in the Department of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering at Missouri University of Science and Technology (Missouri S&T). Prior to joining Missouri S&T in 2014, she was an Assistant Professor at the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP). Dr. Yan is the Director of the Wind Hazard Mitigation Laboratory at S&T.

Dr. Yan's research interests include: Wind hazard mitigation and computational fluid dynamics; Structural health monitoring and condition assessment; Nonlinear system identification and damage detection; and Resilient civil space structures and bridges in multi-hazard environments.