Hall of Fame - Best In American Living

The Best in American Living™ Awards Hall of Fame program honors individuals and firms who have been housing industry thought leaders and significantly influenced the residential design and construction field through their success in their professions. We would not be here, experiencing our lives in the way we do, if these individuals had not envisioned and executed the design improvements we have enjoyed over the last 30 plus years.

2023 Inductees

Bob Youngentob
Executive Chairman and Co-Founder
EYA, LLC

Bob Youngentob is the executive chairman and one of the co-founders of EYA, LLC. EYA is a developer specializing in residential communities offering “life within walking distance®.”

Since 1992, EYA has delivered more than 6,000 homes throughout the Washington, D.C., metro region, including townhomes, multifamily and mixed-income neighborhoods. EYA is a two-time winner of America’s Best Builder and has won numerous national awards, including the ULI Award for Excellence, ULI’s Jack Kemp Award for excellence in affordable and workforce housing, and The National Housing Quality Award.

Bob’s responsibilities at EYA include mentoring current and future leaders, strategy and project visioning. He has more than 35 years of real estate experience.

Bob currently serves on the National Advisory Board of ULI’s Terwilliger Foundation for Workforce Housing and on the Board of Advisors for The Universities at Shady Grove. Bob is a former chair of the Washington D.C. District Council of the Urban Land Institute (ULI) and member of the Governance Committee. In 2023, Bob received ULI Washington’s Trailblazer Award. He has been a guest lecturer on real estate at the Harvard Business School, University of Maryland and Johns Hopkins University, and has spoken at numerous conferences sponsored by the Urban Land Institute and Builder Magazine. Bob has been recognized as an “Entrepreneur of the Year” for real estate and was inducted into the W.H. Marvin Hall of Fame for Design Excellence.

Bob grew up in the Washington D.C. area, graduated from Lehigh University, and received an MBA from the Harvard Business School. Bob is married to Linda Youngentob, who is a professor at Montgomery College. Together they have three daughters.

Terry Eakin
Co-Founder and Chairman Emeritus
EYA, LLC

Le Roy Eakin, III (Terry) is a co-founder and current chairman emeritus of EYA, LLC, a builder of urban for sale housing in the Washington, D.C., metro region. The company started in 1992 as Eakin/Youngentob Associates, Inc. and has delivered more than 6,000 new homes with a brand promise of “life within walking distance®.”

EYA was selected America’s Best Builder in both 2000 and 2009 by the National Association of Home Builders and has won more than 300 design and other awards. In the early growth stages of EYA, Terry and his partner, Bob Youngentob, received the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year award, and in 2009, they received the Lifetime Achievement Grand Award from the combined D.C., Virginia and Maryland Building Industry Associations.

Among numerous community involvements, Terry has served as a board member or chair for several public education reform organizations, including the Washington D.C. Committee on Public Education, the DC Charter School Resource Center and The Learning Alliance in Vero Beach, Fla.

Terry’s main education reform focus has been DC Prep Public Charter Schools (DCPrep.org) in Washington, D.C. He began as the founding chair of DC Prep in 2002. Since that time, Terry has helped DC Prep expand to six campuses serving 2,100 urban students and become the highest performing public education organization in Washington, D.C.. He remains active on the board and currently serves as the Finance Committee chair.

Terry graduated from Princeton University and received an MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business. Terry and his wife, Lindsay, have four grown children and nine grandchildren. Terry enjoys being with his grandchildren and playing golf, tennis, pickleball and bridge.

Judy Brociek
Director of Events, Building & Construction Groups
SGC Horizon LLC

Judy Brociek is the director of events at SGC Horizon. Judy has been actively involved in the residential construction field since 1982, when she joined Pro Builder magazine.

She is an expert in event planning, custom publishing and conference programs in the U.S. residential architectural design and construction industry. She has had a key role in the execution of Pro Builder’s Show Village, The New American Home and The New American Remodeled Home at the annual NAHB International Builders’ Show®.

Judy was a key leader in the development and execution of the Best of American Living Awards and led the transformation from a breakfast to an evening gala. Judy has also been a key member of SGC Horizon since 2010.

MANNY GONZALEZ, FAIA
Founder and President
Lifestyle Design Consulting, LLC

Manny Gonzalez, FAIA, is the founder and president of Lifestyle Design Consulting, LLC, where he continues his legacy of creating vibrant residential communities across the country. With more than 40 years in residential development practice, Gonzalez has received numerous awards for his innovative designs, including Gold Nugget, Best in American Living and Multifamily Pillars of Industry awards. He has earned 44 NAHB Best of 55+ Housing Gold Awards, including 28 Gold Awards. Manny is a much sought-after speaker for local, regional and national conferences, as well as international conferences in Mexico City and Qingdao, China.

Manny was the architect for Habitat for Humanity’s 1995 Jimmy Carter Work Project in Watts, Calif. More recently, he continued his charitable work designing the Gary Sinise Foundation Specially Adapted Smart Home. Manny led the effort to renovate Hope Gardens for Union Rescue Mission and rebuild the San Fernando Rescue Mission after their fire. This passion for giving back earned him the inaugural Building Industry Association (BIA) Los Angeles/Ventura Chapter TED Humanitarian Award.

In 2016, Manny was elected to The College of Fellows of the American Institute of Architects. His fellowship recognition acknowledges not only his individual architectural achievements but also his significant contributions to national architecture and society. An eighth-generation native of Los Angeles, Manny — when not engrossed in new designs — enjoys traveling with his wife, painting, golfing, fly-fishing and spending time with his grandchildren.

Congratulations to Class of 2023 !

2022 Inductees

William A. Davidson

President, Davidson Communities
San Diego, CA

Bill Davidson founded San Diego-based Davidson Communities in 1978. For more than 40 years, Bill and his new-home neighborhoods have been honored with local, regional and national building industry awards for design and marketing excellence. In 2014, Bill was named a “Legend of Residential Marketing” by NAHB, and in 2011, Bill was inducted into Builder Magazine’s Hall of Fame for Design Excellence. Bill was elected into the California Building Industry Foundation Hall of Fame in 2000, followed by the San Diego Building Industry Association (SDBIA) Hall of Fame in 2006.

Bill’s volunteer commitment to industry leadership spans nearly 40 years. In 1988, as SDBIA president and chairman of the Construction Industry Federation, he successfully led the campaign against four local growth control initiatives. In 2013 and 2015, Bill and his wife, Dawn Davidson, co-chaired the Pacific Coast Builders Conference in San Francisco.

Bill is an active member of the World President’s Organization, the Urban Land Institute and Lambda Alpha International. He served on the local Children’s Hospital Foundation’s Board of Directors from 1990 to 1995 and as vice chairman in 1993. He also served as a member of the Board of Directors of the Magdalena Ecke YMCA and the Board of Trustees of Bishops School, and is patron of San Diego Cares.

Dawn Davidson

Founder and CEO, Dawn Davidson Design, Inc.
San Diego, CA

Dawn Davison graduated from Woodbury University with a Bachelor of Science in interior design/architecture. With an entrepreneurial spirit and a passion for design, she launched Design Line Interiors, Inc., in 1985, at the age of 25. The firm quickly became a respected brand known for delivering emotionally charged interiors. Today, Design Line is one of the nation’s most sought-after interior design firms.

Dawn and her talented team have designed thousands of interiors over the years, including boutique hotels, private residences, model homes, sales centers, multifamily projects, commercial projects, and community club houses and amenities. Design Line Interiors’ ability to translate a creative vision into functional, yet inspiring, spaces extend throughout the world, with projects located in the United States, Mexico, China, Dubai and Saudi Arabia.

In 2021, Dawn was honored with the esteemed Max Tipton Award, acknowledging a visionary leader’s pursuit of creative ideas and innovations, while contributing to the advancement of the building industry through the consistent sharing of knowledge and mentoring of others. In 2022, Dawn sold Design Line Interiors and embarked on a new design journey, Dawn Davidson Design. Combining her passion for interior design and love of architecture, Dawn finds delight in traveling and developing family projects as well as remodeling older homes.

Mary DeWalt, IRM Fellow, MIRM, CMP

President, Mary DeWalt Design Group
Austin, TX

Mary DeWalt is recognized nationally as a leader in the field of model home merchandising. She is a frequent speaker at the International Builders’ Show, as well as state and local conferences.

In 1997, Mary received the coveted Master in Institute of Residential Marketing (MIRM) designation. She is a frequent contributor to Builder and Developer Magazine and other industry publications.

For over 20 years, Mary has been active in the Home Builders Association of Greater Austin, as well as national NAHB. She was the 2003 chair of the National Sales and Marketing Council and 2006 president of NAHB’s Institute of Residential Marketing. Mary has served on the 55+ Housing Industry Council Boards of Trustees and the NAHB Design Committee.

Mary received the Trina Ripley Excellence in Education Award from NAHB’s Institute of Residential Marketing. The award was given for “her outstanding lifetime achievements in educating new home sales and marketing professionals and helping to achieve the goals of the Institute of Residential Marketing.” She also received the Bill Molster Award from the National Sales and Marketing Council in 2009. Mary was honored to be recognized as the 2019 Legend in Residential Marketing

Doris Pearlman
Founder, Possibilities For Design
Denver, CO

A respected thought leader in both the design and home building industries, Doris Pearlman founded Possibilities For Design more than 30 years ago to bring her trend-setting concepts to a marketplace eager for innovation. With well more than 200 accolades to its name, Possibilities is widely recognized as one of the most awarded home builder-centric interior design firms in the country.

Based in Denver, Doris is an in-demand speaker at design conferences across the nation and has been honored with the prestigious Industry Legends Award and the Excellence in Education Award. Doris is a former chair of NAHB’s Design Committee and has led the Design Education Subcommittee. She has also been a member of the HomeAid Board in Colorado, NAHB’s Institute of Residential Marketing Board of Trustees, NAHB’s 55+ Housing Industry Council and the National Sales and Marketing Council, where she chaired The Nationals Awards committee.

Doris continues to shape the future of design with her consumer-focused perspective and national influence.

Lynne Pratt

President, Pratt Building
Huntington Woods, MI

Following a somewhat surprising journey into the home building industry, Lynne Pratt instinctively found her way to home design and locating the design industry’s best and brightest.

When Lynne married Don Pratt in 1990, she also married into a successful family construction company. Over the years, she donned many hats by necessity and learned the business from numerous perspectives before getting her builder’s license and opening her own building company. She credits the Home Builders Association (HBA) structure for the educational opportunities that remain so crucial to every construction professional. Education and networking opportunities were the HBA’s original draw for Lynne, but she often says that the people she met there have always been the glue that kept her involved. Involvement in NAHB eventually led her to the Design Committee, where she realized an untold wealth of talent and resources existed that she felt remained largely overlooked by the NAHB membership. Because good design continuously speaks to our senses and feeds our souls, it is also very simply good for business. That realization created Lynne’s desire to ensure that the Design Committee, its vast resources, its multitalented members and the Best in American Living Awards program would be promoted as a premier member benefit

J. Ronald Terwilliger

Chairman Emeritus and Retired CEO, Trammell Crow Residential Company

Ron Terwilliger is chairman of the Urban Land Institute (ULI) Terwilliger Center for Housing, focusing on workforce and affordable housing. He also established the Terwilliger Center for Innovation and Shelter at Habitat for Humanity International to improve housing conditions of low-income families worldwide. The J. Ronald Terwilliger Center for Housing Policy.at the Bipartisan Policy Center works to advance public policies in order to address our nation’s critical housing affordability challenges.

He is past chairman of Enterprise Community Partners, the International Board of Directors of Habitat for Humanity and ULI. He continues to support the aforementioned boards philanthropically as well as serving as trustee. He is also chairman emeritus of Trammell Crow Residential Company, a national residential real estate company and the largest developer of multifamily housing in the United States for several decades during his tenure as CEO.

Ron is an honor graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy. After serving five years in the Navy, he received his MBA with High Distinction from the Harvard Graduate School of Business where he was elected a Baker Scholar.

Ron has received numerous housing awards including NAHB’s Hall of Fame Award, the National Housing Conference Housing Leader of the Year Award, the ULI J.C. Nichols Prize Award, and the Edward W. Brooke Housing Leadership Award.

Michael Woodley

President, Woodley Architectural Group, Inc.

Michael L. Woodley, AIA, is president of Woodley Architectural Group, Inc., with offices in Scottsdale, Ariz., Southern California and Denver, Colo. Michael has more than 30 years of experience in a wide variety of housing types. His work spans high-density, multi-story to high-end custom homes.

Woodley Architectural Group is working with some of the most respected and successful builders across the United States. Michael’s hands-on approach and interactive design charrette process have established him as a highly successful, innovative architect, sought out by a wide variety of home builders across the nation and abroad. Michael personally leads his team with a passion for design that is a key element in the reputation and success of the Woodley Architectural Group. His passion, retail approach to housing, and sensitivity to project budget have been instrumental in winning widespread industry recognition.

Michael is a graduate from California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo and is registered in California, Colorado, Arizona, Hawaii, Illinois, New Mexico and Nevada. He is a member of the American Institute of Architects (AIA), the California Building Industry Association (BIA) and NAHB. Michael has been a featured speaker at AIA, NAHB and PCBC functions. He has also judged major design competitions throughout the country.

2019 Inductees

David Baker, FAIA

David Baker, FAIA, is the founding principal of David Baker Architects (DBA), a progressive and collaborative practice based in San Francisco and Oakland, California and Birmingham, Alabama. DBA creates acclaimed buildings in urban environments and is known for exceptional housing, creative site strategies, designing for density, and integrating new construction into the public realm. A leader in the affordable housing sphere, DBA has designed and built more than 13,000 affordable homes in the San Francisco Bay Area and beyond. Baker’s diverse current projects include modular housing for formerly homeless individuals in San Francisco, boutique hotels, and mixed-use master plans.

Debra L. Bassert

Debra Bassert has served as the assistant vice president for Land Use and Design at the National Association of Home Builders for nearly 20 years and has more than 35 years of experience in land use policy, site planning, and design, most of them on behalf of NAHB.

She has overseen a team that provides strategic policy assistance on federal, state, and local land use and design regulations as well as guided development of extensive resources on a wide range of issues, including land development, housing affordability, infrastructure financing, and national design trends. Her advocacy efforts have focused on reasonable regulations, take-home educational value, best practices, and on-the-ground success stories.

She served as editor-in-chief of NAHB’s online news source Best in American Living—Redefining Home and Community since its launch in 2013 and as editor of NAHB’s Land Development magazine for several years, which was published from 1988 until 2013. Her team also manages and promotes NAHB’s Best in American Living Awards program.

Denise Dersin

Denise Dersin is the editorial director of Scranton Gillette Horizon’s Professional Builder, Custom Builder, ProBuilder.com, CustomBuilderOnline.com, and ResidentialProductsOnline.com, business-to-business publications and websites that provide vital information for the housing industry on the topics of business management, design, construction, sales and marketing, and building products. She also conceives and directs the publications’ events, Women in Residential Construction and the 40 Under 40 Executive Summit. An award-winning writer and editor for more than 30 years, Dersin previously served as editor-in-chief of Builder magazine and editor of Time Life Books. At Time Life, she edited, wrote, or researched more than 50 volumes for four of the company’s best-selling series of books.

William “Bill” J. Pulte

PulteGroup Founder • 1932 – 2018

A true Horatio Alger story, in 1950, Bill Pulte built his first house by hand on Detroit’s Christy Street on land donated by a relative using plans purchased from the local newspaper and with tools given as high school graduation gifts. From such humble beginnings grew one of America’s greatest homebuilding companies that has delivered over 750,000 homes. Known for a humble manner, Mr. Pulte had a keen mind that was always seeking new ways to build higher quality homes more efficiently. From plant production, value engineering, and the use of SIPs to designing entirely new building products, Pulte created a culture that embraced change as he sought to make the company better.

Mr. Pulte was a man of high values and integrity who loved his God, his family and his Pulte family. Throughout a career that spanned more than six decades, he would always say, “I never went to work a day in my life. I just loved what I was doing.”

The Sherwin-Williams Company

Sherwin-Williams has been a proud supporter of the National Association of Home Builders for many years and continues to seek new ways to support the inspiring work of builders in the community. As a leader in the development of advanced paints and coatings, the company is committed to helping homebuilders, architects, remodelers, and professionals alike from start to finish. Sherwin-Williams’ work goes above and beyond innovative formulas, also ensuring professionals have the tools they need to guide them through any project, whether by providing color resources such as its annual Colormix Forecast or learning opportunities through extensive online courses. Industry partners can also rely on local service and expert advice at more than 4,300 Sherwin-Williams neighborhood stores.
With a history of more than 150 years of innovation, Sherwin-Williams values the hard work of the homebuilding community and recognizes that quality craftmanship is not just about completing a house but mostly about creating a home.

2018 Inductees

Jillian Pritchard Cooke

Jillian Pritchard Cooke is the founder of Wellness Within Your Walls, which aims to connect the global family with healthy eco-sensitive products that result in beautiful, sustainable, non-toxic environments. Cooke is also the founder of interior design firm DES-SYN which was established in 1991 and primarily services the residential building industry. She opened BEE in Atlanta, GA in 2010, a unique retail boutique promoting fashion and home furnishing products that meet the GOTS, WWYW, SFC, and Cradle to Cradle standards. Cooke has more than 30 years of experience with design projects in New York, Philadelphia, Boston Los Angeles, London, and Atlanta.

Arthur C. Danielian, FAIA

Over the 55-plus years of his career, Art Danielian has truly made his mark on the field of residential architecture. Not only has he achieved exemplary accomplishments within the profession, he has a demonstrated history of giving back to the homebuilding industry and providing mentoring to the next generation of architectural students and industry professionals. Danielian pioneered innovative residential housing concepts such as the wide and shallow lot configurations, combo/condos, and various improvements of the ‘z-lots,’ all of which had a substantial and positive impact on community character in master planned communities throughout Orange County and beyond. He was one of the first architects to embrace a market-driven design model, working with each of his builder clients and market researchers to truly identify their market profiles—creating homes with tremendous absorption rates that were well loved by their buyers.

Mike Kephart

Mike Kephart is the founder of Kephart Architects, a firm focused on the design of residential communities. In 2008, Kephart retired from the practice he had led since 1973. The concept of “housing for later life” consumed his attention after retirement, both for his own needs and the growing demographic of people who enjoy years beyond age 50. He co-authored a book about the phenomenon, called ‘Building for Boomers.’ Kephart also continued his passion for housing by founding Sidekick Homes. ‘Sidekicks’ are accessory dwelling units that can be placed on single-family lots adjacent to existing homes or as new construction.