Marc Toma

Marc Toma was born and raised in the Midwest, went to college at Princeton, graduate school at Berkeley and was a fellow in Norway where he studied housing policy. He worked his entire adult life as an architect, first for several years with one of his Cal professors in San Francisco and for the last 28 years with his partner Karen Burks in Berkeley. He was licensed in California and Nevada, a LEED accredited professional, NCAARB certified, and received several honors and awards from his peers. He served as a Commissioner on the State Architects Board and a member of the City of Berkeley Design Review Committee.

Since his passing in 2013, Burks Toma has carried on and built upon Marc's legacy of thoughtful design, quiet leadership and superb communication. He continues to inspire us. As a colleague wrote so eloquently.

"I learned from Marc how to evolve. Not in a vocal way, not in an obvious way, not to achieve anything tangible. But how, every day, to take time. To be present. To watch. And through this, to engage and to contribute to the space around you."