100 People to Meet in 2022: Builders

From architecture to construction, these are the professionals who are building Virginia’s future and leaving legacies in steel, brick and glass.

Corey Clayborne

Executive vice president, American Institute of Architects Virginia

Richmond

Corey Clayborne confesses that he did not make all A’s in his architecture design studio as a college student at Virginia Tech, but he’s working to make an A-plus impact on the architecture profession as executive vice president of the American Institute of Architects Virginia. In December, Clayborne will attend a Washington, D.C., ceremony honoring his 2020 induction into the American Institute of Architects’ prestigious College of Fellows. Passionate about using his platform to bring people together, Clayborne recently launched the Blueprint for Better Communities dinner series to promote relationship building between architects and government leaders. “Iron sharpens iron,” says Clayborne, a mentor with 100 Black Men of Central Virginia and a member of the 2021 class of Lead Virginia. “The more awesome people you can surround yourself with, it has no choice but to impact you.”

Samuel L. Lionberger III 

CEO, Lionberger Construction Co.

Roanoke

As a young man, Samuel Lionberger III dreamed of life as a professional golfer. When he discovered he needed money to pay for his car while a student at Virginia Tech, he settled for a job as a laborer at his family’s business, Lionberger Construction Co. Slowly, he fell in love with the industry. “There’s nothing like it,” says Lionberger, who ascended to CEO after his father, Samuel Lionberger Jr., retired in 2010. “It’s a very rewarding career to create.” Founded by Lionberger’s great uncle John C. Senter, the company will celebrate 100 years in business in 2022. Currently, Lionberger Construction is restoring the 1700s-era Warm Spring Pools at the Omni Homestead Resort in Bath County.

Georgie Márquez

President, Andre Marquez Architects Inc.

Norfolk

Georgie Márquez has always been fascinated by drawing and creating spaces. She left her native Puerto Rico for New York to study architecture at the Pratt Institute, where she met her husband, Joel André. In 1993, the couple opened their architecture firm in Norfolk. “Many people think architecture is the building, but it’s really about designing space,” she says. One of the firm’s biggest projects is designing above-ground buildings for the $3.8 billion Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel expansion project. “It’s kind of amazing that a little firm like ours is involved in a project of that size in our region,” Márquez says. A member of the 2021 class of Lead Virginia, Márquez was appointed to the Norfolk mayor’s Advisory Commission on Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation in 2018 and has worked on the technical advisory committee for the Virginia Coastal Resilience Master Plan. She also serves as vice chair of diversity for the Hampton Roads Chamber’s executive committee.