In addition to NCARB’s secure database of actions taken by the 55 licensing boards members, NCARB maintains a list of individuals who have been publicly reprimanded by NCARB’s Board of Directors.
Disciplinary Action Process
The majority of NCARB’s disciplinary actions are issued as a response to actions taken by one of the U.S. licensing boards. In some cases, such as misconduct by an Architect Registration Examination® (ARE®) candidate, NCARB may take disciplinary action independently of a licensing board.
In such cases, NCARB’s Board of Directors makes a final disciplinary decision based upon the following actions:
- After being made aware of the misconduct, NCARB staff conduct a thorough investigation into the situation.
- Any relevent findings are reported to NCARB’s Professional Conduct Committee, which is made up of volunteer architects and other professionals.
- The Professional Conduct Committee reviews the case in terms of any violation of NCARB’s standards of professional conduct, including the ARE Candidate Agreement.
- The Professional Conduct Committee recommends any suggested disciplinary action determined per the committee’s Rules of Procedure to NCARB’s Board of Directors.
- The Board of Directors reviews the case and acts upon the Professional Conduct Committee’s recommendations.
- Any disciplinary action taken is reported to the appropriate jurisdiction’s licensing board.
Public Reprimands
| Name | Residence | Misconduct | Date | Disciplinary Action Taken |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yan Chen | Arcadia, California | Violated ARE Candidate Agreement (Category 1 and 4 of the Policy for the ARE® Exam Candidate Conduct) | July 2023 | Public reprimand, test results invalidated for appropriate divisions of the ARE; testing authorization suspended for 12 years from last test date; required to complete 10 hours of ethics education; denial of the NCARB Certificate for no less than 5 years after valid licensure |
| Farzad Choupanian | Van Nuys, California | Violated ARE Candidate Agreement (Category 1 of the Policy for the ARE® Exam Candidate Conduct) | February 2024 | Public reprimand, test results invalidated for appropriate divisions of the ARE; testing authorization suspended for 5 years from last test date; required to complete 6 hours of ethics education |
| Aala Derambakhsh | San Francisco, California | Violated ARE Candidate Agreement (Category 1 of the Policy for the ARE® Exam Candidate Conduct) | February 2024 | Public reprimand, test results invalidated for appropriate divisions of the ARE; testing authorization suspended for 5 years from last test date; required to complete 6 hours of ethics education |
| Zandra Jacqueline Fernandez Bucheli | San Francisco, California | Violated ARE Candidate Agreement (Category 1 of the Policy for the ARE® Exam Candidate Conduct) | February 2024 | Public reprimand, test results invalidated for appropriate divisions of the ARE; testing authorization suspended for 5 years from last test date; required to complete 6 hours of ethics education |
| Ou Liu | Sherman Oaks, California | Violated ARE Candidate Agreement (Category 1 and 4 of the Policy for the ARE® Exam Candidate Conduct) | July 2023 | Public reprimand, test results invalidated for appropriate divisions of the ARE; testing authorization suspended for5 years from last test date; required to complete 6 hours of ethics education; denial of the NCARB Certificate for 5 years after valid licensure |
| Yixin Liu | Pasadena, California | Violated ARE Candidate Agreement (Category 1 and 4) | July 2023 | Public reprimand, test results invalidated for appropriate divisions of the ARE; testing authorization suspended for 12 years from last test date; required to complete 10 hours of ethics education; denial of the NCARB Certificate for no less than 5 years after valid licensure |
| Hao Wu | Los Angeles, California | Violated ARE Candidate Agreement (Category 1 and 4 of the Policy for the ARE® Exam Candidate Conduct) | July 2023 | Public reprimand, test results invalidated for appropriate divisions of the ARE; testing authorization suspended for 12 years from last test date; required to complete 10 hours of ethics education; denial of the NCARB Certificate for no less than 5 years after valid licensure |
| Meng di Zhao | Hong Kong | Violated ARE Candidate Agreement (Category 1 of the Policy for the ARE® Exam Candidate Conduct) | July 2023 | Public reprimand, test results invalidated for appropriate divisions of the ARE; testing authorization suspended for 5 years from last test date; required to complete 6 hours of ethics education |
| Jiani Zhu | Sherman Oaks, California | Violated ARE Candidate Agreement (Category 1 and 4 of the Policy for the ARE® Exam Candidate Conduct) | July 2023 | Public reprimand, test results invalidated for appropriate divisions of the ARE; testing authorization suspended for 5 years from last test date; required to complete 6 hours of ethics education; denial of the NCARB Certificate for 5 years after valid licensure |
