Erick Mikiten

Appointed by Governor Brown on January 17, 2012
Appointment Expiration:  January, 1 2026

Commissioner Mikiten of Berkeley is a wheelchair-riding architect who also uses hearing aids. As principal architect of Mikiten Architecture in Berkeley, Mr. Mikiten has unique expertise in universal design.  He has designed hundreds of units of affordable and market-rate housing throughout the Bay Area, many for people with physical and/or cognitive disabilities. He has also completed dozens of single-family home remodels for people with wide-ranging abilities, which require unique and creative approaches to result in real usability. He was also a special consultant for the Ed Roberts Campus, a complex that houses nine disability-related agencies adjacent to Berkeley’s Ashby BART station.

Erick has worked with many non-profit developers to build HUD and other publicly financed housing in many municipalities. He consulted for the Trammell Crow Company on a large-scale development of accessible housing, and has served as an expert witness testifying on accessibility. He has helped large corporations define wide-ranging strategies for inclusion, from their physical environment to hiring practices to workplace apps that increase participation for all employees.

Erick’s two tour books for wheelchair riders are published by the California State Coastal conservancy. They cover beaches and waterfronts in the San Francisco Bay Area and Los Angeles. He has consulted for the Coastal Conservancy on access improvements on a number of projects, and created a new beach design for Gleason’s Beach north of San Francisco.

Commissioner Mikiten’s goal is to show—through design and legislation—that beautiful, elegant, and cost-effective buildings can be made that welcome and accommodate everyone, regardless of age or physical ability.