Professional Background

In 2008, I received my Bachelor of Science in Architecture from the University of Las Vegas graduating with honors. During my undergraduate I worked for several local firms in the Las Vegas Valley. Starting my career at Southern Nevada Residential Design, I worked primarily on custom residential homes for local clients. In 2005, I took an opportunity to work at MGA, LTD acting as the architectural on-site field representative at Kermit R. Booker Elementary, my first education project. This opportunity offered me a great foundation to build my professional experience on, both with establishing good working relationships with general contractors and learning the by the AIA book way to execute a project.   Once you know the rules, you also better know when to break them. In 2007, I moved onto Jones & Greenwold where I served as job captain for several local childcare centers and worked on several small hospitality/retail projects.

In 2008 we left the hot desert behind and made a move to Chicago, where I completed my MARCH at the Illinois Institute of Technology.  I was fortunate to use the ’08 recession to focus on my schoolwork. Upon completing my degree in 2010, I began my post-college career at Gensler.

During my 10 years at Gensler, I have built a portfolio of work that includes education, campus planning, build-to-suit, and repositioning projects of various scales, from small classroom renovations to million sf office buildings. I have been complimented by my clients and coworkers for my ability to manage the planning, design, and construction of complex projects, coalescing diverse teams around shared goals and innovative solutions.  I have the proven ability to manage large groups of consultants and contractors while building positive working relationships.  For clients this means I am capable of streamlining communications and monitor project progress against the client’s objectives to deliver results, cultivating trusting and lasting client relationships.

In addition to my project work, I have been active in developing collateral for both the Education and Commercial Office Building Practice Areas at Gensler. I have also participated in several Gensler sponsored research projects focused on user experience. My most recent firmwide publication, Spec for Tech, highlights shifts in base building needs that developers need to know to accommodate higher density creative tenants.

Culturally, I believe that mentorship is key to developing the next generation of architects.  Having recently participated in a couple of career and talent assessments, it’s not a surprise to me that one of my key strengths is people.  In addition to my focus on project work, I spend a lot of time developing relationships with people in our office. As a Senior Associate in the firm, it’s part of my passion to advocate for our staff, with a special interest in developing the next generation of women architects. Beyond our office, I also work to support more diversity and inclusion for the next generation of architects by participating in the national ACE Mentoring program.

Personal Life

Architecture never really feels like ‘work’ to me. The boundaries between my hobbies and work are somewhat grey and have only felt more blurred by the recent pandemic. It’s hard to imagine the pre-pandemic world where we actually “went” to work.

When I’m not “working” I’m usually outside. Perhaps it’s the native Minnesotan in me that requires me to go outside and enjoy EVERY nice day. When you live in a place that EVERY day is nice by Minnesota standards that can sometimes be difficult to accomplish. In general, I do try to get outside a lot and some of my favorite outdoor activities include jogging, biking, hiking, camping or just exploring something new (local or foreign – urban or remote). In the pre-pandemic world, we also enjoyed exploring new local food establishments (especially in Chicago – ugh why is the food so good there?!).

In September 2019, we welcomed a wonderfully delightful little girl into the world. The silver lining to all this pandemic-related chaos is that I have been able to enjoy so much more time with little E versus the world where we “went” to work. While it’s not exactly how I imagined trying to establish my new work / life balance, I don’t take for granted any minute of it and love that I haven’t missed any milestones.  Her curiosity and exploration of the world is an inspiration every day.

Check out my resume and project experience.

Please contact me for access to my portfolio of select work.