February 2025

LJC Office Location: Chicago
Title/Role: Principal
Focus: Urban Planning and Design
School(s) you graduated from: University of Oregon (BARCH), University of Illinois at Chicago (MUPP)
Professional Affiliations: AIA, APA, LEED AP, Territory NFP, Chicago Loop Alliance, Lambda Alpha International, SUM NFP, JCUA

What’s your most niche, non-work-related interest?
I lift heavy weights, love being in the gym and have a daily meditation practice. I also love shopping and spend way too much time researching recipes.

What’s the most fun you’ve had on a trip or vacation?
Europe with my daughter right before the pandemic. We spent 10 days in UK (London, Manchester) and France (Paris), landing back in the US the day the border closed due to the pandemic. I hadn’t been to Europe in 10 years and we picked cities I had never been to. It was my daughter’s first trip to Europe and she loved it, especially the Harry Potter exhibit and macarons.

What are you most proud of accomplishing in your life, professionally, so far?
Supporting the empowerment of marginalized or underinvested communities. Providing tools and education for self-sufficiency. Seeing the light bulb go on when a solution is presented that resonates. Also seeing cool projects built.

What’s the last TV show you binged and enjoyed? What was so good about it?
American Primeval. Its about Utah in 1857 when the US government, Native Americans and Mormons were all in the same space. Totally fascinating interpretation of different perspectives during this time in history.

LJC Office Location: Chicago
Title/Role: Senior Project Architect/Project Designer
Focus: Architecture
School(s) you graduated from: University of Wisconsin – Eau Claire (BFA Illustration) and University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee (Master of Architecture)
Professional affiliations: AIA

What is something about you that you think would surprise your co-workers?
I got a degree in fine art before I committed to becoming an architect. I supported myself as a bicycle mechanic for years and after college I was working in a bike shop again when it really clicked that architecture combines my drawing, creative, and visualization skills with my aptitude for fixing things and putting together complex assemblies. Boom, You’re an architect.

What’s the most fun you’ve had on a trip or vacation?
My wife and I stayed at a permaculture farm in the mountains of Costa Rica a couple years ago. It had no internet, no phone, and they grow all the food on site. It felt like going back in time. I can’t remember the last time I slowed down that much. With no smart phones, you got to know everyone there quickly. I didn’t want to leave!

What’s a book you’d recommend to just about anyone? Why?
The Future is Fungi by Michael Lim and Shu Yun. You don’t know how important Fungi are to your very existence until you read this. Also, the book design is very nice.

What does a perfect weekend look like to you?
Bike ride through the forest, outdoor table at a craft brewery, campfire. Maybe swim in a lake. 

LJC Office Location: St. Louis
Title/Role: Design Staff
Focus: Architecture
School(s) you graduated from: University of Kansas

What’s the most fun you’ve had on a trip or vacation? 
During my graduate year, I spent a full year studying and working abroad in Paris, France. It was an unforgettable experience where I fully embraced French culture, built lifelong friendships with people from all over the world, and traveled to more than 12 different countries. That year was packed with adventure, personal growth, and an appreciation for global perspectives.

What’s your most niche, non-work-related interest? 
I have a rotating list of hobbies throughout the year such as mountain biking, woodworking, reading, snowboarding, padel, and even bartending for friends; but one that has always been a constant is playing unique video games. I love finding innovative games with immersive storylines and engaging challenges. It’s also been a great way to stay connected with friends who have moved across the country and even across continents.

What’s a book you’d recommend to just about anyone? Why? 
Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro. This beautifully written novel explores friendship, memory, love, and what it truly means to be human. It follows a group of friends from their childhood at an elite boarding school to adulthood, slowly unraveling the unsettling reality of their existence. The story is both haunting and deeply moving and still has me thinking about long after I finished. (Don’t cheat and watch the movie!)

What are you most proud of accomplishing in your life, NOT professionally, so far? 
Last year, I completed the 2024 Paris Marathon in 3 hours while studying abroad and tackled the 2024 BT Epic Mountain Bike Race with my dad in 6 hours. Training for both while balancing work, school, travel, and time with friends and family was a challenge but crossing the finish line was worth it! I enjoyed the competition and challenge so much that I’ve signed up for my first triathlon this summer!

LJC Office Location: Culver City, CA
Title/Role: Principal
Focus: Architecture
School(s) you graduated from: UC Berkeley
Professional Affiliations: NCARB, Controlled Environment Building Association (CEBA), Global Cold Chain Alliance (GCCA), NAIOP, NOMA, United Way

What’s the most fun you’ve had on a trip or vacation? 
In college I studied abroad for a year in Denmark. The wonderful part about that program was that we did several study tours, where we would travel Europe looking at architecture. I’d also take every break to backpack around the continent and finished my year with a month touring Italy. It was a life-altering experience.

What are you most proud of accomplishing in your life, professionally, so far? 
I co-authored an e-book, Best Practices in Cold Storage Facility Development, for NAIOP. It is my largest publication, and helped to establish me as a subject matter expert for cold storage.

What was your first job, and what is most memorable about it? 
I was a child actor (mostly background ‘extra’ work), did gigs as theatrical stage manager in high school, and taught preschoolers about dinosaurs at the Lawrence Hall of Science in college. But my first architecture job was an internship for a woman who designed custom, high-end, single family residential homes. The primary thing I learned in that job was that I did NOT want to be a residential architect!

As a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up and why? 
I wanted to be an artist when I was little, to which everyone responded, ‘that won’t pay the bills!’ In my tweens and teens, I started shifting focus to what would allow me to make a living in creative fields. I homed in on either architecture or theatrical design (costumes and set design). I even minored in theatrical design in college, but the constant job hunting wasn’t appealing, and ultimately, I ended up following my major to a career in architecture.

LJC Office Location: Chicago 
Title/Role: Principal, Process Architect 
Focus: Architecture 
School(s): University of Texas at Austin (M. Arch); University of San Diego
Professional affiliations: AIA, NCARB, ISPE (International Society for Pharmaceutical Engineering) 

What’s the most fun you’ve had on a trip or vacation? 
In 2006 I did a summer study abroad in Europe. The trip coincided with several major sporting events - We were in London and caught Wimbledon; along the Tour de France route in Strasbourg and had several memorable days celebrating the World Cup in Germany.

What is something about you that you think would surprise your co-workers? 
Back in my prime, I played center-back/sweeper for the Chicago Cobras (semi-pro women’s soccer team) who eventually folded into the NWSL Chicago Red Stars.

What are you most proud of accomplishing in your life, professionally, so far? 
I’m proud of working with some great teams, “converting” challenging clients who became great advocates, and also a high-rise I helped design that is the newest addition to the Chicago Architecture River tours.

What’s your most niche, non-work-related interest?
I love being on the water. I took sailing and wakeboarding in college and still enjoy those activities today.

LJC Office Location: St. Louis
Title/Role: Principal, St. Louis Office Director
Focus: Interior Design
School(s): Maryville University
Professional affiliations: CREW-St. Louis, President-Elect

 What’s the last TV show you binged and enjoyed? What was so good about it?
Hacks! 1. I love Jean Smart all the way back to Designing Women and she is amazing in the show. 2. Hacks blends razor-sharp wit with some laugh-out-loud moments and even a few jaw drops. I got sucked in watching these quirky mentors who inspire reinvention and propel each other forward. It's a smart, humorous nudge to always keep evolving.

What does a perfect weekend look like to you?
A good mix of activity and relaxation. Time with family and/or friends, a bit of cooking or baking, a spot of time being cuddled up watching a show or movie, and especially some time in nature. 

As a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up and why?
I was always problem solving and working to make spaces better. I would regularly clean, organize and rearrange my best friend’s room. I would constantly be building things with Legos – before sets were a thing. I made Barbie furniture from Lincoln Logs. I would rake leaves in my grandparent’s large corner lot into a floorplan to play house with my sister and cousin. Early on, I thought I wanted to be an architect, but in high school realized I preferred Interior Design - where the human experience of a space truly comes to life.