You are NCIDQ certified, and your degree is in interior architecture – what drew you to interiors over other types of architecture? I became interested in interior design in my early teens by watching Trading Spaces on TLC. In school, I even did a career report all about interior design which showed me there was much more to Interior Design than just paint color, fabric, and residential room makeovers. I went to college at a fine arts University and then studied interior architecture, which married my love of interior design and architecture. Most of the projects in school were focused on adaptive reuse and really taught me to love the challenge of how to transform the existing into something new. I got my NCIDQ around 8 years ago to round out that background.
What do you like most about your job? I like that every day brings something new. Our clients and programs – from Amazon to FedEx to 84 Lumber – all have different needs and challenges that are interesting and rewarding to solve. I also love managing and working closely with the different people on my team and working with the ASMEP (Architecture, Structural, and MEP Engineering) group as a whole. They all teach me something new every day.
Do you have a favorite project you’ve worked on at BL? I’m very proud of the work that we have done and continue to do for Amazon across that entire program. I came in almost eight years ago and one of the first jobs I did was one of our early delivery stations with Amazon. I have been in awe of how that program has grown over the years and how we as a group have become experts in that client, how to support them and how to drive their projects forward. I continue to be impressed with that.
What’s new and exciting in the Pittsburgh office? We moved into a new office in the fall of last year, which has been exciting to give our team more space and to provide an opportunity for our office to grow. We’ve also been able to build new relationships and secure opportunities with clients in the Pittsburgh area, like with 84 Lumber, Sheetz, and Pitt-Ohio.
What do you like to do outside of work? I have two small children – 2 year-old Jean and 4 year-old Miles – so a lot of my time outside of work is spent chasing them around and just spending as much time as I can with them. Pittsburgh has an awesome network of museums so you will often find us there on the weekends, or hiking the trails in one of the large parks we live between. When I’m not doing that, I love to golf with my spouse, Jeff. We are also pretty big foodies, so we love to try any new restaurants in Pittsburgh, whenever we can find a babysitter for the night!