Alumni News

I am a 2011 graduate from the KU Health and Wellness program.  As part of the program I was able to work at a firm and learn some of the basics of healthcare.   Since graduating I have been working in St. Louis at Christner.  At Christner I have been able to work on a variety of project types including Education, Corporate, and Healthcare.  In the past few years, I have been able to focus in healthcare working on projects for several of the hospital systems the St. Louis Area including renovations, additions and replacement hospitals including BJC West County, which is shown here. [email protected]

As a graduate of the M. Arch program in 2011, the last nine years of my post-graduate success can be largely credited to the University of Kansas School of A&D and to the faculty members who continue to challenge and inspire.  Following my time at KU, I have continued my tenure at Burns & McDonnell (KC) as a senior design architect for the last 15 years.  During this time, my experiences have ranged from projects such as a very large, mixed use development in the Heart of Doha, Qatar to a 14-story high rise multi-family project nestled in the crossroads arts district of Kansas City, MO, which is the project shown here (courtesy and all rights reserved by Burns & McDonnell). [email protected]

While in the Health + Wellness program I completed my internship with HKS in Washington D.C. working with medical planners and researchers at the firm to assist in programming, schematic design efforts, and a post-occupancy evaluation. After leaving KU, I’ve been working at HGA Architects and Engineers in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. AT HGA I work with medical planners and designers from pre-design through construction documents, as well as with our Design Insight Group to conduct research and evaluate existing infrastructure and workflows. Since starting with HGA I’ve primarily worked on a large specialty outpatient clinic to engage user groups and assist in planning, design, and documentation efforts throughout the building. [email protected]

As part of the health and wellness program, I interned in San Francisco on a large hospital project and developed my thesis on the benefits of Lean Integrated Project Delivery for healthcare projects and later published an article on the topic in Healthcare Design Magazine. Since then, my career has been focused on large hospital projects primarily using some form integrated project delivery process, and I still frequently reference many of the healthcare planning principles I learned while at KU. Currently, I live in Atlanta and work on the healthcare team for The Beck Group, an architecture and construction company. [email protected]

After completing the health and wellness program, my path to healthcare architecture wasn’t a straight one due to scarcity of jobs upon graduation. After working in both multifamily and commercial architecture for a few years, I was excited to return to healthcare. Since 2016, I’ve mostly worked on behavioral health, which has become a passion of mine. I enjoy the opportunity to create environments that marry patient and staff safety with beautiful design, all with a focus on human dignity. My favorite project involvement with Davis Partnership to date is with a psychiatric facility, West Springs Hospital, in western Colorado (courtesy of Davis Partnership, © Paul Brokering Photography). [email protected]

My biggest takeaway from my participation in the KU Health & Wellness program during my fifth year was the importance of infusing health + wellness aspects across all areas and scales of design work. Since joining Gensler after graduation in 2016, I have largely focused on repositioning projects in Chicago which are transforming the way our city lives, works and stays healthy. A recent design at 550 West Randolph, the site of a former drug warehouse celebrates the legacy of the existing building while adding a contemporary addition with modern amenities and ease of access to outdoor spaces. [email protected]

Upon graduation from Arc/D in 2018, I rejoined RTA Architects, the company at which I spent my 5th year internship. In December 2019, I received an architecture license in Colorado. One of my favorite experiences has been in an IPD team at St. Francis Medical Center in Colorado Springs. Of multiple, the most recent project has been adding two additional inpatient floors on top of the existing building and capped with a helistop. Recently, I am part of a design-build team that is currently renovating a de-commissioned hospital to accept step down COVID-19 patients from other facilities. [email protected]

Since graduating in 2015, I have worked at Pulse Design Group, a firm that does 100% healthcare design.  At Pulse I have acted as the primary project manager for almost all our company’s Ascension Health work which has ranged from Linear Accelerators to Master Planning at numerous campuses. I am also responsible for the production and maintenance of the University of Kansas Health System’s 60+ record Revit Models and Code footprints. However, the project I am most proud of and is shown here is the Hybrid Operating room that I designed for Shawnee Mission Health (now Advent Health).  [email protected]

After graduating in 2013, I joined Populous and worked in the collegiate football market on a variety of stadiums and training facilities. In 2015, I became the youngest licensed architect at the firm. In 2018, I transitioned to Wellner Architects and worked on numerous local projects including education, food service and aviation. A year later, with a move to LA, I rejoined Populous to work on the new arena in Palm Springs, CA. The Health & Wellness program not only provided my educational bases regarding the gathering and activities of people on a variety of scales, but also allowed the opportunity for internship experience. The project shown is the Sonny Lubick Field at Canvas Stadium at Colorado State University (courtesy Populous). [email protected]

Since I started in the architecture field, I realized I have a knack for creating detailed designs that enhance quality of life. This is one of the many reasons I chose to design for healthcare environments. I like being able to control aspects of space utilization through technical drawings, design, space planning and much more. I love working as part of the healthcare team because of the innovative and cutting edge designs we apply to each space to promote healing. In my role at EUA, I enjoy communicating and collaborating with clients to provide leading-edge design solutions for healthcare processes. [email protected]