My Story

I am passionate about Adaptive Reuse and have been for quite some time; probably even before I knew it had a name.

Adaptive Reuse is woven into the fabric of our communities

I grew up in a small town in Pennsylvania. It was a booming town in 1850; coal mines and timber operations were in high production. The people built a thriving downtown with churches, theatres, office buildings, public parks, and other warehouse-type buildings to support the local industries.

My hometown was not booming when I lived there. The downtown, the theater, and the church had all faded from glory and stood as reminders of what used to be, of how my hometown had peaked and faded away as industry and times changed. I remember exploring the big, dusty brick building that used to be the Hardman Philips wood-screw mill and imagining how the space used to feel.

Professional Life

I graduated from Penn State with my undergrad and master’s degree in Architectural Engineering then promptly moved to Boston, Massachusetts, to join Simpson Gumpertz & Heger. Throughout college and my first few years at SGH, I was exposed to all kinds of projects and buildings. I worked on building envelope projects, geotechnical projects, and structural design projects. I settled into a great role with the Repair & Rehabilitation team of the Structural Division and it all clicked for me. I got paid to go see old buildings and figure out where and why they were deteriorated. I got paid to walk into wide-open building spaces and imagine what I’d do with them if I owned them.

I now live and work in the New York State Capital Region with McLaren Engineering Group, and I still get paid to go see old buildings! The Capital Region is filled with Adaptive Reuse projects and I have the opportunity to work with like-minded people who are also passionate about Adaptive Reuse. I want to leverage everything I’ve learned and have yet to learn to better our industry’s understanding and execution of Adaptive Reuse projects.