Professional Experience

OTJ Architects — Washington, DC

May 2021 – present

Senior Project Manager, Workplace Design & Project Management

• Manages design efforts from project initiation to close-out for corporate offices, credit unions, and SCIFs – maintaining high client satisfaction and furthering strategic relationships with industry partners
• Communicates project requirements to other disciplines, vendors, and contractors to ensure incorporation into timely, complete, and coordinated project documents
• Facilitates site visits and project meetings – resolving technical issues, assessing impacts to project schedules and budgets, conducting value engineering efforts, and presenting alternative solutions to address post-pandemic supply chain challenges
• Maintains active design production skills – conducting site surveys and punch walks, selecting finishes and fixtures, developing and delivering design presentations, producing Revit drawings and specifications, responding to RFIs, reviewing shop drawings and submittals, and conforming construction documents

Smithsonian Enterprises — Washington, DC

November 2013 – March 2020

Senior Designer, Space Planning & Retail Design Group

• Produced construction documents, including CAD drawings, 3D models, renderings, and project specifications, for revenue-generating spaces (retail stores, cafés, theaters, and operational support spaces) located within Smithsonian Institution buildings and leased properties
• Partnered with project management in the preparation and review of project briefs, statements of work, project schedules, and design budgets
• Supervised the team of interior and graphic designers – communicating project expectations and allocating work assignments, leading collaborative design charrettes, managing team object and block libraries, reviewing all team deliverables for quality assurance, and mentoring the career development of direct reports
• Researched and prepared cost estimates for materials, finishes, furnishings, fixtures, and equipment for retail, café, and workplace projects – specifying and procuring items in accordance with budgetary allowances, delegated authority, and all applicable Smithsonian policies
• Designed and managed procurement of custom fixtures – developing millwork drawings, researching vendors, preparing bid packages, facilitating vendor proposal activities, creating purchase orders, reviewing shop drawings, and coordinating fabrication and delivery schedules with project management
• Collaborated with museum representatives, contractors, and other divisions within the Smithsonian Institution to ensure adherence of designs to criteria for the preservation and restoration of historic buildings and facilities

Diaeta Designs — Herndon, VA

August 2011 - present

Independent Design Consultant - Owner, Design Visualization & Consulting Services

• Registered Town of Herndon business, NAICS code 541410, license number 8014; Sales and Use Tax Certificate for the Commonwealth of Virginia
• Provides owner representation and pre-construction interior design services including programming, feasibility assessment, spatial planning, schematic design, and permit application assistance
• Provides pro-bono consulting services including on-site inventories, FF&E value assessments, and post-disaster documentation assistance for residential insurance claims

Posh! Inc. — Vienna, VA

June 2010 – June 2011

Designer, Retail Merchandising & Residential Interior Design Services

• Led integration of 3D visualization and CAD software into conventional hand-rendering design studio
• Developed design presentation content for high-end residential projects including concept visuals, furniture layouts, perspectives, and custom designs for furnishings and interior finish components
• Produced floor plans, elevations, and details for construction documentation
• Coordinated construction documents with architects, general contractors, and subcontractors
• Maintained FF&E specification binders and design project records including purchase orders and RFIs
• Provided visual merchandising and customer service for multiple retail store and showroom environments

Michael-Cleary LLC — Washington, DC

March 2009 – June 2010

Intern, Interior Design Showroom

• Maintained materials sample inventory and furniture/fixture tear sheet library
• Provided showroom floor customer service and coordinated memo procurement with manufacturers

Perkowitz + Ruth Architects — Reston, VA

October 2007 – July 2008

Drafter, Retail and Mixed-Use Architecture

• Produced CAD construction drawings including site plans, building plans, elevations, sections, and details
• Researched and collected information regarding client standards and jurisdiction requirements
• Verified contract documents, incorporating revisions as directed by project management
• Performed site measurements and developed as-built drawings and test fits for interior renovation projects
• Participated in material, finish, and product selection and maintained design specification documentation

Booz Allen Hamilton — McLean, VA

May 2003 – September 2007

Associate, Information Systems and Customer Relationship Management

• Provided subject matter expertise to government agencies in identifying and implementing technology alternatives that enabled business strategies while generating cost savings in response to legislative mandates
• Conducted program management activities in the areas of compliance, requirements definition, functional enhancement, correspondence management, multi-channel communications, independent verification and validation testing (IV&V), staffing, and project budgeting
• Led operational strategy discussions and business requirements analysis to identify priority Customer Relationship Management (CRM) capabilities for a professional services firm’s global presence, soliciting input from the firm’s government and commercial market leadership
• Supervised a rotational team of 6-8 IV&V consultants; managing team composition based on quarterly skill set requirements

Urban Engineering & Associates, Inc. — Annandale, VA

May 2002 – April 2003

Project Engineer, Civil Engineering and Land Development

• Supported project managers in addressing regulatory agency and client inquiries regarding commercial, residential, and public facilities developments
• Submitted and revised county documents including bond estimates, engineering peer reviews, utility requests, and civil design exhibits
• Coordinated civil documentation with architectural, plumbing, electrical, and survey plans and plats
• Documented and profiled structures for site and construction plans
• Designed utility, sanitary, and storm water conveyance systems for large-scale commercial sites, residential developments, and roadways in Northern Virginia and Southern Maryland

PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP — Philadelphia, PA & Atlanta, GA

June 1999 – January 2002

Management Consultant, Emerging and Integrated

• Developed a web based multi-media sales, strategic planning, and envisioning tool, designed to demonstrate e-business capabilities and service offerings to clients from an industry perspective. The tool’s customizable framework included marketing presentations, workflow graphics, opportunities, citations, case studies, best practices, and demonstrations of industry solutions
• Obtained certification as a Cisco Certified Network Associate and Siebel Certified Consultant
• Defined and illustrated logical and physical architectures of commercial off-the-shelf applications for client specific implementations; installed, administered, and upgraded multiple Siebel CRM systems
• Developed configuration management strategies and authored administration and operations manuals