Alumni Council

A real estate veteran with more than 29 years of experience, Brian Adelstein is the Director of Transactions for a global C&W client in the financial advisory segment and is responsible for the delivery of lease acquisition services Globally. In addition to managing day-to-day management of between 45-50 active global leasing initiatives, Brian is also responsible for the strategic integration of best practices and process improvements into the service delivery methodology for this client.

Previously, Brian led C&W’s Global Portfolio Administration practice and was responsible for the coordination of C&W’s lease administration services worldwide and audit and recovery services in the United States. Brian was also an Account Director in C&W’s Portfolio Management Group. In this role, Brian oversaw C&W’s relationship with the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) and other federal government agency clients.

As President of Quinn Evans Architects, Larry provides leadership that promotes a sense of responsibility reflective of the pedigree of the firm’s portfolio. He advocates innovation and inspires design quality at all levels.

Larry thrives when working on cultural heritage projects such as performing arts spaces and museums. As a creative thinker, he appreciates these environments for their ability to provide a special forum for the interaction between art, the artists, and the viewing audience. Larry is proud that, in many cases, QEA is able to truly transform buildings while strengthening their connection with people.

Amy bases her leadership on the conviction that successful projects begin with building great relationships. She brings a focus on creative problem solving to every aspect of the work from developing a vibrant project team to ensuring complex solutions are supportive of design intent.

Along with two partners in the summer of 2015, Amy successfully led Trivers, an architecture firm located in St. Louis, through the firm’s first ownership transition since its founding in 1975. As Principal with over 20 years of experience heavily focused on historic and civic projects, she has played a key role in some of the firm’s most visible projects. Among her key projects are the Old Post Office renovation, the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial Ranger Station and the Old Courthouse renovation in St. Louis, as well as American Cancer Society Hope Lodge projects throughout the United States. Through strategic alignment of Trivers’ vision and expertise, Amy has recently begun expanding the firm’s civic portfolio winning work across the country as a Small Business Enterprise.

Dan Harmon is a Vice President with Turner Construction Company, a leading international construction services company with 47 offices in North America and an annual revenue of over $16B. Dan is based in New York City but travels nationwide in support of Turner’s portfolio of ‘hyper-scale’ data center projects.

Dan graduated from Michigan in 1991 (BS-Arch) and 1993 (M-Arch) and worked for 5 years in the Architecture office of Valerio Dewalt Train Associates in Chicago.  Since joining Turner in 1998, Dan has led teams on projects ranging in size from $500K to $1B+, including science and medical research laboratories, university buildings, sports stadiums, data centers, semiconductor and electronics manufacturing facilities, healthcare projects, and multi-family residential.  Dan’s professional interests align with Turner’s market focus on complex, highly technical, one-of-a-kind buildings as well as progressive design-build, design-assist, and IPD project delivery.

In her role as Planning and Design Director for Compass Development Marketing Group, Whitney collaborates with developers and real estate experts focused solely on Multifamily New Development projects across the country. She recommends potential collaborations with architects and interior designers, assists in feasibility, zoning, and massing studies; and helps guide direction on unit mix, floor plan layouts, finishes, amenity programming and sales gallery layouts.

As a liaison between the sales and development teams, Whitney helps translate real-time sales data into design strategies for a competitive marketplace. She ensures that the design team’s vision is accurately translated into the project branding, renderings and creative assets for marketing. Whitney is a registered architect in New York and holds a U.S. Green Building Council LEED-AP certification. Her previous roles include Chief Architecture and Design Officer at Brown Harris Stevens Development Marketing and Project Architect at Selldorf Architects. Her project experience covers single and multifamily residential developments, high-end private residences, retail, and commercial buildings.

As Vice President of Suffolk Illuminate, Chris Lanzisera is responsible for leading the strategic development and oversight of Suffolk’s design-build vertical. This new division leverages innovative technologies and processes to deliver design excellence with a focus on efficiency, constructability, and cost and schedule predictability. Prior to joining Suffolk, Chris served as Vice President of Architecture at the Irvine Company where he co-led the Company’s Apartment Development Design Studio, consisting of architects, interior designers, and landscape architects responsible for managing the planning, design and execution of all multifamily new development and reinvestment projects across the Company’s portfolio of over 60,000 dwelling units.

Prior to the Irvine Company, Chris was Regional Vice President of Design Services for Hyatt Hotels Corporation where he led internal and external teams of architects and designers, responsible for overseeing design direction, programming and functional planning of all new construction, renovation, and conversion projects throughout the Americas, across the portfolio of Hyatt’s multiple full-service hotel brands. Chris began his professional career working for Nagle Hartray Architects where he learned under Jim Nagle, a member of the ‘Chicago Seven’ architects. Chris is a Registered Architect in the state of Illinois and a member of the American Institute of Architects. Chris earned his Bachelor of Science Degree in Architecture from the University of Michigan, Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning and his Master of Architecture from Princeton University.

Lauren Leighty is a Principal and Campus Studio Leader with SmithGroup. She is an integral member of the firm’s leadership team for campus planning and higher education. Lauren focuses her talents on addressing the multi-layered challenges facing colleges and universities both today and into the future.

Her expertise in urban design combined with a strong background in landscape architecture provide a distinct vantage point from which she approaches each campus planning project. Her training and wide range of national project experience has given her the ability to comprehend a project from its regional context down to a detailed implementation level.

Lauren has worked with many respected higher education institutions across the country such as the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, North Carolina State University, Boston University, and University of California – Riverside, as well as with leading corporations such as Dow, General Motors, Ford Motor Company, and BMW.

Lauren received her Bachelor of Landscape Architecture degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and her Master of Urban Design from the University of Michigan. During her time at the University of Michigan, she served as a MUD Research Assistant and was named a 2010 Taubman College Charles Moore Scholar.

Lauren is a frequent contributor to the national dialogue on higher education through recent presentations at the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC), American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) and Society for College and University Planning (SCUP) conferences. Lauren also serves on the SmithGroup’s Board of Directors and the Board of Directors for the Landscape Architecture Foundation.

Jessica Loovis, AIA, is a Principal / Vice-President at ASD|SKY. Jessica leads ASD|SKY in developing new business opportunities across the company’s twelve locations nationwide. She is a Registered Architect and a LEED Accredited Professional.

Jessica attended the University of Michigan and obtained a Bachelor of Science in Architecture in 2005 and went on to obtain her Master of Architecture from Georgia Institute of Technology in 2010.

Jessica is an active member of ULI, NAIOP, CoreNet, CREW, and ICSC. She is currently on Georgia Institute of Technology’s, College of Design Advisory Board and a Board Member with Dad’s Garage, a non-profit comedy theatre whose mission is to transform people, communities, and perspectives through laughter. Additionally, Jessica was selected to participate in the 2019 Marvin C. Goldstein Black-Jewish Project Understanding Retreat and the Anti-Defamation League’s 2019-2020 Glass Leadership Institute. She is a member of NAIOP’s Redevelopment Forum; graduate of ULI Atlanta’s Center for Leadership, Class of 2014; NAIOP Georgia’s Future Leaders, Class of 2014; LEAD Atlanta’s Class of 2017; Atlanta Regional Commission Millennial Advisory Panel, member of the Young Women’s Leadership Forum (YWLF), and an active volunteer and team lead with Back on My Feet Atlanta.

Evan Mathison is Principal and Co-Founder of Mathison I Mathison Architects (MMA), an award winning architecture and interiors firm in Grand Rapids, Michigan. MMA is founded on the conviction that architecture, planning, and design elevate lives through an inclusive and dynamic relationship-based process.

Since co-founding MMA with his father, Tom Mathison, FAIA in 2013, Evan has helped build and lead a talented team of architects and designers to complete a number of award-winning projects. Evan’s current projects include the new Sports and Inclusion Center for Special Olympics Michigan which will be the largest Special Olympics facility in the world, a new production facility and visitor center for the biggest whiskey distillery in Michigan, multiple higher education and secondary education projects throughout Michigan, and many residential projects throughout Michigan, Massachusetts, New York and Florida.

Evan was named a “40 Under Forty” business leader in Grand Rapids, Michigan in 2015.

Since 2011, Kristen has led the architecture and interiors teams at StoryBuilt, a leading urban infill community developer. As a vertically integrated company, StoryBuilt designs, develops, builds and manages residential and mixed-use communities across Austin, Dallas, Seattle and Denver. Kristen leverages her 20+ years of experience to lead the design vision of StoryBuilt projects. Her extensive knowledge of land planning and residential design has been critical to StoryBuilt’s success. Throughout her career, Kristen’s focus on developer driven work has led to her steadfast belief that architects can and should be in the driver’s seat of the development process, crafting the vision of how urban land should be used. She also believes that successful projects are the result of respectful collaboration amongst all stakeholders in the development process and carefully crafted stories that influence every aspect of the design of these communities.

Kristen graduated with her Bachelor of Science from the University of Michigan Taubman School of Architecture in 1998, and received her Master in Architecture from Harvard University Graduate School of Design in 2003.

Kelly D. Powell is an architect whose career has been a unique exchange between practice, client representation and academia. Professionally, she has held key leadership positions within design firms such as Davis Brody Bond and Perkins + Will as well working directly on behalf of major global corporations including the Hudson’s Bay Company and CBRE/American Express. Projects have spanned across North America, the Middle East and Africa; ranging from global headquarters to the interior planning of educational, institutional, and civic buildings — winning numerous awards alongside the innovative teams.

Academically, she has taught at the University of Detroit-Mercy School of Architecture and The Georgia Institute of Technology within its Paris, France program. For her early academic research, she was awarded the highly prestigious Rome Prize in Architecture from the American Academy in Rome; being the first African-American to win the architecture fellowship in the institution’s 125 year history. Prior to that, Kelly served as the Resident Design Fellow within the University of Detroit-Mercy’s Detroit Collaborative Design Center.

Kelly received her architectural degrees from the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor and the Georgia Institute of Technology. She is a member of NCARB and is licensed in the states of Michigan, New Jersey and New York and is a former President of the New York Chapter of the National Organization of Minority Architects—nycoba|NOMA. Under her leadership, the J. Max Bond, Jr. Lecture was instituted and is now an annual event sponsored by the organization in partnership with the New York Center for Architecture/ NYC AIA. Kelly also served as the President of the century-year-old Society of Fellows/American Academy in Rome from 2016—2021 while also sitting on the American Academy’s Board of Trustees.

Jamie Simchik is the Principal of Simchik Planning and Development in Portsmouth, NH. Initially offering clients real estate development advisory services, Jamie now owns and operates 200,000 square feet of commercial real estate with his family through the 100 Market Group portfolio. Additionally, his family developed and owns The Hotel Concord, which is a 38-room, independent, boutique hotel in Concord, NH. And recently, Jamie has opened an 8,000 SF coworking space, HRKNSScowork, which is supporting small businesses and growing the entrepreneurial ecosystem through Launch NH.

Prior to this current role, Jamie was a Principal Planner at Fort Hill Companies, an architectural, engineering and urban planning firm with offices in Massachusetts and Florida. He was also a Public Engagement Assistant with Regina Villa Associates undertaking public outreach for sewer separation and road reconstruction capital improvement projects in Massachusetts. Additionally, Jamie was a Research Planner with Connor Holmes, an urban planning consulting firm in South Australia, collaborating on a variety of projects for government and private clients.

Jamie serves on the Board of Directors for Intown Concord (NH) and Greater Concord Chamber of Commerce (NH). He is actively involved with the American Planning Association and Urban Land Institute. Jamie graduated from Colgate University and has a Master of Urban Planning, Master of Business Administration, and Graduate Certificate in Real Estate Development from the University of Michigan.

Architect. Technologist. Planner. Artist. Educator. Innovator. All the paths Andrea has taken throughout her more than 20-year career have led her to her current work: bridging the physical and digital worlds. Andrea succeeds in taking complex challenges and creating cohesive strategies and deliverables for Stantec’s clients and Stantec’s architects, designers, engineers, and scientists.

As the director of digital technology and innovation in Stantec’s Growth and Innovation Office, Andrea leads a group at the forefront of new and established technologies. This diverse team of experts works within a range of technologies — from reality capture and virtual reality to computational design, data analytics, and more.

Andrea believes that innovation begins with curiosity and is rooted in the desire to explore, experiment, and improve. With a passion for materials science, expertise in a variety of digital platforms, and a love of continuous learning, Andrea approaches her role with a natural curiosity and open inclusion of ideas and solutions.

James Wild is an architect in Gensler’s Chicago office with more than 25 years of diverse industry experience in architecture, design, and project management. He has worked and collaborated with notable firms on projects ranging from commercial, retail, and corporate interiors to larger core and shell and adaptive reuse projects, seeing numerous significant projects from design concept through construction for clients including theMART, Haworth, and Glassdoor.

James approaches each project with a sense of artistic pragmatism, seizing each as an opportunity to create something new that balances art, design, and technology. His work has been published in Interior Design, The Architect’s Newspaper, and Architectural Record, among others, and has been recognized through awards from national and local AIA chapters. James earned a Bachelor of Science and Master of Architecture from University of Michigan A. Alfred Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning.

Martin Woodrow joined Colliers as president of enterprise clients within the Occupier Services | Americas platform. With more than 27 years of commercial real estate experience, Martin is an expert in growing and leading large and complex organizations, collaborating extensively and pushing the organization to deliver differentiated results for clients.

Prior to joining Colliers, Martin was an executive managing director at Cushman & Wakefield. He ran the firm’s Occupier Services business in the West Region of the United States, including Mexico and South America. He had direct responsibility for more than 2,500 employees generating $250 million of annual revenue in the delivery of services including Transaction Management, Project Management, Lease Administration and Facility Management to more than 50 multi-market clients.