From the time she was a young child, Michelle remembers delighting in exploring construction sites with her dad. From those experiences she learned how to examine the bones of a space, how rooms are laid out, and how spaces relate to one another. “I remember, very early on, saying I wanted to be an architect when I grow up,” says Michelle, who would prove to be equally adept across the STEM fields as she went through school. She initially pursued a pre-med curriculum and began medical school, but realized her passions lay elsewhere. She went on active duty with the Army for five years, spending that time working in medical clinics and other healthcare-related roles due to her training. When she got out, Michelle remembered her long-held desire to pursue architecture, a field that required both technical skills and a measure of creativity that she had been missing. After pursuing her Master of Architecture degree from the University of Maryland, she began working at Perkins Eastman where her medical background once again influenced her placement within the Senior Living studio, where she’s been practicing since.

Michelle is particularly skilled with client-facing work. Her Army background, she says, “helped me to be direct in communications, respectful and approachable as a human being.” As she’s become more seasoned in her career, she has divided her focus between project manager and project architect, executing the technical aspects of the designs her clients envision for their senior living communities.

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Michelle is involved in the DC’s office’s internal staffing initiatives, working with studio leaders to coordinate project teams both across the office and across practice areas.