I’m a creative thinker and doer skilled at bringing innovative ideas to life. Driven by curiosity and connection, I believe in the power of design and communication to make our environment and our communities healthier, more just, and more inclusive. With two decades of leadership experience in business and an ongoing commitment to volunteer and board roles, I focus on collaboration for positive impact.
My boundless curiosity about people’s stories of the cities they inhabit—and my belief that by sharing stories we increase understanding and connection—was the catalyst for my podcast, Five Places L.A., a living documentary of Los Angeles which I host and produce for the L.A. Forum for Architecture and Urban Design.
As founder-CEO of Panelite from 1998-2022, I led a resourceful, energetic team in the evolving field of sustainable architectural materials. Panelite developed four product lines, earned six U.S. patents, and led the building materials market in applying honeycomb technology to save energy, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and improve occupant wellbeing. Panelite materials have been applied in thousands of built projects for end clients including Amazon, Audi, Boston Children’s Hospital, the Frick Museum, Google, Illinois Institute of Technology, Raleigh Union Station, Target, UC San Diego, and University of Rhode Island. Panelite has been extensively published and awarded and was featured in the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum’s 2006 Design Triennial alongside Apple, Boeing, Google, NASA, and Nike. Though we successfully weathered two major economic downturns, we closed the company in 2022 following unprecedented supply chain turbulence in the 2020 pandemic. I still receive messages from clients expressing enthusiasm for our products and our team.
My volunteer and board roles, as well as my freelance work, have further broadened my skills in communications, programming, and production, and in leading multiple projects in parallel. I was active for four years with AIA|LA, planning the annual Powerful conference and leading discussions on entrepreneurship in architecture. In recognition of my “contributions to architecture through the fabrication of progressive materials, (my) leadership as an indefatigable advocate for the elevation of women in the profession, and (my) meaningful support for the field of design”, I was awarded an HON AIA|LA.
I am currently in the final year of my term as a board member of the L.A. Forum for Architecture and Urban Design (“the Forum”), and in my third year as VP of the Forum’s Information Committee, an annually elected position. The committee oversees all outbound communications and supports the public programming and events for which the Forum is renowned. Complex issues including environmentalism, ecosystem regeneration, Native land stewardship, the housing crisis, and social justice are central to the organization’s mission of instigating dialogue.
I’ve lived and worked in five cities and two languages (and counting) and eagerly pursue travel, nature, and art in all forms. I’m an avid reader with a love for languages, (despite?) having been raised by two French teachers who discussed etymology and syntax at dinner. I’m always looking to learn new things, most recently: skateboarding (with its beautiful implications for life, creativity, and strategy), Notion (as an organizational tool and database), growing an edible garden, and, like many of us, rapidly evolving issues around climate change and AI.
I am deeply motivated to contribute my creativity and experience to dynamic, collaborative projects for positive impact. Please reach out if you have one in mind!
EDUCATION
University of California Los Angeles Anderson School of Management (Los Angeles, CA)
Executive Program in Management
Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation (New York, NY)
Master of Architecture
Honor Award for Excellence in Design; William H. Kinne Fellowship Award
École Supérieure de Design Industriel (Paris, France)
Certificat de Design Industriel (product design program)
University of California at Berkeley, College of Environmental Design (Berkeley, CA)
Bachelor of Arts in Architecture with Highest Honors, Minor in French Literature
