Current projects: I’m working on a 230,000-square-foot, 10-story comprehensive cancer center comprising new and renovated inpatient and outpatient care spaces. We collaborated with a large, diverse group of users to plan several departments in a way that increases face time of staff with one another and patients.
Best advice you’ve received: My favorite quote is by Mahatma Gandhi: “Be the change you want to see in the world.” After I went to study at UC Berkeley, I learned no one hands you the opportunities or resources to materialize your ideas. If you want something, go get it! I live by this mantra. My mentor at HDR, Heidi Higgason, added a new layer to my vision: “Avoid tunnel vision in your career development so you don’t miss a great opportunity. At times, it’s important to not just do your job but do the job that’s needed, filling the gaps you see.”
Sources of inspiration: It’s important to define your personal purpose and align your career with it. Having my mission, passion, and work aligned, I can’t wait to wake up every morning to pick up where I left off. I am inspired by the opportunity to make the lives of distressed occupants less stressful and more pleasant. I am driven by the possibility to design smart buildings that don’t excessively consume the limited resources of our planet. I want to pay tribute to my first professional inspiration, Dame Zaha Hadid, who stands for the determination, work ethic, success, and the exceptional design approach I treasure.
Trends you’re tracking: I’d like to see more healthcare systems adopt Lean and patient-centric operations. It’s disappointing to hear, “We decided not to go with this option because it’s not how we do things here.” Change is uncomfortable, but mastering adaptation and flexibility will become a fundamental competency for leaders and organizations in this new decade.
Your crystal ball says: With the fast-paced development of digital health technologies, it’s only a matter of time until we see a shift from treating sickness to preventing illness. Our healthcare design industry mastered the experience-centered retail healthcare concept that works well today. Now, we need to engage data-driven research and health technologies for flexible design solutions and be a part of this global change.
Dream project: My dream project is a network of net-zero healing wellness hubs designed around innovation, accessibility, and efficiency to disrupt access to healthcare in our country and around the world. This network is focused on three key challenges: cost, transportation, quality … We need better care, closer to home, and within financial reach of our communities.
Memorable pandemic moment: In the early stages of the pandemic, when there was a significant personal protective equipment (PPE) shortage, I joined forces with a few other young professionals and spearheaded an office-wide effort to produce PPE for the local healthcare worker community. Playing an active role in supporting my community during this unprecedented time allowed me to stay true to my purpose to make a lasting impact on the well-being of the communities I serve.