Giving back to the communities in which we live and work is essential. Whether supporting the Peachtree Road Farmers Market at the Cathedral of St. Philip or donating soil to my community garden by composting, we develop friendships and professional working relationships. I have found over the years that it makes this big city of Atlanta feel like a network of neighborhood communities, each unique in its own right.
Although my design work spans across the city of Atlanta and the Southeast, the Virginia-Highland neighborhood will always be a special part of my portfolio. One of my first residential projects was there. Later that project was my first published project and my first ASID award winner as an independent designer. It is fitting that it would be the first of many of my design projects that would be on the Virginia-Highland Tour of Homes, an event I have sponsored since 2004. The neighborhood’s character and its residents continue to draw me back time and time again.
As a Virginia native and accidental city girl, my four years at Sweet Briar shaped who I am today. Deciding against New York City, I bought a convertible and drove to Atlanta. With the support of an amazing group of Atlanta Alumnae I embarked on my design career after working as an environmental paralegal. As a working student in the Alumnae Office at Sweet Briar I was well aware that we had an incredible network of accomplished women, successful in their careers and communities. Then March 3, 2015 happened… $28.5 million later we are a fierce and formidable group of women indeed and We Saved Sweet Briar! I am forever grateful to my clients, vendors and friends that supported our effort!
As a Professional Member of ASID, the American Society of Interior Designers, each year we meet a requirement of Continuing Education Units (CEU’s) to maintain our NCIDQ license. These courses and workshops are informative and often encompass current innovative technologies and trends.
These experiences tend to be above and beyond continuing education. Often, I will take part in courses and lectures approved by the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and the Institute of Classical Architecture and Art (ICAA). These events offer unique learning opportunities provided by regional and national experts on architecture and interior design.