Perkins Eastman celebrates top talent with 2026 promotions

Manhattan, NY Perkins Eastman has promoted 87 staff members this year with the addition of seven new principals, 21 associate principals, 25 senior associates, and 34 associates. With their collective passion, strategic thinking, and dedicated work ethic, these individuals represent not only the best of Perkins Eastman, but also the design industry at large.

“At the core of our firm is our people, and we could not be prouder to recognize them today for their creativity, drive, and genuine commitment to bringing healthy, sustainable, and beautiful spaces into the world,” said Perkins Eastman co-CEOs Shawn Basler, AIA, Nicholas Leahy, AIA, and Andrew Adelhardt III. “It’s inspiring to watch these talented leaders grow, and we congratulate each and every one across our global team of 26 studios on their well-deserved promotions.”

Meet our new principals
• Michael Berger, AIA, LEED AP, brings more than two decades of design experience creating impactful educational environments that support how students learn, grow, and thrive, along with a portfolio that includes residential and mixed-use projects that enhance the way people live and connect.

• Romelda Forbes combines a passion for developing compelling and transparent systems with nineteen years of professional expertise to support strategic financial decision-making and drive growth in her firmwide role as controller.

• Rebecca Milne, LEED Green Associate, Prosci, brings a convergence of expertise — neuropsychology, architecture, and research backed by15 years of experience — to her leadership of our strategy practice. As a director, she has built and leads a multidisciplinary team at the intersection of human behavior and the built environment.

• Emily Pierson-Brown, AIA, NOMA, LEED Green Associate, serves as co-leader of our senior living practice — and leads the firm’s inclusion + belonging initiatives as people culture manager — with twenty years of experience and a true dedication to fostering an inclusive design culture.

• Amy Shavelson, AIA, IIDA, Legacy LEED AP, applies two decades of experience and a passion for helping clients find the best solutions for their interior design challenges in her role as co-regional practice leader in our Washington, DC workplace studio.

• Matthew Young, AIA, leverages strong client partnerships, a commitment to building and mentoring high-performing teams, and 14 years of experience in his role as co-leader of our New York studio’s workplace practice.

• Mika Zhou brings two decades of professional design experience to a diverse portfolio spanning senior living, commercial, residential, and hospitality developments, believing that every project may find its distinctive style rooted in local cultural heritage.

Our new associate principals
• Koray Aysin, LEED AP BD+C, WELL AP, is the firm’s corporate sustainability lead, bringing more than a decade of experience to drive global sustainability strategy across firm strategy and operations and external engagement, with a focus on climate action, carbon reduction, and measurable business and project outcomes.

• Josh Bergman applies a focus on well-executed design, careful attention to client goals and expectations, and nearly 30 years of experience to design innovative education, workplace, senior living, hospitality, and residential spaces.

• Jeremy Brunel, AIA, utilizes fifteen years of expertise and a thoughtful design approach to create educational and cultural spaces that are special and meaningful to both the clients and the people who experience them.

• Emily Chmielewski, EDAC, CITI, Prosci, is our design research director and a passionate advocate for research in practice, bringing more than twenty-five years of expertise to help clients and design teams create evidence-informed built environments that improve human experience.

• Michael Cipriani, AIA, brings more than thirty years of experience, deep technical expertise, and a comprehensive understanding of building systems to complex projects — helping teams navigate constructability, coordination, and technical challenges from concept design through construction administration.

• Liz Dixon, AIA, LEED AP, combines technical knowledge with a creative vision and more than 20 years of multifamily and institutional experience to develop unique yet sensible solutions to complex conditions.

• Kayla Enterline is an interior designer with 15 years of expertise who takes a highly collaborative approach to each project she touches, creating curated, hospitality-driven spaces across our senior living, workplace, healthcare, and residential practice areas.

• Brad Fanta, CPSM, serves as a marketing leader specializing in our senior living and mission-driven sectors, bringing more than two decades of experience and a commitment to advancing design that enhances lives.

• Erika Fiscella, LEED AP applies over 20 years of architectural expertise to her work with local and international projects across a wide variety of practice areas, with a primary focus on hospitality architecture and interiors, residential, senior living and mixed-use.

• Juan Guarin, LEED AP BD+C, WELL AP, CPHC, is a firmwide sustainability specialist with more than a decade of experience and a passion for high-performance, data-informed design and architecture that is inclusive and sustainable.

• Christine Hluska applies a keen eye, thoughtful approach, and four decades of dedicated experience to her work in developing forward-looking marketing strategies for our workplace practice.

• Liz Liss, NCIDQ, LEED AP, WELL AP, leverages two decades of industry expertise in commercial and workplace interiors to thoughtfully create authentic spaces that connect people to place.

• Liam Morrow, AIA, brings a strong technical focus on building façades and a diverse portfolio spanning high-rise residential, healthcare, athletic, and institutional facilities, thanks to 15 years of experience leading complex architectural projects from concept through construction.

• Leo Patterson, AIA, LEED AP BD+C, has more than 20 years of experience leading the planning, programming, and design of complex higher education, laboratory, mixed-use, and residential projects for institutional and commercial clients, with a focus on design quality, constructability, and end-user needs.

• Lisa Pecora-Ryan, AIA, LEED AP BD+C, WELL AP, NCARB, designs educational and municipal projects, and manages all aspects of owner, contractor, and consultant relationships, thanks to more than two decades of experience as a project manager and architect.

• Kim Rader brings a sharp eye and creative mind, along with 30 years of expertise, to lead branding and visual identity as our art director.

• Jennifer Romeo, AIA, LEED Green Associate, focuses on the planning, programming, and design of complex institutional projects across a range of educational, healthcare, residential, and senior living clients. Her two decades of collective experience as an architect and user experience strategist are combined with a passion for creating spaces where innovative design can flourish.

• Aaron Shenefelt, AIA, brings 16 years of experience, a commitment to advancing BIM practices and quality across project teams, and a passion for technical excellence to his leadership of complex projects across commercial retail, hospitality, mixed-use, workplace, high-rise, and interiors.

• Karen Soni, NCIDQ, leverages more than two decades of full-service interior design experience to her work, combining creative vision with an exceptional ability to preserve design intent while respecting client budgets.

• Anthony Stark, AIA, LEED AP BD+C, Phius Associate, brings a collaborative approach, extensive material research expertise, and nearly 25 years of architectural experience to drive the integration of sustainable, high-performance design strategies in our Stamford studio.

• Grace Tang, RA, LEED AP, is a versatile architect with more than 25 years of comprehensive experience in a wide range of project types of various sizes and levels of complexity in the US, China, and Middle East.

Celebrating our senior associates and associates
Perkins Eastman also recognizes the well-deserved promotions of 25 new senior associates. These staff members include Erum Ahmed, Christina Bahou, Stephanie Beirne, Abby Bussel, Dongah Cho, Robert Chorazy, Ashley Chung, Mark Convertito, Lea Fernandez, Sherry Han, Varsha Iyengar, Chelsea Mailler, Barry Mclntyre, Mitsuto Mori, Lowell Morin, Kesari Mudhagouni, Kelly Record, Peter Romains, Zoe Sheaffer, Tamanna Tiku, Elyse Viere, Tina Wang, Jingchen Yin, Kelly Zhang, and Maggie Zou.

Additionally, the firm is proud to celebrate thirty-four new Associates. These individuals include Xue Bai, Swikriti Bhargava, Yeri Caceres, Chinmay Mayekar, Shao-An Chiu, Samantha DeMars, Laura Elliott, Sean Gold, Suzanne Goldberg, Anjali Gopalakrishnan, Ruobing Huang, Amreen Khandekar, Maryasa Krivitskaya, Seth Lawrence, Stephanie Leech, Grayson Levitch, Mercedes McGee, Angela Molina, Aishwarya Pandit, Chanju Park, Kayla Rasmussen, Brooke Ryan, Marcell Sandor, Rachel Schulz, Vivek Sodal, Gabriela Soto, Xoey Teixeira, Irving Tian, Danielle Tinghitella, Emily Tolbert, Cristina Valdivieso, Taylor VanBramer, Adolfo Loza, and Danxi Zou.

Perkins Eastman congratulates each appointee on their richly deserved promotions.