Job Searching in a Time of Crisis: Virtual Discussion with Architecture Professionals

Students and recent graduates have many questions as they navigate the pandemic and prepare for a career after Penn. For this discussion our guests will give advice on job and internship searching, networking, and what May 2020 graduates can accomplish during this time.

Panelists:

William A. Jackson, Recruitment Manager, BIG (Bjarke Ingels Group), (not pictured in photo). Jackson is a strategic Human Resources Professional with a Bachelor of Arts in Art History from Florida Atlantic University and currently working toward a Master of Science in Human Capital Management from New York University. Jackson started his career in the architecture realm in 2016 at Bespoke Careers, a London-based recruitment firm, solely set up to recruit creative and support staff for Architecture firms around the world. In 2018, he joined Bjarke Ingels Group (aka BIG) as a Recruiter, over the past two years has grown the department, and ascended to Recruitment Manager for the NYC office of over 230 people. He also works with the Copenhagen, London, and Barcelona offices to find top talent.

Matthew Krissel, AIA, LEED AP, Partner, KieranTimberlake. Krissel is an architect and partner at KieranTimberlake, an award-winning architecture firm recognized for its environmental ethos, research expertise, and pioneering design. He has combined his interest in computation and technology with a deep understanding of how to connect people, programming, and design aspirations in a handful of noted projects, including the award-winning Cellophane House™ featured at the Museum of Modern Art and the US Embassy in London. Krissel is currently working on New York University’s 181 Mercer, a sustainable multi-use building in Manhattan, the new Scaife Hall building for the School of Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University, and OpenHome, an off-site fabricated house product developed in partnership with Bensonwood Homes. As the chair of KieranTimberlake’s Digital Design Visioning Group, Krissel helps foster digital innovation, visualization, and knowledge sharing throughout the firm. He has served on academic design juries at the University of Pennsylvania, MIT, and the University of Texas at Austin, and was the chair of the 2016 AIA New York Design Awards and the 2017 AIA National Innovation Award. He has also lectured across the country and around the world and has recently given talks at the AIA New York’s Global Dialogues Committee, University at Buffalo, Harvard University, and the AIA’s Technology in Architectural Practice Conference. Krissel has been interviewed for articles in Architectural Record and Architect magazines, and has contributed to the books Superusers: Design Technology Specialists and the Future of Practice and Convergence: The Redesign of Design by Randy Deutsch and Workflows: Expanding Territory in the Design and Delivery of Buildings by Richard Garber.

Adrienne L. McKinney AIA, Founding Principal, ALMA Architecture. McKinney oversees the studio’s commercial and higher education projects. She has over 20 years of experience managing architectural projects with a focus on the higher education market. Before forming ALMA architecture in 2013, her focus was on higher education projects for over 10 years. Adrienne has led design teams for multi-million dollar projects in the northeast region, including Cornell University, Lafayette College, State University of New York and West Chester University. She is a licensed architect in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and is a member of the American Institute of Architects. McKinney served on the Friends of Children’s Crisis Treatment Center Executive Board, a non-profit agency that specializes in delivering behavioral health services to neglected and traumatized children in Philadelphia. She also has participated in Design on the Delaware and has been a guest juror for student design reviews at Drexel University, Philadelphia University, Temple University Tyler School of Art and Moore College of Art & Design.

Mathew A. Huffman AIA, LEED AP, Principal, ALMA Architecture. Huffman is the principal in charge of the studio’s commercial, religious, mixed-use and residential projects. He has over 20 years of experience practicing architecture with a focus on urban projects. He joined ALMA in 2015 after leaving Interface Studio Architects where he was a senior studio director for large-scale, urban, mixed-use projects. Some of the recent projects he led at ISA include Twelve40, MicroPhila, Transatlantic, and Broad Street Hotel (aka Blue Horizon). Huffman is a licensed architect in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, a member of the American Institute of Architects and a LEED Accredited Professional. He served on the Children’s Village Board of Directors, a nationally recognized model for high-quality early childhood education based in Philadelphia. While on the board he assisted on the development and recruiting committees. He has also volunteered for the Community Design Collaborative, AIA Architecture Group Mentoring Program in Philadelphia, and the Ace Mentoring Program of Eastern Pennsylvania. Huffman has been a guest juror for student design reviews at the University of Pennsylvania Stuart Weitzman School of Design, Drexel University, Philadelphia University, Temple University Tyler School of Art and Moore College of Art & Design.

KaMan Skinner, Associate, Project Manager, Project Architect, JDavis Architects, PLLC. Skinner graduated from the Drexel 2+4 BArch program in 2004 and is a registered architect with 20 years of experience working in a range of market sectors including master planning, urban design, institutional, civic, commercial and most recently, multifamily residential. Her past work experiences include notable firms such as WRT in Philadelphia and Hamiltons in London, UK. Skinner has also worked privately for small scale commercial/retail and private residential clients, as well as owned and operated a cafe outside of Philadelphia. She currently is an Associate and a Project Manager at JDavis where she manages projects across the commercial and multifamily residential sectors.

*Students were emailed a recording of this discussion.