Every other week we highlight a member of our CGS team. Let's get to know Gretchen Ginnerty, AIA.
Years at CGS?
10 Years
What made you want to work in the architecture + design field?
My love of architecture started at a very early age when my father would build houses as a hobby, I loved visiting his construction sites and figuring out how everything worked.
What is the best piece of advice you have ever received?
Be true to yourself and never give up!
What inspires you when it comes to design + architecture?
I love to travel and be inspired by different cultures, art, and design. I believe that experiencing different forms of architecture and understanding its history helps to add depth to what we create.
Recent Project
Georgetown Visitation Preparatory School Gym Renovation in Washington, DC.
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Every other week we highlight a member of our CGS team. Let's get to know David Friend, PhD, AIA.
Years at CGS?
2 Years
What is the best piece of advice you have ever received?
I gravitate to a quote from Frederick Buechner on vocation as “the place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet.” The best advice I’ve received reminds me of this intersection.
What inspires you when it comes to design + architecture?
I’m inspired by architecture’s capacity to raise people’s quality of life and contribute to a sense of place.
What do you like most about working with CGS?
I enjoy working with the people at CGS and the firm's collaborative and aspirational approach to design.
Current Project
Dorothy Height Elementary School Modernization in Washington, DC.
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Every other week we highlight a member of our CGS team. Let's get to know Principal Don Gregory, AIA.
Years at CGS?
28 Years
What is the best piece of advice you have ever received?
l've received plenty of great advice over the years from family, friends, and colleagues so it's difficult to pick just one and call it the "Best". Early in my educational experience I was advised that "You can't fully understand something until you draw it." What I took from that is that it is in the act of doing that I'll find a solution and path forward whether in my professional or personal life.
What inspires you when it comes to design + architecture?
On the first day, in the first class of my architectural education experience an at the time intimidating professor challenged me and his new crop of studio students to "make something beautiful." That initial challenge and the opportunity and responsibility it presents to make a difference has stayed with me and has guided me since.
What has been your favorite CGS project + why?
Throughout my career l've been fortunate to work with great people on many varied and interesting projects mostly in our area and some in my own neighborhood. And, while some projects have been more rewarding personally or more impactful from a community perspective than some, I can say that my favorite project is the next one. The next project offers the opportunity to develop new relationships and lean on past experiences and lessons learned to again create something beautiful.
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Every other week we highlight a member of our CGS team. Let's get to know Julianna von Zumbusch, AIA.
Years at CGS?
6 Years
What is the best piece of advice you have ever received?
Always dress like you will have to walk home...in the rain. In addition to having walked home in torrential downpours, I do seriously consider this to be a great outlook, in the sense that it encourages being ready for whatever life throws at you and trying to take things in stride.
What do you like most about working with CGS?
1 love working at a firm where the projects are interesting and unique, but the best part of CGS is having a great set of colleagues. I just took some leave and was constantly amazed by both how much I missed my co-workers and by how supportive everyone was of me.
Tell us a fun fact about yourself!
I swore in the 2nd grade that I would absolutely never ever be an architect. It was the only disagreement I ever had with my 2nd grade teacher, who was a truly great lady.
Recent Project
The Crossroads Building at the Langley School in McLean, VA.
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Every other week we highlight a member of our CGS team. Let's get to know Mehrab Malik.
Years at CGS?
1 Year
Why did you want to work in architecture?
I always wanted to be a Fine Artist until I didn’t get into the school I dreamed of attending. I attended architecture school to ‘try it out’ and found my passion in life.
What is the best piece of advice you have ever received?
There’s two but they go hand in hand:
1) Try new things and get out of your comfort zone.
2) Get to know different people – but better yet, get to know yourself.
What inspires you when it comes to design?
I am fascinated by the flexibility of architecture to best cater to its end user. Residential design on a 4500 sf plot in Pakistan is vastly different from the 2000 sf townhouse that I first resided in when I came to the US. Both equally functional and beautiful in their setting yet vastly different.
Current CGS Project
Academy of the Holy Cross Gymnasium in Kensington, MD
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Every other week we highlight a member of our CGS team. Let's get to know Kelsey Wilson, AIA.
Years at CGS?
4 Years
What do you like most about working with CGS?
I like that my voice is heard. I am only recently licensed, but have always felt I had a place on each team that I have had the pleasure of working with. It is not often enough in this field that young designers are truly encouraged to be part of the process. CGS emphasizes collaboration within all aspects of the project team.
What made you want to work in the architecture field?
My grandfather is an aeronautical engineer and my dad is in custom millwork, so there was not a day of my childhood that I didn’t encounter blueprints strewn about the house. Growing up just outside of New Haven, I was exposed to the Gothic Revival and Brutalist Architecture of Yale’s campus that continues to inspire me today. I’m a perfectionist who likes clean lines, and clarity of expression - and I am most definitely not an artist - so architecture became a good fit!
What has been your favorite project with CGS + why?
I really enjoyed working on Georgetown Prep. It was one of my first projects with the firm, the client was so involved in the process, and the all-female design team during my time on the project worked super well. Plus, I’m not sure I will ever have the opportunity to work on a corridor aligned with the football field, clad in cast stone, sturdy enough for a high school sports team to charge through mid-game ever again!
Current CGS Project
Connelly School of the Holy Child in Potomac, MD
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Every other week we highlight a member of our CGS team. Let's get to know Rob Romano, AIA.
Years at CGS?
21 Years
What is the best piece of advice you have ever received?
Listen more than you speak. Active listening helps you navigate a conversation. There is so much more to learn from others.
What inspires you when it comes to architecture?
I am inspired by my environment. It can be visiting foreign cities, works of artists or other architects, discussions with colleagues or nature. I pull from all these experiences in designing buildings.
What has been your favorite project with CGS + why?
My favorite project is The Commons at Stanton Square. The project tenants are focused on community needs. Martha’s Table provides healthy food access and educational programs for families in need. Community of Hope provides health care and housing for homeless individuals.
The building includes environmental elements such as a green roof, rain screens and rain water collection. The landscape consists of gardens for growing fruits and vegetables that are used in the clients food programs.
Current CGS Project
Academy of the Holy Cross Gymnasium in Kensington, MD
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Every other week we highlight a member of our CGS team. Let's get to know Associate Lindsay Hellender, AIA.
Years at CGS?
15 Years
What do you like most about working with CGS?
We have clients who do amazing things for children and the community. I like to think I am contributing to their mission for the time we are working with them on a project. Knowing the outcome of a project will make a big impact for our clients and our community helps get me through any challenging time over the course of the project.
Tell us a little bit about yourself + your past experience.
I grew up in the DC area and have lived in MD, DC, or VA from childhood until now, except for college and grad school. In this area, there is an opportunity to work on so many different significant project types. At CGS, I am able to draw on many of my childhood experiences. I have gone to summer camp, played sports or attended theater productions at many of our CGS client facilities.
What has been your favorite project with CGS Architects + why?
The Commons at Stanton Square has been my favorite because the positive impact the building and program has on the surrounding community. The building houses Martha’s Table and Community of Hope who both do so many good things to serve those in need. Now, I enjoy being able to volunteer at Martha’s Table with CGS. I get to experience the building as a user while continuing to serve the community.
Current CGS Project
Georgetown Preparatory School in North Bethesda, MD
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Every other week we highlight a member of our CGS team. Let's get to know Anna Karewicz, AIA.
Years at CGS?
1 Year
What is the best piece of advice you have ever received?
Follow your dreams.
Tell us a fun fact about yourself!
In Warsaw, Poland I lived near Teatr Wielki. Consequently, attending many performances, I fell in love with opera - I have never given up the dream of designing a Opera House one day.
What has been your favorite project with CGS Architects + why?
Duke Ellington School of the Arts - with its own "opera house" - engineering / architectural masterpiece - in the center of the school.
Current CGS Project
Holton-Arms Learning Commons in Bethesda, MD
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Every other week we highlight a member of our CGS team. Let's get to know Russell Harmon, AIA.
Years at CGS?
4 Years
Tell us a little bit about yourself + your past experience.
After earning a Bachelor’s architecture degree in my home state of Oregon, I decided to explore the country. I went to Pittsburgh and earned a Master’s of Science in Building Performance and Diagnostics from the Carnegie Mellon University School of Architecture. Denver Colorado was my next destination. When I wasn’t exploring the Rocky Mountains, I was hard at work earning my architecture license. Most recently, I call Washington home and it has proven to be an exciting place to live.
What inspires you when it comes to design + architecture?
I am always amazed at the ingenuity and beauty found in nature. Lessons ranging from the functional to the metaphysical can be applied to many aspects of the built environment. Nature inspires me everyday.
What has been your favorite project with CGS Architects and why?
Dorothy Height Elementary School is an engaging combination of new and historic buildings. I have grown significantly as a professional managing this project and it has been a joyful experience working with the school community to create their new place to call home.
Current CGS Project
Dorothy Height Elementary School in Washington, DC
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