I started my career working for a small design firm in Colorado where I learned that I loved creating projects out of thin air. I soon realized that tying Architectural projects to organizational financial performance was a weak spot in my capabilities (all Architects are lacking in this area), so I was off to the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana where I earned a Masters in Architecture and a MBA. The combination provided a solid foundation for future planning efforts. My financial background has allowed me to provide insights that are often lacking in planning. For example, in my role as a Corporate Architect, I noticed that we had pushed off vacating a lease space in a 63-week space consolidation plan because the lease terminated four years in the future and we wanted to minimize the lease penalty. However, after listening to a talk by our CFO, who said the new emphasis was Cash Flow, I re-evaluated the plan and realized we could vacate the space immediately, pay the lease penalty and the financial cash flow benefit would be significant due to depreciation write-offs. As a Senior Corporate Architect I embraced training and earned the Certified Facility Manager and Sustainable Facility Professional designations from the International Facility Management Association (IFMA). My active involvement resulted in being elected as one of 127 IFMA Fellows in the 24,000-member Association. As an independent consultant, my most significant projects were developing a Master Plan for the $300 million renovation and underground expansion at the Kansas Capitol and a Feasibility Study that identified how the State of New Mexico could develop the country’s oldest frontier fort (Fort Stanton) into an entity that would no longer require continual state operating and capital funds.In my current role as a Project Manager for the State of Louisiana I manage programming, design, construction and renovation projects for LSU, Southern University, the University of Louisiana and Community Colleges. Projects range from renovating a 10,000 seat basketball arena to renovating lab buildings and everything in between. The State allows me to do occasional small consulting projects, which are primarily Branch feasibility studies for past clients. I like planning because the task always starts out with a smorgasbord of challenges, goals and constraints. By working through each in a systematic manner, I revel in creating order out of chaos.