Matthew Schnepf formally established his design studio in 2007 after nearly 15 years of work and study in the field of architecture and design. The studio was envisioned to unify various disciplines and interests under one roof and, as such, offers a broad range of design and consulting services in architecture, interiors, furniture, and graphics. Matthew has forged relationships with a talented network of architects, interior designers, graphic designers, artisans, fabricators, and contractors of all stripes. In this regard, the studio is uniquely agile and efficient and can quickly adapt to a wide range of projects.Following Matthew's meticulous nature, every aspect of a project is developed with astute attention to detail: proportion and flow of space, subtlety of material, color, and finish, and rigorous execution of design details are all carefully considered and managed against the overall schedule and budget. As the sole principal of a boutique design studio, Matthew is personally involved in all phases of design and execution and works closely with each client to ensure a thoughtful, personal project.

Wassaic Commons is a design and maker incubator based in Wassaic, New York. Founded by Matthew Schnepf and Munawar Ahmed in 2017, Wassaic Commons was conceived as a space where they could collaborate with designers and makers, support their entrepreneurial efforts to develop their own products, market their goods in a storefront gallery, and engage the community with a broader understanding of what it means to design, fabricate, and use well-designed products. Wassaic Commons' mission is to support good design, dedication to craft, and entrepreneurial spirit and stem the tide of fast, cheap consumerism eroding our communities and the environment.As a founding member, I was instrumental in establishing the strategic vision and ethos of Wassaic Commons while being directly involved in the design and renovation of the 12,000-square-foot, 100-year-old timber barn that is central to the community and core to our mission.

Oliver Wyman is a global leader in management consulting. With offices in over 70 cities across 30 countries, Oliver Wyman combines deep industry knowledge with specialized expertise in strategy, operations, risk management, and organization transformation.I bring decades of expertise from the complex and demanding world of architecture to modern software and systems design and a universal belief that all products—buildings, furniture, hardware, and software—must be beautiful, functional, memorable, and humane. Architecture and software are more closely related than most people realize, and I thrive working in the liminal space between them.

The Rex Brasher Association is an arts and ecology-based nonprofit established in 2008. Its mission is to celebrate Rex Brasher's extensive and largely unknown collection of paintings and books and secure his legacy as one of America's most prolific and pioneering ornithological artists.I joined the board in 2019, eager to help a small community of neighbors build a fledgling organization to celebrate an unrecognized artist, but my purpose in this story was unclear. It wasn’t until I saw a set of Rex’s twelve-volume tome, Birds and Trees of North America, that my mission in this organization became clear. The twelve massive volumes set before me in Rex's historic home on that warm spring day in April represented a singular focus I had never seen before. If you read my CV to the bottom, you'll see that I've built a career by working with exceptionally focused individuals, but this was something else altogether. Rex's goal to paint every species of bird in North America from field observation, without 'harvesting' birds like John James Audubon, represented decades of near-penniless dedication trekking through forest, swamp, sun, snow, and pests. This story has to be told.As a prominent board member, I lead initiatives to build an innovative museum, protect historic lands, preserve and digitize a landmark art collection, mentor a student internship program, and develop an art-and-ecology-based residency program focused on individual exploration and documentation of the world around us.

Bluprint is a design and technology office founded by Munawar Ahmed in 2006 with a singular focus: hire the absolute best people to form a cohesive, multidisciplinary team of six-sigma black belts and let them loose to solve uniquely complex and nuanced projects. I joined the office as a creative and collaborative partner from the beginning, bringing expertise from architecture to software and systems design. While at Bluprint, I found my voice advocating for well-designed, streamlined, and humane interfaces and processes; applied strict discipline and minimalist architectural design to software design; and developed an innate power to convey large strategic concepts as compelling, engaging stories. As an integral partner, I lead a broad range of projects, including strategic planning, web apps, iOS apps, and process engineering for fresh upstarts and venerable institutions.

Selldorf Architects is an architectural design practice founded by Annabelle Selldorf in New York City in 1988. The firm creates public and private spaces with a modern and timeless sensibility. Since its inception, the firm’s design ethos has been deeply rooted in the principles of humanism. At every scale and for every condition, Selldorf Architects designs for the individual experience. As a result, its work is brought to life—and made complete—by those who use it. The office specializes in architectural design, interior design, exhibition design, master planning, landscape concepts, and strategic planning, and has worked with many of the world’s most influential artists, collectors, and institutions.Though the office now has more than 70 architects, designers, and specialists on staff, I joined when there were a mere twelve over-achieving architects on staff. I immediately found a kinship with founder Annabelle Selldorf, and my time working with this team of architects, which grew from 12 to 50 during my tenure, is one of my most influential and memorable periods. It was at Selldorf Architect that I developed persistence that every aspect of a project, no matter how small or subtle, must be considered—and that the real power of a designer comes from understanding how things are made, fabricated, assembled, installed, maintained, and used.

Stan Allen holds degrees from Brown University, The Cooper Union, and Princeton. In 1991, after working for Richard Meier in New York and Rafael Moneo in Madrid, he established an independent architectural practice. Since then, he has pursued parallel careers as an architect, educator, and author. He has taught at Harvard, Columbia, and Princeton, and from 2002 to 2012, he served as dean of the School of Architecture at Princeton. Stan Allen’s work is focused on the relationships between urban design, architecture, and landscape architecture, and his office has produced work at each of these scales.My time at Stan Allen Architect was influential because of the intense focus on bonding the vast scale of urban design with the intimate scale of individuals through architecture and landscape. I collaborated on a full range of scales, from huge urban redevelopment projects like Fresh Kills Landfill on Staten Island and Canal Basin in Cleveland to intimate projects like the Design House in Paju Book City, South Korea, and a public garden at the French Embassy on Fifth Avenue in New York City.

Field Operations is a leading-edge urban design and landscape architecture practice based in New York City, with offices in San Francisco, Philadelphia, Shenzhen, and London. Field Operations is renowned for strong contemporary design across various project types and scales, from large urban districts and mixed-use masterplans to large parks, waterfronts, and public spaces to small, well-crafted, detailed places. Regardless of scale, there is a special commitment to the design of a vibrant and dynamic public realm, informed by the ecology of both people and nature, rooted in place and context. The ecological basis of natural systems in relationship to urban form and public experience is of primary importance.I worked at Field Operations at a seminal moment when Stan Allen (architect, author, educator) and James Corner (landscape architect, author, educator) partnered to create a hybrid office that was uniquely positioned to develop projects with architecture and landscape in harmony from day one. Though this partnership no longer exists in a formal capacity, the framework for fully integrated design was lasting and influential.

Christian Hubert Studio specializes in designing museum installations, exhibition spaces for art, and private residences for artists, collectors, and scholars. Christian Hubert is known for working closely with his clients and fostering an ongoing creative dialogue throughout every project. As a result, many clients have returned repeatedly over the years.I worked with Christian Hubert for a brief but influential period. Christian provided mentorship on high-end architecture and design projects as I navigated design in New York. I recognized the opportunity immediately and absorbed every detail I could while working with some of the world’s most influential artists. I am grateful to this day for what I learned and earned at Christian Hubert’s landmark studio in downtown Manhattan.

Parks Library at Iowa State University is a seminal institution at the heart of an iconic and pastoral campus designed by Frederic Law Olmsted. Parks Library boasts an extensive collection of books and manuscripts, including seminal works from Alexander Lippisch and George Washington Carver. The Department of Preservation, which occupies a state-of-the-art laboratory on the top floor of the library, is responsible for the well-being and preservation of the University’s collection held at Parks Library and in departmental archives around the expansive 490-acre campus.While many work-study programs are not worth mentioning on a modern resume, my time in the Preservation Department is notable. As an architecture student who was particularly patient, diligent, discerning, and adept with my hands, I was hand-selected to work under the direct mentorship of director Ivan Hanthorn, a Johns Hopkins-educated preservationist, to preserve, protect, and restore some of the most important and delicate works in Iowa State University’s archives. This was a tremendous honor, and I took the responsibility seriously. Not only did I learn advanced preservation principles and techniques, but together, we were able to develop a program to catalog and document archival works because I could do what no other student had — create highly detailed drawings and organize structured data. My experience binding books and preserving works of art has come up repeatedly in my professional work with artists, collectors, authors, directors, and most recently, with my passion to preserve and protect the seminal works of Rex Brasher.