Photo Courtesy: JZA+D
Clockwise from Top Left: Compton, Perry, Giardina, Grace, McStay
Award-winning integrated design firm
JZA+D has recently announced the appointment of Pam McStay to lead the firm’s marketing efforts. At the same time, the Princeton, N.J.-based, globally recognized firm has also announced a raft of internal promotions for staff architects and designers. These include the elevation of:
- Richard Perry, AIA, NCARB, LEED AP to Principal
- Benjamin Grace, AIA to Senior Associate
- Julia Compton, AIA to Associate
- Taylor Kinsey Toms, AIA to Associate
- Nancie Giardina, NCIDQ, IIDA to Senior Interior Designer
According to JZA+D’s partners, architects Joshua Zinder and Mark A. Sullivan, the recently announced internal promotions derive in part from a longstanding commitment to mentorship and nurturing emerging talent. They note that the inward focus on career development for architects and interior designers on staff produces enhancements to client service and leads to improved project outcomes across the firm’s diverse portfolio of design work.
“Fostering career development, honing essential skills, encouraging networking, and providing opportunities for gaining practical experience at every project phase should be priorities for partners and practice leaders,” says Zinder, who is also Immediate Past-President of AIA-New Jersey. “These efforts produce benefits that resonate in each of our projects to aid our clients, to the firm itself, and to the profession more broadly.”
Underscoring this point, Zinder and Sullivan also shared the news that in their elevated roles architect Julia Compton and interior designer Nancie Giardina will be a focused team to support the continued development and growth of
JZA+D’s office and workplace sector. According to Zinder, Compton and Giardina have already been successfully overseeing design and construction of multiple workplace projects since 2018, including complex projects involving adaptive reuse and other highly specialized challenges.
Says Zinder, “Nancie and Julia rise to meet every challenge, designing environments that reveal and reinforce corporate brand identity while providing a productive and invigorating place for work. Their experience, dedication, and creativity make them ideally positioned for these new leadership roles.”