A dynamic designer, Sal was raised in Australia and the United States, has studied in England and Italy and traveled extensively throughout Europe - all of which has brought a broad perspective to her work. With over a decade of professional experience, her competencies have been gleaned from multi-faceted hands-on projects in academic and industry-respected professional settings. 

Sal has worked in a variety of areas of the construction industry with a wide range of experience as a project architect, a technical architect, a structural engineering professional and a service-learning participant. Her previous employers include: Michael Hennessey Architecture (MHA), Skidmore, Owings & Merill (SOM); Kieran Timberlake Associates (KTA); Field Architecture and Hellmuth Obata Kassabaum (HOK).

Sal has worked on projects for clients including the New York Port Authority at John F. Kennedy International Airport; Missouri Baptist Medical Center; Colgate Palmolive; Chevron; Penyang Port Authority in Malaysia; owners & property developers for tall structures in Russia and Dubai including the Burj Khalif (formerly known as the Burj Dubai); and private Silicon Valley residential clients. 

Sal is highly motivated to promote and identify key synergies between the built and natural environments as is identifiable through her hands-on experience constructing with alternative materials and her volunteer work with Structural Engineering Institute’s Sustainability Committee. In addition, she has spoken on such topics at nationally recognized architectural and engineering conferences including the AIA Convention. Her knowledge has been applicable on various humanitarian volunteer efforts, most notably her engineering design on USGBC’s William Jefferson Clinton Children’s Center, a Clinton Global Initiative project in Haiti and her leadership on Penn State’s AIHI strawbale construction efforts in Lame Deer, MT.

Sal holds a Master of Science in Structural Engineering and a Bachelor of Architecture from Pennsylvania State University. Sal is a registered LEED Accredited Professional with a Building Design & Construction specialty (LEED AP BD+C), a Certified Passivhaus Tradesperson (CPHT) and a Licensed Architect in Nevada. When away from the office, Sal can be found regularly enjoying the outdoors with her family - snowboarding, hiking and traveling the world - or immersing herself in a personal project, from renovations to furniture upholstering.

Publications

Residential Wood: An Expert Q&A
Interview by John Nevadomski, Pioneer Millworks Marketing, November, 2021. 

Linking Disaster Resilience & Sustainability, 
White paper written by the SEI Sustainability Committee Disaster Resilience Working Group, December, 2014. 

Project Haiti IV – Materials & Resources, 
Metropolis Magazine POV Online Blog, February, 2012.

Sustainability from a Fundamental Perspective, 
Structure Magazine, August, 2012.

Notable Speaking Engagements

Learning to Survive: Disaster Resilience in Developing Countries.
Presentation at Geotechnical Structures Congress, Phoenix, AZ, Feb 2016.

Sustainability as a Tool for Critical Thinking in Structural Engineering.
Presentation at SEI Structures Congress, Boston, MA, April 2014.

Project Haiti: Bringing LEED Platinum Design to the Developing World.
Presentation at the Gulf Coast Green Symposium, Houston, TX, June 2012. Presentation at the American Institute of Architecture Annual Conference, Denver, CO, June 2013.

Sustainability and Structures: Finding our Place in the Conversation.
Presentation at the Structural Engineering Association of Kansas and Missouri (SEAKM), Saint Louis, MO, August 2012.