Editorial Advisory Board

School Construction News is proud to present the 2025 Editorial Advisory Board, comprised of industry experts who offer valuable perspectives from the school construction, design, and maintenance and operations fields. Members were chosen based on their professional backgrounds and experience as well as their commitment to developing safe, healthy, accessible, sustainable and student-centered education projects.

Watch for exclusive articles from members throughout the year in digital edition of School Construction News and online.

Kevin-Conn

Kevin Conn, Ed.D. Executive Director of Student Housing and Residential Life California State University Northridge

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Amber-Emery

Amber Emery, Project Executive, Blach Construction


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Aaron Jobson

Aaron Jobson, President and Principal, Quattrocchi Kwok Architects 

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Jennette LaQuire

Jennette LaQuire, Principal, HED



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Dorian Manness

Dorian Manness, Senior Project Manager and Mechanical Engineer, Education Division, Matern 

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Kate Mraw

Kate Mraw, PreK-12 Practice Lead, LPA Design Studios

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Tieg_Murray_Master

Tieg Murray, Vice President of Market Strategy and Creative Services, Skanska USA Building 

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ClayPhillips

Clay Phillips, Principal and Higher Education Market Leader, Helix Architecture + Design

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BoardUpdate-Richter

Tracy Richter, Vice President of Planning Services, HPM

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Mark Schoeman

Mark Schoeman, Design Principal, ABA

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David-Schrader

David Schrader, Managing Partner, SCHRADERGROUP Architecture

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Michelle-Smyth

Michelle Smyth, Project Manager and Principal Architect, McMillan Pazdan Smith

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Arnold-Swanborn

Arnold Swanborn, AIA, LEED AP, Design Principal, CO Architects  

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Kevin-Conn

Kevin Conn

Dr. Conn is the Executive Director of Student Housing and Residential Life at California State University Northridge. Dr. Conn is originally from Michigan and received his Doctorate in Education from New York University, a Master of Science in Human Resource Management from Stony Brook University, a Master of Science: College Student Personnel from Southern Illinois University-Carbondale, and a Bachelor of Business Management and Finance from Grand Valley State University. Dr. Conn has and continues to serve on local, regional, and national associations within residence life and LGBTQ+ advocacy. In addition, Dr. Conn has vast experience working with and researching the topic of emotional intelligence and related dynamics within both student and professional staff. 

Dr. Conn has a strong passion for research turned engagement and has partnered with colleagues on international ACUHO-I grant-funded research projects focused on the evolving role of the Resident Assistant. Furthermore, Dr. Conn recently co-authored a book entitled Evolving Landscape of Residential Education, which is a collaboration with several global colleagues in the field. He works to stay engaged with domestic and international colleagues whenever possible to connect and find ways to advance the field further and collaborate on various projects. Dr. Conn is also an ACUHO-I Global Ambassador and Co-chair of ACUHO-I’s Global Initiatives Network, GIN.  

He is an avid marathon runner, foodie, and travel enthusiast in his spare time. He has run the NYC Marathon twice and loved every minute of it! He has spent much of the past few years traveling and exploring the West Coast.  

Amber-Emery

Amber Emery

Amber Emery currently serves as project executive at Blach Construction, which is headquartered in San Jose with offices in Monterey and Los Angeles. For almost two decades, Emery has worked with a variety of school districts, partnering with them to fully understand their requirements while leveraging her expertise and acute attention to detail to creatively find solutions. Emery is involved with the Coalition for Adequate School Housing (CASH), having graduated from the organization’s School Facilities Leadership Academy, and is a member of the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC).

Emery is a mother to two school-aged children, which fuels her passion to better California’s school facilities. She holds a Master of Business Administration from Santa Clara University as well as a Bachelor of Science in Civil and Environmental Engineering from University of California at Berkeley and a Bachelor of Arts in Business Management Economics from University of California at Santa Cruz. 

Aaron Jobson

Aaron Jobson​

With more than 20 years of architectural experience, Aaron Jobson, AIA, ALEP, is CEO and president and one of six firm principals at Quattrocchi Kwok Architects (QKA), a California architecture firm with offices Santa Rosa and Oakland. Jobson has worked with numerous school facilities across all grade levels and school types, ranging from facilities master planning and new campus development to building transformations and critical modernizations. He values working with students, teachers, and communities on every project, knowing their input is a crucial piece in the development process.

A founding member of the School Energy Coalition (SEC), he is a legislative advocate for energy efficiency measures affecting schools and a leading voice on sustainability. In addition, Aaron has written articles about BIM, sustainable design, community engagement, designing for wellness, and many other important topics. In 2015, Jobson was certified as an Accredited Learning Environments Planner (ALEP) by the Association for Learning Environments (A4LE). 

Jennette LaQuire

Jennette LaQuire

Jennette La Quire, AIA, NCARB, LEED AP ID+C, is a principal with HED, a national architecture/engineering firm with eight offices and more than 400 employees. Based in the firm’s San Diego office, she leads Pre-K-12 education facility work nationally, building strong client relationships that produce results firmly rooted in client culture and needs. She is also serving a term on the firm’s board of directors.

La Quire has a deep knowledge and understanding of the state agencies governing school construction (including Division of the State Architect/Department of General Services). She connects with the rising generation of designers (and clients) through her work as an adjunct professor at San Diego State University’s interior architecture program. La Quire earned a Master of Architecture degree at UCLA and a Bachelor of Arts from UC Berkeley.  

Dorian Manness

Dorian Manness

Dorian Maness, GGP, is the senior project manager and a mechanical engineer for the Education Division at Matern in Maitland, Fla. His responsibilities include project management and mechanical systems design for K-12 education clients and mentoring new mechanical staff and summer interns. He is a certified Green Globes Professional and is familiar with both LEED and Florida Green Building Coalition certification processes.

Maness has designed various types of HVAC systems including chilled water (air-cooled and water-cooled), central energy plants, cooling towers, VAV air distribution, and constant volume air distribution as well as conducted energy–load calculations and mechanical equipment selections. The majority of his project experience has stemmed from K-12 and higher education, but he has also worked on municipal, healthcare and other commercial projects. Maness earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering with a specialty in mechanical systems from the University of Central Florida.  

Kate Mraw

Kate Mraw

Kate Mraw leads the PreK-12 Practice at LPA Design Studios. She is a national leader in educational research, sustainable school design and the development of learning environments to support the whole student. She has led the programming and interior design efforts on many of LPA’s most innovative and award-winning projects. Mraw’s influence is focused on community engagement, educational research and designing around learning social, cultural and academic needs. 

She is an active member of the Coalition for Adequate School Housing, the Texas Association of School Administrators and the Association for Learning Environments. She is also an Accredited Learning Environment Planner, a board member of the California School Facilities Research Institute and serves on the University of Texas School of Architecture Advisory Council.

Tieg_Murray_Master

Tieg Murray

Tieg Murray Rustam is Vice President of Market Strategy and Creative Services for Skanska USA Building, where she leads strategic planning to strengthen market differentiation across core sectors, including education. Over the last 19 years at Skanska, Murray has advanced from Marketing Coordinator to senior leadership roles, driving growth strategies for higher education (particularly in the university science space), K-12, science and technology, and healthcare markets. She oversees Skanska’s national Advisory Councils and creative services teams, fostering collaboration and innovation to deliver exceptional client experiences.

Murray has played a pivotal role in shaping Skanska’s long-term business plans. She is a recognized leader in the life sciences community and has served as Vice President of Marketing and Communications for the International Society for Pharmaceutical Engineering (ISPE) regional chapter, earning accolades for her forward-thinking approach.

Murray brings deep expertise in market strategy, communications, and customer engagement to the School Construction News editorial board. 

ClayPhillips

Clay Phillips

Clay Phillips, AIA, is a principal and the Higher Education Market leader for Helix Architecture + Design in Kansas City, Mo., an integrated architecture and interior design firm that has been nationally recognized for design excellence, thought leadership and community impact. He has amassed a robust portfolio of higher education projects throughout his almost 30-year career and is a nationally recognized expert on student housing.

Active in the Society for College and University Planning (SCUP), Phillips also has been involved with the Association of College and University Housing Officers-International and Southwest Association of College and University Housing Officers. He holds a bachelor’s degree in architecture from the University of Kansas. He currently worked on the complex, 315,000-square-foot Wichita Biomedical Campus as well as two residence hall projects for Southern New Hampshire University.

BoardUpdate-Richter

Tracy Richter

Tracy Richter is vice president of Planning Services for HPM, where he leads a team of specialists in providing comprehensive approaches to capital and operational building programs. He has worked with hundreds of school districts across the country to create educational standards and long-range plans and has helped owners develop plans with a systemic process that combines key data analysis with community participation and feedback.

Richter holds a bachelor’s degree in history from Purdue University and is a member of the National Council of School Facilities. Before joining HPM, he owned and cofounded DeJONG-RICHTER LLC, a nationally recognized educational planning firm specializing in developing quality learning environments through systemic processes,  maximizing the use of data and community participation.

Mark Schoeman

Mark Schoeman

With more than 35 years of experience and a Bachelor of Architecture from Cal Poly Pomona, award-winning designer Mark Schoeman, AIA, DBIA is a design principal and leadership team board chair at Anderson Brulé Architects of San Jose who enjoys creating 21st century learning environments. Schoeman has dedicated his career to helping higher education and K-12 clients use the built environment as an integral part of the student experience—academically, personally and socially.

He is known for his ability to inspire project teams and stakeholder groups as well as for his skill in translating functional needs, budgets and regulations into multi-faceted environments. His experience includes master planning, programming and design for core buildings and commons, classroom facilities, athletic facilities, libraries and other campus project types. Schoeman is actively involved in the Community College Facility Coalition, Society for College & University Planning, and the Design Build Institute of America.  

David-Schrader

David Schrader

David L. Schrader, FAIA, A4LE Fellow, LEED AP, is managing partner of SCHRADERGROUP architecture, and focused on the planning and design of the learning environment. As managing partner, Schrader is responsible for the Philadelphia-based firm’s leadership, including design, management and business development. For more than three decades, his professional focus has been on the design of facilities of public interest.

He has led design teams for many project types including K-12 education, higher education, public safety, municipal and court facilities, and others. Schrader believes that partnership in design is critical to creating a better designed environment for each client. His ability to create a vision with his clients has fostered significant success for all involved including the client, the design team and the public at large.  

Michelle-Smyth

Michelle Smyth

Michelle Smyth is a dynamic, enthusiastic project manager and principal architect with the Charleston office of McMillan Pazdan Smith, where she focuses on projects in the K-12 practice area. Smyth has recently led teams for the design of two new high schools in the greater Lowcountry and is currently pursuing accreditation as a learning environments planner through A4LE. Smyth believes educational facilities are some of the community’s greatest assets and is passionate about designing these facilities to serve their communities in the best possible way.

She has completed a variety of project types in the Southeast for nearly 20 years. Smyth’s work includes new design projects for schools and communities as well as some historic renovation work in downtown Charleston, S.C. Smyth served eight years on the City of Charleston’s Design Review Board and possesses a unique understanding and sympathy to site and context.  

Arnold-Swanborn

Arnold Swanborn

Arnold Swanborn, AIA, LEED AP, is Design Principal at CO Architects in Los Angeles, which he joined in 2008. During his 30-plus-year career, Swanborn has created a diverse portfolio of award-winning projects, including higher research and academic facilities, medical and health sciences education buildings, healthcare facilities, and K-12 schools — ranging from 100,000 square feet to more than 2 million square feet. 

Swanborn leads CO Architects’ design direction. His work focuses on connecting people to place through the design of sustainable buildings that are responsive to their environments. His widely publicized work includes the Health Sciences Innovation Building, Health Sciences Education Building, and Biomedical Sciences Partnership Building for the University of Arizona and the Loyola Marymount University Life Sciences Building. Notable under-construction projects of his include the Wichita Biomedical Campus, the Arizona State University Health Building, and the University of Texas at Austin Autry C. Stephens Engineering Discovery Building.

A native of the Netherlands, Swanborn’s architectural influences include Mies van der Rohe, Le Corbusier, Louis Kahn, and Frank Gehry. Visual artists he finds inspiring include Frank Stella and Dutch master Vermeer. Swanborn received his Master of Science in Advanced Architectural Design from Columbia University, and his Bachelor of Architecture from the University of Southern California.