Alex Berman, AIA, NCARB, LEED AP BD+C

Project Director

Alex offers architectural design and project management experience in healthcare facilities ranging from patient towers, cancer centers and ambulatory surgery centers. He supports an engaged design process allowing for consensus building while leading high-performing, multidisciplinary design teams to successfully deliver therapeutic healthcare environments. Alex believes the built environment surrounding patient care truly affects the outcome of one’s healing journey and strives to provide that in each one of his projects. His love of architecture and design stemmed from an early age while volunteering with Habitat for Humanity and he still hones his skills working on hands-on projects making furniture in his spare time.

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Amanda Ripley, NCIDQ, IIDA

Senior Associate | Interior Designer

fun facts

• Virginia native
• Studied interior design in South Carolina and designed galleries, museums, and residences prior to coming to Wilmot Sanz
• Strives to incorporate nature and art into her work
• Involved in planning the firm’s community outreach efforts
• A former painter
• Values family time

Carissa Mejia

Architectural Designer

fun facts

• Enjoys weightlifting and outdoor activities, including hammock camping, hiking, and rock climbing
• Dances salsa and East Coast swing
• Collector of words and phrases from other languages
• Favorite question: “What if…?”

Gregory Chang, FAIA, NCARB, LEEDap, cLSGB

Partner

Greg is an architect and medical planner with more than 30 years of experience designing innovative complex healthcare projects across the US, MENA and Asia. His design process creates inspirational spaces that are community-focused and validated with operational process improvements. Greg is a partner at Wilmot Sanz, previously he was a principal at Perkins + Will, AECOM and Ellerbe Becket. He is currently on the Board for the AIA|DC chapter and the Board of Visitors for The Catholic University of America – School of Architecture, a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects, a recipient of the Building Design + Construction (BD+C) 40-under-40 award, a distinguished guest critic at Penn State University, and his work has won numerous awards and publications. A registered architect in Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania and New York, Greg holds a Bachelor of Architecture degree from The Catholic University of America, is a certified LEAN Sigma Green Belt in Healthcare from Johns Hopkins Medicine, and a LEED accredited professional. He enjoys running, traveling and spending time with his family.

Jenny Chio, AIA, LEED AP BD+C, WELL AP

Senior Associate

fun facts

• Joined Wilmot Sanz in 2007
• Serves as a project manager on complex, large-scale healthcare projects
• Born and raised in Venezuela.
• Enjoys outdoor adventures such as zip lining, white water rafting, skiing, hiking, bike riding and obstacle course races.
• Active volunteer in the local community, school PTA and the firm’s Community Outreach events.
• Travel enthusiast who enjoys exploring new places, innovative cuisine, and local culture.

Jim Curran, AIA, LEED AP, cLSGB

Partner

• Joined Wilmot Sanz in 2019
• Internationally recognized designer
• Has dedicated entire 30+ year career to healthcare design
• Expert in hospital campus transformation planning and design
• Lives in Washington, DC

Katya Krupko, WELL AP

Architectural Designer

FUN FACTS 

• Originally from Eastern Europe
• Studied architecture at the University of District of Columbia
• Her love of art, design, and architecture started at age 7 in art school and developed as she studied design in Moscow
• Her first new English word she learned upon moving to the U.S. was ‘sustainability’.
• All women on her maternal side were medical doctors which gives her a unique perspective in the healthcare architecture industry
• Passionate about travel
• Enjoys painting for pleasure and takes commissions for murals and paintings

Kristen DelGandio, CHID, NCIDQ, IIDA

Partner | Design Director

• First joined Wilmot Sanz as a high school intern 25+ years ago
• Graduate of Radford University
• Leads a collaborative and multidisciplinary design studio
• Patient and community experience design expert
• Mom of three kids

Lumbani Ngwira

Architectural Designer

fun facts 

• Born and raised in Malawi, Africa– moved to the US to further education
• Enjoys being active, whether that be high intensity workouts in the gym or hiking in nature
• Draws inspiration from outdoors in his work with hopes that the spaces he designs invoke visceral feelings of community, sense of place, and/or tranquility
• Father to a large cat family — Casper, Nalia, and Waffles (inspired by his Feline Veterinarian Wife)

Miguel Pascale, AIA

Principal | Architect

fun facts

• Has dedicated his entire career to healthcare design at Wilmot Sanz
• Manages large, complex addition and renovation projects on congested medical campus sites
• Often found working outside in the yard or garden
• Enjoys the occasional ballroom dance and Latin-American feast with his wife
• Barbecue master

Rick Sasaki, AIA

Partner

• Joined the firm in 1995
• Extensive experience leading teams designing complex, multi-phase healthcare projects
• Spends a lot of time at the soccer field, watching his sons play
• Enjoys fly fishing, running, and family vacations

Valerie Alvarado, LEED Green Associate

Project Architect

Fun Facts 

• Proud dog mom to a Beagle mix
• Major foodie
• Brewery Fan (have been to 30+ breweries)
• Claim to Fame: Once met Diane Keaton in Rome