As Partner and Lead Designer at BKV Group, Jonathan brings 19 years of national and international experience in housing, hospitality, and mixed-use projects. He cultivates value through developing close working relationships with colleagues, clients, contractors and consultants, providing a high level of personal involvement and investment in projects so they are successful and rewarding for everyone involved. Since helping launch BKV Group’s newest practice site in Dallas, Texas and Hanoi, Vietnam, Jonathan has leveraged the opportunity to design and strengthen the community with each project he touches, creating them to be unique and innovative, while nimbly adapting to the environmental, contextual, and sociopolitical nuances each site presents.

Michael has 30 years of award-winning multi-family residential and urban design experience. His career has focused on the urban environment both locally and nationally for housing and mixed-use developments. He has guided our in-house design process to involve communities, creating excellence and consensus for the developer and the neighborhood. As the design partner on major projects such as Schmidt Artist Lofts, Custom House, and Mill City Quarter Apartments, he has introduced unique building and dwelling unit designs that add up to innovative, industry leading residential environments. Together with the partners at BKV Group, Michael has been involved with the overall redesign and construction of new urban communities and the enhancement of the quality of residential living.

As managing partner of the development group in our Chicago practice site, Robert brings over 20 years of experience on a wide variety of projects including multifamily housing, mixed-use developments, and corporate and commercial buildings. His expertise includes urban planning, developing the design of multifamily residential towers, high-rise offices, higher education facilities, and complex, mixed-use projects. As an award-winning architect with a variety of featured articles and publications, while actively participating in guest critiques at local universities, he brings his skill set in listening to the client, collaborating closely with project and consultant teams, hand-sketching, 3D visualization, planning, documentation, building and zoning codes, knowledge of materials, systems, construction processes and detailing.

Bruce Schwartzman has more than 35 years of governmental, correctional and judicial project experience. He understands the importance of proper planning, scheduling, cost control, client, and team communication throughout the planning and design process. Over the years, Bruce has fine-tuned a detailed project design approach that has resulted in award-winning justice and government facilities that are within budget and on schedule.

As a partner and leader in our Interiors Group, Kelly Naylor has a broad range of project experience including residential, government, corporate, and higher education. Her expertise extends from design reviews and team staffing to sustainability education and constructability reviews. Kelly’s passion for ecological and environmentally smart processes and her focus on project vision help provide to unique solutions and compelling, sustainable designs for each client.

Lois Nicholas has more than 30 years of experience managing the company’s finances and administration. She understands the process and coordination required to be successful in this industry. Lois is also a leader who has been instrumental in BKV Group’s employee growth to 200+ with multiple offices. She is an integral part of BKV Group’s success and commitment to full-service design.

Tom Daszkiewicz is BKV Group’s Director of Operations. His career has been defined by his unwavering pursuit of excellence throughout his endeavors. He has been passionately involved in architecture and design within large national full-service firms for more than 30 years. He is a dynamic leader with a tenacious ability to direct, as well as guide and empower those around him.

Tom plays a pivotal role in identifying and targeting areas in which BKV Group can improve. He has a firm belief that to resolve any issue, you must thoroughly understand the root cause of it. Over the years, Tom’s innate interest in providing solutions has seen his career encompass all facets of processes from project conception to completion.

His vast amount of experience, wealth of knowledge, and decisive expertise is vital for efficiently meeting the needs of the firm, as well as that of the clients. While delivering comprehensive, effective leadership, he ultimately ensures that the company’s day-to-day activities run smoothly, and those needs of the firm are met.

Willy Bermudez is a dedicated and highly motivated senior designer with more than 20 years of experience in single and multi-family residential design as well as retail interiors. He has focused his career on new construction, renovation, and expansion. He also has significant experience in the planning of complex large-scale residential, student housing, hotel, and mixed-use projects. Willy is a valued leader at BKV Group and is known for his contemporary design aesthetic, attention to detail, and collaborative approach to leadership.

As an architect with more than 20 years of specialized experience in renovation and new construction, Robert Ewert’s design portfolio includes corporate offices, government facilities, residences, and laboratories. He also has a substantial background in design for the nonprofit sector. Robert is a strong advocate of collaborative design, employing a “listen and lead” approach to the client relationship to allow for a comprehensive and intimate understanding of the client’s needs to realize the full potential of each project. It also allows him to offer leadership in emerging design strategies, including sustainability and energy conservation, collaborative workplace environments, resource sharing, and safety and building code issues.

Renato Gilberti has more than 20 years of experience in residential, mixed-use, senior living, and hospitality practice areas. He is driven by his desire to be challenged, to develop high-quality architecture, and to create innovative and progressive designs. Renato’s experience includes design leadership, master planning, diagrammatic studies, and rendering development. His designs have been developed locally, statewide, and nationally. He is a LEED-Accredited Professional with experience on multiple LEED projects.

Mark Harris’s award-winning national design expertise includes senior living, hospitality, casinos, corporate, K-12, and higher education projects. His design strategies target customer experiences, learning styles and the integration of community/cultural interpretations within specific environments. His goal is to maximize design opportunities to create humane and innovative spaces.

Trace Jacques has over 35 years of multi-family residential and hospitality design experience. He designs consequential buildings with inspired identity to invigorate and transform environments nationwide to serve the public realm. He works closely with his team to ensure an exacting design execution that aligns with client, brand, city, and community expectations. Trace actively engages clients and communities in collaborative and empowering creative processes. He is an intuitive, three-dimensional thinker and a serious advocate for digital technologies. Modeling design alternatives with clients and others during “live” digital design charrettes, he demonstrates the impact of ideas and decisions, contextualizes projects, addresses key aesthetic and functional forces – all in real time. This powerful collaboration fosters trust, engages, empowers, and compresses the design process.

Liza Kapisak delivers design solutions that focus on aesthetic appearance while delivering functionality and efficiency. She has extensive experience in communicating with clients to develop programming and comprehensive concepts while exploring creative space planning solutions as well as finish and furnishing selections. She partners closely with architects, engineers, consultants and other professionals on all projects to ensure success.

Chad Kurdi is our lead electrical engineer with more than 25 years of experience in the electrical industry. He brings in-depth understanding of electrical power systems, lighting systems, technology systems, and safety and security systems to each project. Over the years, he has worked as an electrical engineer, electrician and electrical trainer. His electrical engineering experience includes engineering, designing, and specifying and analyzing electrical and low-voltage systems for different building types and occupancies. His projects have included police stations, fire stations, government buildings, jails, senior living, memory care living, student housing, affordable living, historic buildings, hospitals, data centers, sport arenas, water/wastewater treatment plants and commercial buildings. Chad is a licensed Mater Electrician in Minnesota and is currently serving on the Minnesota Board of Electricity, a position appointed by the governor of Minnesota. He is an active member in IEEE, IAEI, and MEA.

Bill Ljungquist has more than 30 years of experience in mechanical systems design. He brings seniority, extensive experience, and proactive design approach to the mechanical engineering discipline of BKV Group. His experience includes work in housing, retail, hospitality, commercial, healthcare, higher education, and government projects. Bill has also been at the forefront of energy efficient design for the majority of his career.

Mark Manetti has extensive experience in programming, planning, and designing government and education projects. He is a loyal, conscientious, and hardworking professional with a proven track record of managing and successfully implementing all phases of design and construction related services. Mark has a service-oriented approach to design, with a history of effectively managing design team resources to achieve project profitability.

Over the course of 15 years, Susan Morgan has established strong working relationships with clients by resolving the unique complexities each project and context presents. She has worked as a project architect, project manager, and designer within a range of building types – from libraries, to academic buildings, at a range of scales – leveraging a “listen-first” approach to help ask the right questions then develop a responsive integrated design solution. Susan holds a Master of Architecture from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and a Bachelor of Science in Architecture from Washington University in Saint Louis, where she received the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts Distinguished Young Alumni Award in 2011. Susan’s work is informed by her personal passion for learning, which she has nurtured as a current co-chair of the AIA Higher Ed subcommittee for the Committee on Architectural Education, by teaching graduate level architecture courses for 14 years at the Boston Architectural College, and consistently providing presentations and jurying awards for organizations like Learning by Design, IMPACT, and local AIA chapters.

Mathew Nugent is a leader in our multi-family housing practice group and brings a great depth of experience and insight to these projects. His expertise in synthesizing existing conditions, client needs, as well as complexities of construction ensures successful results.

Chris Palkowitsch has significant architectural experience in the areas of senior, affordable, and market-rate housing. Chris is passionate about creating high quality and innovative architecture. He believes in a client-focused approach that emphasizes collaboration to create exceptional and highly functional projects. As a design lead for BKV Group, Chris combines his senior housing project experience with ingenuity and client input to develop designs that enhance the lives of residents.

Henry Pittner is an award-winning licensed architect, author and presenter who has gained national recognition for his leadership managing, programming, planning and designing governmental projects. With more than 35 years of experience, he has led more than seventy projects in twelve states for city, county, and state clients including courts facilities, detention and correctional facilities, government centers, system and site master planning, and civic design.

Combining his advertising and marketing background with a Masters degree in Interior Design and previous leadership roles in the A/E/C community, Kyler Queen creatively builds the bridge between clients and BKV Group’s projects, people, and ideas. Kyler oversees all internal and external marketing efforts firmwide, leveraging the firm’s talent and comprehensive set of design services and processes to win new business, and develop successful outreach strategies aimed at growing the BKV brand nationally and globally.

Emily’s education and experience in the architecture profession provides an expertise in orchestrating the coordination of project staffing and scheduling. Emily leads BKV’s professional staff recruitment, interviewing and hiring process, taking great pride in helping to shape our workplace culture with the great people at BKV. In addition she manages the annual performance review process, coordination of the mentoring/training opportunities and our important cultural initiatives across all practice sites. She’s passionate about the people at BKV and is an advocate for all!

Throughout his 26 year career, Chris Sachse has developed vast team leadership experience in many sectors including, multifamily high rise, senior living, student living, single family homes, healthcare, retail, commercial, corporate, and higher education. Chris is dedicated to establishing best practices for his architectural team members, integrating improved technologies into the daily workflow, and conducting research into new, innovative building materials to incorporate into our current projects. Chris is heavily involved in the management side of projects, but also the marketing side of the BKV Group housing sector at-large.

Jeremiah Smith has extensive experience spanning mixed-use and residential, institutional, federal and municipal government, and higher education design for both public and private clients. He brings leadership in sustainability and project management to the team with an emphasis on fostering design quality and environmental stewardship. Jeremiah also co-chairs the Sustainability committee within BKV Group, helping to foster opportunities within projects and processes to include sustainable initiatives.

John Treiber has experience in design and project management of multiple project types including mixed-use and build-to-suit commercial, residential and retail renovations and new construction. John’s role involves working closely with clients, often involving multiple stakeholders to understand their mission and unique project requirements, and developing architectural solutions that enhance their operational goals.

Tracey Bush is a Registered Interior Designer, has a Masters in Business, and is an experienced business development professional. She blends her background in design with a strong business acumen and curiosity to always keep learning. Tracey looks at each new pursuit from multiple perspectives to get an understanding of the clients vision and business goals. What she enjoys most about real estate is bringing people together to tackle creative challenges. Whether its helping the developer build a team for their next development, helping them find the right site, or making the introduction to help with financing.

Julie leads BKV Group’s Pre-Development Services group and is responsible for working with our clients to identify, evaluate, and assist in the acquisition of potential development sites. She works in tandem with the design team and provides additional support services all through the process, including comparative analysis, market studies, site assemblage, due diligence, project entitlement, and permit approvals. Prior to BKV Group, Julie had a 27+ year career as a commercial real estate broker in client representation, landlord representation, and investment analysis. She is currently the President of the East Bethel, Minnesota Economic Development Authority, and also sits on the Executive Board of CMDC, a Minnesota-based certified SBA Development Company.

Driven by the power of collaboration, Garick Malcom has over 19 years of experience providing business development and marketing for architecture firms ranging from 20 to 600+ staff members. His background includes pursuing award-winning commercial office and multifamily real estate projects in the mid-Atlantic region. He exceeds in identifying hidden potential and promoting his talented team’s ability to create value through design innovation. Garick is an active member of Washington DC Urban Land Institute (ULI) and Northern Virginia National Association Industrial & Office Properties (NAIOP), serving on multiple committees and planning groups. Garick spends his spare time coaching little league baseball and diligently working on seemingly endless home renovations.

Nick holds a BA in Hospitality Business from Michigan State University and has over 15 years of Sales & Marketing experience in the residential, commercial, and hospitality industries. His career started while pursuing his degree at MSU as an intern with W Hotels in Chicago, which led him to leadership roles within the hotel industry. Nick has worked with some of the industry-leading hotel brands such as Starwood and Hyatt Hotels. He was recognized multiple times with Hyatt’s top sales distinction of Elite Performer and nominated in 2018 by HSMAI Illinois as Chicago’s best new Director of Sales. Over the last few years, he as led business development efforts within the Hospitality, Residential, and Commercial Real Estate divisions. His background provides a unique blend of business acumen, account development, and relationship-building.