RESEARCH ASSOCIATES - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Principal, Laboratory Subject Matter Expert
Job Titles:
- Principal
- Principal, Laboratory Subject Matter Expert
Carlos leads HERA's Atlanta office and has been a member of the laboratory design community since graduating from Georgia Tech. He has a thorough understanding of the technical issues involved in laboratory environments and their support systems, balanced with the ability to humanize the environment for those that spend most of their day in labs. His deep experience has allowed him to push the envelope of design, bringing workplace and learning environment quality to the forefront of laboratory planning. A leader in sustainable design, he has spoken at the International Institute of Sustainable Laboratories, Laboratory Design Conference and an I2SL Windy City chapter event.
Job Titles:
- Associate
- Chief Financial Officer
Job Titles:
- Facility Strategist, Programmer and Planner
- Laboratory Subject Matter Expert
Clay is a seasoned facility strategist, programmer and planner with more than 30 years of experience spanning the education, corporate/commercial and government sectors with unique concentrations in research and development. This broad range of experience, representing over 30 million square feet, facilitates the application of best practices from each of these often-discrete sectors to improve project potential and outcome. This experience has yielded an understanding that complex projects require unique perspective and knowledge matched to processes to ensure that envisioned results are achievable. Clay is a pre-design specialist who works closely with all project stakeholders and user groups to establish project goals, evaluate needs and to define the basis of the project to be met by the ultimate design solution or strategy within scale and costs parameters.
Cody's unique background in interior design and previous working experience at an equipment and lab casework manufacturer provides clients a different and unexpected lens through which to view their projects. His experience enables him to create research and teaching science environments that are human-centered while also being efficient and safe. His expert BIM skills create a seamless working environment for the entire project team.
Cris is a lab planner with experience in the programming, planning and documentation phases for forensic and higher education teaching and research laboratory projects. His exceptional Revit and AutoCAD skills deliver accurate architectural documents and 3D renderings to help clients understand what their laboratories will look like once constructed.
Job Titles:
- Associate, Senior Laboratory Planner
Cy helped develop EQ-IPS, HERA's proprietary equipment surveying software. Using this iPad-based tool, he has provided equipment planning for academic, incubator, corporate and forensic projects. This deep understanding of equipment, a significant driver of laboratory spaces, affords him a unique perspective and depth of knowledge as he approaches lab planning and design. Coupled with his tremendous portfolio of scientific teaching and research projects, he a boon to project teams.
Ellis works in the accounting department, assisting with general accounting, expense reports and financials for HERA. Ellis is a volunteer extraordinaire, working with Wings of Hope, AARP and VITA in her free time.
Job Titles:
- Associate, Director of Philadelphia Office
- Associate, Director of Philadelphia Office, Laboratory Subject Matter Expert
Eva brings extensive experience in benchmarking, planning, design and construction administration of laboratory facilities and other technology-driven spaces for a wide variety of clients. A detail-oriented architect, Eva is passionate about code analysis, and her in depth knowledge of MEP systems is particularly helpful on laboratory projects.
Job Titles:
- Senior Operations Manager
Greg leads HERA's firm-wide operations, working closely with the principals on a range of office matters such as project management, scheduling, office management, metrics, finance, legal, recruitment and human resources. His background of implementing organization-wide construction improvement strategies at a regional healthcare system serves HERA well as we continue to increase our efficiency and overall success. Greg possesses the rare ability to both manage details while also thinking strategically about the big picture.
Job Titles:
- Laboratory Subject Matter Expert
Jay is a passionate laboratory designer and registered architect whose career focus has been programming, planning and detailing science and technology facilities for academic, corporate and healthcare clients. He applies his knowledge and creativity from pre-planning to construction administration, and delivers state-of-the-art environments that consistently exceed expectations. His specialties include multidisciplinary research and teaching labs, animal facilities, biotechnology, BSL3, clean rooms, clinical labs, engineering, pharmaceutical and potent compound manufacturing.
Jeff has a tremendous depth of experience in complex research, clinical and government projects throughout the United States and in 31 foreign countries. He is skilled at fostering collaboration and blending the functions and requirements of all phases of a project to create a cohesive process. His broad knowledge spans architectural design, lab planning, master planning, space planning and programming. He is also knowledgeable about MEP engineering systems and laboratory code requirements. In addition, Jeff was the longtime leadership committee chair of a group that provided pro bono professional services to resource poor communities. The initiative was a grass-roots effort of volunteers created to help others through combining the collective expertise of professionals, industry contacts and resources to support multiple healthcare, public health and educational projects.
Job Titles:
- Laboratory Planner
- Planner
Jennifer is a lab planner with experience in the programming, planning and documentation phases for laboratory and research projects. She is proficient using Revit and AutoCAD to deliver accurate architectural documents and 3D renderings to help clients understand what their laboratories will look like once constructed.
Kassandra is a licensed architect with extensive experience in all phases of planning and design of laboratory facilities for research, education, health and R&D clients. Her knowledge of LEED criteria and sustainable strategies ensures projects are forward thinking regardless of certification status. As a certified Practitioner of Human-Centered Design, Kassandra is passionate about leveraging people-focused design methodologies that help guide project stakeholders and design professionals through the process of goal setting and design exploration. This collaborative effort helps clients and design teams achieve desired project outcomes in an efficient and successful process.
Job Titles:
- HERA President
- President, Laboratory Subject Matter Expert
HERA President Ken Mohr leads the firm's forensic laboratory planning and design practice, and has successfully completed crime labs and medical examiner facilities around the world. He also works with governmental agencies, universities, corporations and healthcare institutions on technically demanding projects, including research, animal, analysis, teaching and manufacturing. Ken has authored special guideline publications for laboratory design and is a regular presenter at conferences and workshops. Ken was a founding member of the St. Louis chapter of I2SL and serves on the board as program chair.
Job Titles:
- Senior Laboratory Planner
Job Titles:
- Architect
- Senior Laboratory Architect
Matt is licensed architect and an expert programmer and planner, guiding academic, research and clinical clients through space assessments to ensure the completed building matches their needs. In addition, Matt develops layouts and technical drawings for HERA projects. His photo-realistic 3D renderings help clients understand what their laboratories will look like once constructed. In addition to his architectural training, Matt has construction and engineering background that positively shapes his project outcomes.
Job Titles:
- Associate, Director of Atlanta Office, Senior Laboratory Architect
Nerissa brings extensive experience in planning, master planning, design and construction administration of laboratory facilities and other technology-driven spaces for research, education and health. In particular, her deep understanding of animal facility best practices helps create the best environments for both the animals and the researchers in the labs. Nerissa is a detail-oriented architect whose responsibilities have ranged from leadership to team support roles, and she has handled them all with ease.
Rachel is a licensed architect and planner with extensive experience in programming, space planning and design team coordination for healthcare and higher education clients. She is passionate about data analytics and interactive data visualization for communicating multifaceted ideas. This visual style of communication helps clients better understand utilization, benchmarking, post-occupancy evaluation, and more.
Rachel is an interdisciplinary lab designer who funnels her passion for anthropology into discovering the needs, lifestyles and cultures of our clients to help create the best laboratory environment specifically tailored to them. Her experience in programming, planning and designing ranges from higher education, clinical labs, government clients and R&D labs. She is proficient using Revit and AutoCAD to deliver accurate architectural documents and 3D renderings to help clients understand what their laboratories will look like once constructed.
Job Titles:
- Associate, Laboratory Subject Matter Expert
- Registered Architect
Rainey is a registered architect with 20 years of high containment design expertise in highly technical laboratory and animal facilities. Her experience is focused primarily on large academic and government bio-containment research facilities with an emphasis on specialty cores: whole animal imaging, cellular imaging, insectary, aerobiology, etc. She has written and presented to a variety of audiences including I2SL, CDC and ABSA on sustainable approaches in containment facility design.
Job Titles:
- Associate
- Director of Marketing
Job Titles:
- Laboratory Architect
- Laboratory Planner, Director of DC Office
Taisha provides clients more than a decade of experience in architectural design and project management for a range of government, healthcare and corporate laboratory projects. She has spent the past 13 years focused on overseeing design teams and construction documents for federal government projects, including for the National Institutes of Health and the National Institute of Standards and Technology.
Job Titles:
- Human Resources Assistant
- Office Manager
Taylor keeps the St. Louis office (and Philadelphia, Atlanta, Washington DC and Carlsbad offices from afar) running. She juggles travel schedules, office events and more, all while fielding constant questions from a staff of more than 30. She also helps with hiring and other HR matters for all offices.
Tina has nearly 20 years of marketing experience in the A/E/C industry, and is primarily focused on the government and forensic markets for HERA. Her diverse skillset includes writing, editing, branding, graphic design/layout and communications through various digital formats.