Getting asked about your career upon meeting someone for the first time is commonplace. Typically, a look of confusion and curiosity crosses someone’s face when I explain my job as an Architectural Lighting Designer. The canned “elevator pitch” explaining my role in the world of design is routine now, but it becomes more nuanced with each passing year.
During my undergraduate degree, I had the opportunity to work side by side with Richard Renfro, Sarah Randall, and Eileen Pierce. They taught me about light through hands on experience rather than textbooks. Much of that learning took place in the field or in the mockup room—late nights focusing lights in museums, seeing how each fixture was so much more than a mark on a drawing, and how every beam of light worked together to tell the story of a collection.
I’ve always been fascinated by visual structure and patterning. Whether behind the lens of my camera or bent over a jigsaw puzzle for hours, I never tire of noticing subtle shifts in color and form. The rush comes when you find just the right mix of light, texture, and shape. Those over night site visits and long hours in front of the computer scratched exactly the right itch—and confirmed that this was the career for me.
Many years later, I served as Lighting Design Project Manager for the Halls of Gems and Minerals at the American Museum of Natural History. As one of my first major exhibition projects, I knew I would again be learning through experience. Over five years, I absorbed everything I could from the curatorial staff—how critical light is to understanding gem and mineral structures—and layered it with my previous knowledge of architectural lighting. My incredible team and I conducted full-scale mockups and tested every potential light source until we found one that could render each specimen authentically. Studying the unique optical properties of minerals and their interactions with light, I found myself captivated by the minutiae and how the smallest of details made their impact on the bigger picture.
The gemstone education became the foundation for my most recent work: traveling the world to illuminate gemstones for high jewelry events. Between my regular architectural projects, I’ve had the pleasure of becoming an expert in jewelry and gemstone lighting. Working directly with some of the world’s most renowned gemologists, I continue to learn through experience. Each specimen is unique and reacts to light in its own way. I’ve learned the subtle color differences between Colombian emeralds and those from Zambia plus how a stone’s cut and positioning affect its brilliance. I’ve spent countless hours discussing gemstone formation, the composition of each bespoke piece, and the story each jeweler wants to share with their audience. While my role is to introduce artificial light to best showcase these extraordinary pieces, every onsite interaction becomes a new lesson—one that builds on the previous things I have learned and shapes the next showcase.
Just as we layer architectural light, every project I take on is another layer and continuation of my education. Years spent in the field, time at mockups and conversing with industry experts have taught me that lighting design is as much about adaptability as it is about technical skill. The subtle interplay between light, material, and environment cannot be fully understand from manual or a layout – it must be experienced. The interaction must be witnessed, tested and refined in real time. As my career advances, the types of projects I work on varies and I am excited to see what I will learn to illuminate next.
Just like my craft, I am adaptable and excited to learn new techniques and skills- each project adds to a foundation of lived experience that continues to shape and elevate my work.
