SKILL | ED Pulse Check: Building Resilience to Market Volatility - 1.0 PDH (LA CES/non-HSW)

Rena is a nationally recognized expert in small firm practice and the author of The Architect’s Guide to Small Firm Management (Wiley, 2010). With 20 years of experience as the owner of a small design firm, and over 15 years as a consultant and educator, Rena brings a special understanding of design firms managed by entrepreneurial designers. Rena advises all AVEC (formerly named CVG) clients on best practices in finance, operations, organizational design, and ownership transition.

Tanya Olson is passionate about design in and for rural communities and people. Her firm, Tallgrass Landscape Architecture, practices across one of the most sparsely populated regions in the Nation. Their mission is to help create flourishing communities with high quality everyday lives through collaborative place-inspired design. Tanya is the SD Section Chair of the Nebraska / Dakotas Chapter of ASLA, on the Executive Board of the Custer Area Economic Development Corporation and Foundation, and the Dakota Resources Advisory Board. She received her BLA and MLA from the University of MN. 

Gareth Mahon is a licensed Landscape Architect and the Managing Partner at RKLA Studio. He brings over two decades of expertise to the firm’s institutional, multi-family, and private residential projects. Gareth is committed to collaboration and to crafting spaces with a distinct identity and sense of place.

Gareth holds a Bachelor's degree in Electronic Engineering and a Masters of Urban Design. He serves on the Executive Board of the Queens Botanical Garden and the Advisory Board of play:groundNYC. Gareth's design approach is influenced by his rural Irish upbringing and fueled by weekly hikes in the mountains of NY State.

James is adept at resolving complex issues in design. His background as a project manager has made him adept at interdisciplinary coordination and building system integration. With an architectural resume of 23 years, he has extensive experience working in a variety of scales from small renovations under 500 sf to new complexes of more than 150,000 sf. These projects include commercial, retail, food service, fuel stations, and a myriad of government projects. His focus on detail translates as a specialty in renovation work, carefully understanding how to balance building resources and user needs. 

Timothy is the principal-in-charge of SGA’s design studio and is a landscape architect and urban designer with expertise in the design of urban environments, public spaces, and riverfronts. Over his professional career, Timothy has specialized in dealing with highly disturbed and contaminated landscapes.