San Francisco
“Architecture should speak of its time and place, but yearn for timelessness.” – Frank Gehry
Anisha Shikre
Assistant Designer — San FranciscoAnisha joined SGPA as an Assistant Designer in July 2022 after completing her studies in Architecture and minoring in Italian. Anisha has always wanted to do something that is design-oriented and creative in nature. Growing up, she traveled around the world every summer which spiked her interest in Architecture. She loves the industry she is in and enjoys learning about the more practical aspects of Architecture.
As Assistant Designer, Anisha works in Sketchup modelling coming up with schemes for a design, drafting in CAD and working on graphics for projects and entitlement packages as well as modeling in Revit.
Deeksha Phadnis
Job Captain — San FranciscoDeeksha joined SGPA in 2021, after 4 years of architecture at education oriented firms. Her goal is to always incorporate comfort and delight into her designs, and her main joys in the professional realm come from working together with others on the components and building blocks that make up our world.
As a Job Captain, Deeksha is the technical person on the back end, applying the solutions that project managers discuss with clients to see what works best. She researches and proposes solutions, and is in constant communication with our consultants and suppliers. Easy to talk to, open, and curious, Deeksha always takes care to address the needs of both the client and the consultants.
Credentials
- AIA Associate
- B. Arch, California Polytechnic State University at San Luis Obispo
"If you're always trying to be normal you will never know how amazing you can be" -Maya Angelou
Aeeshah N. Diggs
Construction Administrator — San FranciscoWith over 6 years of professional experience, Aeeshah has been coordinating and helping complex teams communicate, bridging the divide between general contractors, designers, and engineers.
As a Construction Administrator, Aeeshah coordinates the communication involved in turning a project into reality. She is always available and reachable when things need to be done, and frequently assists project managers.
Credentials
- Associates in Business Management, Peralta Colleges
- Associate in Liberal Arts, Peralta Colleges
"A great building must begin with the immeasurable, must go through measurable means when it is being designed, and in the end must be unmeasured." —Louis Kahn
Theresa Amurao
Senior Assocaite, Project Manager — San FranciscoFrom a young age, Theresa was always encouraged to explore her interests and potential. She enjoyed both the freedom of art classes and exactness of math. Architecture allows her to enjoy the creative problem solving that is involved throughout the process to make ideas come to life.
Theresa started her career working in multi-family affordable housing, where she gained valuable knowledge and skills. Her curiosity about architecture has led her to explore many project types and to learn the ways it is integrated into our daily lives. She is endlessly fascinated with how architecture can be a rich and complex intersection of life. Theresa has learned that by engaging logic, creativity, experience, and vision; her career will allow her to design, formulate, and coordinate built elements that exist in the natural world. Those built elements create our environment and the places we gather, work, play, and live.
Credentials
- B.Arch, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo
"Beauty is best found in a building that responds positively to both the people that inhabit it and the environment around it."
Josh Barnabei
Associate, Senior Job Captain — San FranciscoAs an Associate and Senior Job Captain, Josh works with Designers and Project Managers on a variety of project types. It ranges from multifamily housing to parking structures to technical details of a handrail.
Josh is an integral part of both our design and production team. He has experience with a variety of project types, including multi-family residential (both affordable and market-rate), commercial, mixed-use, and master planning. He also co-leads our social media team, curating content for Instagram and LinkedIn.
His passion for architecture is rooted in the opportunity to bring positive impact to the Bay Area. Good design supports the needs of the client and the larger community. It should offer a human-scaled experience that is both culturally conscious and accessible.
Credentials
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B.Arch, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo
"Good design is scaled to a person, and responds to their needs."
Thomas Tarn
Project Manager — San FranciscoThomas credits two things as what led him to architecture: an unusually strong love for history growing up, and the fact that he was gifted a full-sized Mayline drafting board at the age of eight.
Early in his career, Thomas focused on retail and commercial design and planning. Seven years of infrastructural/transit-focused design work followed, with an emphasis in construction administration and specialized structural and architectural detail development.
As a Project Manager, Thomas’ duties include design and drawing production, detail development, precedent and case study research, construction management.
Credentials
- B.A. Architecture, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo
- LEED Accredited Professional
"I most enjoy working on projects that combine great urban design with inspired architecture. I believe these types of projects can have the greatest positive impact on people's health, happiness, and quality of life."
Glenn A. Wood
Principal, Director of Design & Planning, Studio Leader — San FranciscoWith over 20 years of professional experience, Glenn specializes in the design of mixed-use urban environments that allow people to live more active, fulfilling, and healthy lifestyles while reducing their environmental footprint.
As a Residential | Mixed-use Studio Leader, Glenn has led the design effort on numerous projects that integrate residential, commercial, and civic uses into walkable and sustainable neighborhoods. His role includes leading the design direction of the San Francisco office, developing strong client relationships, and mentoring future firm leadership.
In each project, Glenn strives to develop a common vision that synthesizes the unique cultural, economic, and planning goals of the local community with the aspirations of the client to create livable and lasting new places.
Credentials
- Registered Architect, California
- B.Arch, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo
- LEED Accredited Professional
"Architecture can be very structured and technical, or organic and stream of conscience. It's fun to strike a balance between these two paradigms."
Steve Swartzendruber
Senior Associate, Senior Project Manager — San FranciscoThanks to his father, a building contractor, Steve has always been drawn to design and construction. He enjoys seeing physical buildings take shape after their conceptual beginnings on paper or on screen. At SGPA he assists with overall project management. Steve excels at coordination with both our in-house design and production teams and our external consultants and clients. On a typical project, he’s responsible for building detailing, permitting, specifications, and client relations.
Credentials
- B.S. Architecture, Lawrence Technological University
"Architecture is about more than just beautiful buildings – it’s also about how spaces interact with, and change the lives of those who use them."
Victoria Gray
Senior Associate, Project Manager — San FranciscoImagine, for a second, the feeling of satisfaction after solving a difficult puzzle, or finding the solution to a tricky problem. It is that same feeling – the sense of pride and accomplishment stemming from being able to design a space from scratch that is both habitable and enjoyable – that drew Tori to pursue a career in architecture. Spaces like outdoor plazas, or any sort of social gathering area, which allow for interaction between users, have become one of Tori’s specialties since joining SGPA.
Tori is also instrumental in the production of design and construction documents for projects ranging in completeness from planning and site design to building design and construction.
Credentials
- Registered Architect, California
- B.Arch, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo
"Architecture is a collaborative effort and I enjoy creating solutions that incorporate everyone’s input into a cohesive and beautiful project."
W. Stuart Lyle
President, Director - San Francisco — San FranciscoSince 1988, Stuart has focused his career on all aspects of project management from preliminary planning and government entitlement processing through construction administration. His role as President and the Director of the San Francisco office is to ensure that all staff have the necessary resources and support available to do their best work.
Stuart specializes in transforming underutilized spaces and structures into new and vibrant environments. Staff and clients alike rely on Stuart’s ability to focus a diverse team on a creative solution to a design problem.
As someone who grew from student intern to President at SGPA, Stuart believes that assisting people with their professional growth is the most satisfying part of his job. He takes pride in managing a great group of people and hopes to give them all the same opportunities that he has had over the years.
Credentials
- Registered Architect, Arizona, California, Oregon, Washington
- M.Arch, Montana State University
- B.Arch, Montana State University
"It’s kind of fun to do the impossible." —Walt Disney
Philip D’Agostino
Principal, Director of Operations - San Francisco, Studio Leader — San FranciscoAs a Studio Leader in SGPA’s San Francisco office, Philip is responsible for managing retail projects from conceptual design through planning, governmental approvals, and construction. He believes the built environment has an extraordinary impact on our everyday lives.
Philip’s passion for retail design began on the east coast and grew deeper after working as a corporate architect for Gap, Inc. Philip calls upon this multifaceted, retail knowledge while working on projects for major retail centers, regional malls, and mixed-use developments.
Since joining SGPA in 2001, Philip continues to strengthen his retail knowledge by attending conferences, events, and workshops hosted by the International Council of Shopping Centers. He also serves as Operations Manager for the San Francisco office, where he helps to improve SGPA’s use of technology in order to meet our clients’ goals.
Credentials
- Registered Architect, California
- LEED Accredited Professional
- B. Environmental Design in Architecture, North Carolina State University School of Design