DETROIT — SmithGroupJJR, an architecture, engineering, and planning firm, has named six new board of directors.
They are:
Noel Bryan, AIA, LEED AP, leads SmithGroupJJR’s Chicago, Ill. office. A registered architect in Illinois and Arizona, his diverse project experience includes office buildings, assisted living facilities, laboratories and airports. Bryan served as project manager for OSF Saint Francis Medical Center’s recently completed Jump Trading Simulation and Education Center, one of the largest medical simulation centers in the U.S. He is a graduate of Illinois Institute of Technology with a bachelor of architecture degree, followed by an MBA from the University of Utah.
Kathleen Hudson-Beitz, LEED AP, is business development director at SmithGroupJJR’s Detroit office, leading project pursuits and client development for its Health and Science & Technology studios. She has more than 20 years of experience in marketing and business development of professional services for architecture and engineering, construction and real estate development. Hudson-Beitz played a significant role in securing new and re-establishing past clients such as Oakland University, McLaren Health System, Wayne State University, Detroit Medical Center, BAE Systems, Beaumont Health System and Forrest Health. She received an MBA from Wayne State University.
Thomas Mroz, ASLA, LEED AP, is the office director at the SmithGroupJJR location in Ann Arbor, which employs staff specializing in campus planning, landscape architecture, urban design, civil engineering, and environmental science. Mroz, a registered landscape architect, has recently worked on projects in Kansas and Tennessee for the National Cemetery Administration of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Mroz is active nationally with the American Society of Landscape Architects, serving on both the finance and investments and audit committees. He received a master’s degree in Landscape Architecture from The University of Michigan and later returned to earn an MBA.
Chris Purdy, AIA, LEED AP, is the learning studio leader for the Detroit office. With more than 20 years of experience focusing on facilities for higher education, he has special expertise in providing leadership for projects that focus on student life; health sciences education; and science, technology, engineering and math. Some of his most notable clients include Michigan State University, Oakland University, Boston University, The University of Cincinnati, Western Michigan University, the University of Michigan, and the University of Detroit-Mercy. He has degrees from U-M and the University of California at Berkeley.
Russell Sykes, PE, LEED AP, serves as the science and technology studio leader at SmithGroupJJR’s Detroit office. He started out his career with SmithGroupJJR in 1985 as an electrical engineer. Among his most noteworthy, recent projects are the First Automotive Works Research and Development Center in Changchun, China; the Prototype and Development Building for BAE Systems, one of the world’s largest global defense contractors; and the Michigan State University Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB). Russ received a bachelor of architectural engineering degree from Pennsylvania State University and currently serves as the chair of the Industrial and Professional Advisory Council for the University’s College of Engineering.
Troy Thompson, AIA, LEED AP, a historic preservation architect, serves as director of operations for SmithGroupJJR’s Washington office. His career has focused on projects of cultural and historic significance around the world, for clients that include the U.S. National Park Service, the U.S. General Services Administration, the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation (World Trade Center site) and the Smithsonian Institution. Current projects include the restoration of the Mid-Century Modern U.S. Embassy in Uruguay and Harvard University’s Archaeological Exploration of Sardis, Turkey. Thompson earned a master’s degree in American history from George Mason University, preceded by a bachelor of architecture and a bachelor of science in philosophy, both from Ball State University in Muncie, Ind.
