Who are the operators behind our project teams’ successes? That would be Latoya Berry and Alexandra Arnold, our two new Project Coordinators. While they both started as Administrative Assistants who help provide support in our firm’s operations this past year, Latoya and Alexandra soon excelled beyond their roles and became integral parts of our project teams. Not only have they integrated themselves into the frontend of architectural projects, but this amazing duo is also able to juggle multiple projects and deadline items seamlessly as well as to contribute to all different phases of each project.

It has been a joy to witness both women’s natural progression to becoming Project Coordinators as their knowledge and skillsets slowly but surely outgrew their Admin Assistant roles. This new opportunity will not only allow them to be included in team meetings, but also get the full scope of the project and design process.  

Above all, they make a wonderful team whose energy and fun characters never fail to brighten up our office. Without further ado, meet Alexandra and Latoya:

Alexandra Arnold

“My new role as a Project Coordinator will give me the chance to get fully integrated into the project teams as well as the opportunity to attend team meetings and receive more context to each task. This level of familiarity with fluctuations in the project schedule will allow me to be proactive and anticipate when the team needs different types of support. Without that insight, my work would otherwise just be reactive. Being a member of so many projects of different scales and areas of focus is a constant learning opportunity for me.

As I continue to support projects through the different stages of design and construction, the more I look forward to turning what I have learned into valuable contributions to the success of future projects.”

Latoya Berry

“The Project Coordinator role will give me the opportunity to work closely with consultants on things such as coordinating specs to get in bid and permit packages. We will be packaging up the drawings and project manuals and putting together various reports for different stages of the project. In addition, we will also be helping with Construction Administration when the CA require assistance with logs, report, and meeting minutes. The great thing about this role is there is so much variety and things to learn along the way–there’s never a dull moment.

I believe McGranahan stays true to its mission of a collaborative design firm that values my input and genuinely wants to help me develop my career. I believe in my new role as Project Coordinator and I look forward to sharpening my Adobe Creative Suite skills and learning more about the architectural design process.”

Last night Michael McGavock was recognized by the A4LE Washington Chapter with this year’s Al Beck Award. Al Beck is considered to be one of the founding fathers of A4LE in the Pacific Northwest. This award is given to honor a Washington State A4LE member who exemplifies the principles of service that were so diligently represented by Al Beck’s contributions to the organization. Congratulations Michael on this truly deserved recognition!

Michael has dedicated over 30 years to supporting exceptional learning environments throughout western Washington, seeking out rewarding relationships with peers and educational providers along the way. Michael’s involvement with the Washington Chapter of the Association for Learning Environments (A4LE) has been particularly rewarding. He has had an active role in A4LE for over 25 years, including serving for five years on the Washington Chapter board as an officer and President. He has learned a great deal, made great friends and has great memories to show for it.

Inspired by Michael’s commitment to Learning Environments, McGranahan Architects has followed his lead with participation in the A4LE Schools Next (formerly School of the Future) program, working with students at Tacoma’s Stewart Middle School for 3 years. Students are challenged to plan and design sustainable and resilient learning spaces that encourage innovation, critical thinking and collaboration. Stewart Middle School won the State competition in their third year!

During his leadership of the Chapter, Michael instituted new “behind the scenes” communication and accounting methods that are used to this day. The board and committees organize and develop the Chapter’s initiatives with Basecamp. Communication with members is conducted with MailChimp and the board watches our funds with online banking and proactive budgeting that began with his time on the board.

Michael’s involvement with A4LE has fed his passion for how learning environments serve individuals and society and has taken that inspiration into other areas of educational activism and involvement.

Michael has served on the board of Tacoma Public Schools’ Elements of Education, beginning in 2000, including two years as President. Elements is an organization that supports Tacoma Public Schools’ partner schools (SOTA, SAMi and iDEA) and offers enriched educational opportunities to students across the district. Through Michael’s engagement, we have had the opportunity to host several SOTA/SAMI student interns nearly every year since Elements’ Next Move internship program began. Luis Servin, a former intern from SAMi, was a particularly rewarding experience. He’s now studying architecture at WSU and returns to work with us on holiday breaks.

Michael recently completed his second term as President of Tacoma North Rotary Club. Each year the club provides dictionaries to every third grader in Tacoma, about 3,000 of them. Over the past four years with Michael’s guidance the club has provided one iPad for every two students and one for each teacher in each of Tacoma Public Schools’ 15 autism specialty classrooms. Now he is leading the club’s efforts to create a demonstration farm in Uganda. The first step of drilling two water wells will provide better hydration and hygiene for hundreds of families and lead to irrigation on the farm. The goal is to help families grow food more sustainably and consistently so their children can learn better because they aren’t going to school hungry. He is also active in the club’s new initiative to address homeless youth in Tacoma, a major hindrance to their education.

Michael is passionate about our mission to create inspiring learning environments, because he believes they can be transformational to individuals and society. He cultivates a spirit that we are doing something very important, that our work has lasting impact for good in the world. He has lead educational visioning, capital facilities planning, community engagement and design all over Western Washington for initiatives that have led to community support for more than $1.2 billion in school construction.

Michael believes that the collaboration among design professionals, supported by enlightened school district leaders, in the region contributes to the quality learning environments we create with our clients and their communities. To that end, Michael has encouraged the firm to participate in the annual A4LE awards program to share our work, and be inspired by the work of our colleagues. Our consistent recognition in A4LE awards, locally and internationally, is a testament to his passion for the organization as a way to improve learning environment design.

This year’s I Look Up Film Challenge theme was “Blueprint for Better,” spotlighting how architecture can positively impact a community. With this theme in mind, we felt Bates’ new Advanced Technology Center centrally located in the Hilltop neighborhood was a fitting story to be told. At McGranahan we value equitable and just access to higher education. We wanted to share this unique story so that more people in the Hilltop community recognize the Advanced Technology Center as a resource for higher education.

It was important to us that Hilltop’s history be told and represented by someone who grew up in or around the neighborhood. In this case, Will Ragin, a student of Bates, shared his experiences growing up in South Tacoma and later living in Hilltop. We wanted to craft a story that felt connected to the people and the culture of the neighborhood. By reaching out to various community organizations, students, and faculty, we believe we were able to tell this story authentically.

Gentrification was a major point of discussion during the making of this film. What we discovered through our outreach within the Hilltop community was that, in the two years since its doors have opened, the new Advanced Technology Center has become a hub for students, community organizations, and hilltop residents to have direct access to higher education. What is special about Bates, this building, and this story, is that every player involved is working diligently to keep the culture and the residents of Hilltop intact by providing the technological and educational resources necessary to thrive.

Our goal is to share this story with as many people as we can. By doing so, we hope to inspire the hilltop community by spotlighting this valuable resource that’s right down the street. If you would like to participate in sharing this story, watch our video and vote. If it wins, Bates and the Hilltop community will be featured at the 2017 Architecture and Film Festival in New York City.