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Our office is bustling with new faces and we are excited about opportunities to collaborate as we grow. We interviewed our newest freshman class and asked each of them to give us a brief introduction:

Veronica Castro, AIA is a Puerto Rican architect who moved to L.A. after earning her Bachelor of Architecture from Syracuse University. All of her favorite activities involve getting friends together to spend time outdoors – she spends most of her weekends either surfing, skiing, or exploring L.A.’s local hikes and bike paths. During the week, she likes to wind down after work by cooking any sort of interesting recipe she can get her hands on. After living in L.A., she has developed an appreciation for the make-up of the city and the idea of small, diverse neighborhoods forming a metropolis that has something to offer to everyone, regardless of where you come from.

Lee Cooper, AIA earned his BA from Auburn University, completing his thesis with The Rural Studio. After stints in Chicago and Austin, he spent the past several years in his hometown of Birmingham working on various healthcare and higher education projects before deciding to relocate to Los Angeles to learn more about multi-family. Both he and his wife are enjoying exploring their new environs and can most often be found peddling back from the beach with a breakfast burrito in their bike basket.

Jeff DeWitt was raised in the topographically diverse, beautiful state of Michigan.  He attended the University of Michigan, where he received a BS in Architecture in April 2015.  He moved to LA shortly after to join the fantastic team at KFA.  Outside of work, he watches a lot of Netflix and peruses Facebook.  On rare occasions, he also has been known to go biking, run in the mountains, play the piano, sing, act, eat, pray, read, sleep, ponder, visit movie studios, go to the Westin Bonaventure Hotel (his favorite building in LA) and to the movies.

Christina Hackett graduated with her BA in Architecture from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo in 2012. Having grown up in the scenic foothills near the Sequoia National Forrest, she moved to the Los Angeles shortly after graduation to pursue her passion of architecture and sustainable design. Outside of the office she enjoys night bike rides along the beach path, TRX classes and spending time with family.

Jeehyun Joo is a native of Seoul, South Korea where she attended Kookmin University to earn her B.Arch. degree. She moved to Los Angeles to attend the M.Arch degree program at the University of Southern California. After graduation, Jeehyun joined the KFA team to further her career as an architect. Personally she likes challenges—she is finally learning how to swim to get over her fear of water.

Elizabeth Kang received her Bachelor degree in Environmental Design from Texas A&M and went on to earn her M.Arch from Cornell University. Although originally from Texas, she lived in South Korea for awhile and then moved to Los Angeles in 2014 after graduating from Cornell. The complex nature of LA’s architecture is one of the reasons why she moved to LA. As an architect, the “chaos” in this case is not necessarily a negative thing but rather an exciting challenge. To her, the richness of the culture means endless possibilities. Elizabeth enjoys exploring nearby California locations while taking weekend trips with family and friends. She also enjoys photography, crafting, discovering new hole in the wall restaurants and especially going to markets in foreign cities.

Pedro Melis, AIA is a native from Caracas, Venezuela, where he earned his Bachelor’s degree in Architecture. He moved to the US to pursue a Master’s degree from the University of Michigan and soon after graduation, he relocated to Chicago where he spent more than a decade practicing Architecture. Destiny (and weather) brought him to LA and he is excited to be part of the KFA family. Pedro is an amateur (but enthusiastic) filmmaker, an avid traveler, and he can cook one of the best mushroom risottos you will ever taste.

Li Shan graduated from the University of Southern California with an M.Arch degree. She has worked on multiple residential projects in California and Hawaii. Shan enjoys exploring new adventures and traveling has always been one of her passions. She loves to take challenges and believes the only way to understand a place is by being there. Shan has a strong desire to learn, and is now on her way to becoming an architect.

Raymond Vuong received his Bachelor of Architecture degree from California Polytechnic State University San Luis Obispo, where he gained an understanding of Building Information Modeling and the vital role it would have within the field of Architecture. His past work experience has enabled him to continue developing design execution from conception to construction observation, ranging from small to large-scale facilities. Raymond brings experience from a variety of projects that include residential, commercial, retail, automotive dealerships, tenant improvements, and high-rise buildings.

Adam Zhang was born into a family of architects and has dreamt of becoming an architect since childhood. He began his journey in architecture at the Shandong University of Architecture, and then attended the Bauhaus in Germany for further architectural studies. Adam moved to LA, a city of beautiful sunshine, beaches, and Hollywood movies, which greatly appealed to him. He graduated from UCLA’s M.Arch program where he was commended for his Hyperloop presentation. Soon after, he joined the KFA family to further pursue professional goals of becoming an architect and creating a better Los Angeles.