New Member: Mellisa M. Spencer, AIA

Mellisa M. Spencer, AIA, Design Manager, Jacobs Engineering

What inspires you?

Generally - When I was younger it would have been a book or music; however, as I’ve grown older and wiser, I’ve found that what inspires me most is God & family. Examples of how to love and serve others to better imbue that into my own day to day life experiences. 

If the question is directed towards what inspired me to pursue architecture as a profession - I recall one of the moments I decided to go back to school – it was when I was walking the field to review equipment to assemble a preventive maintenance scope of work for bid, and noticed that one of the built exhaust fans in a warehouse building had an inaccessible door to service it – there was six inches between it and the wall. 

Of your recent projects, which is your favorite and why?

I tend to gravitate towards renovation-style projects as a recovering facilities engineering supervisor in a past life. I am currently working on a second renovation for a life sciences partner in fill and finish here in Cincinnati.

What do you consider your strongest skill?

Persistence.

What do you love most about what you do?

Being able to make an impact by helping my team to deliver results that provide function and services that meet the needs of our client requirements. I love to see all of the pieces come together and checking to ensure all in the set is coordinated and covered for the construction team. Being able to visit a client site regularly and have the construction team involved early is super exciting to see the built results in the field. 

When you’re not being an architect, what do you enjoy doing?

Spending time with family, motorcycle cruising, rock climbing, biking, hiking, camping, kayaking, rollerblading . . .