PGAV, a global leader in the planning and design of unique destinations, is celebrating the appointment of eight new team members at its St Louis and Orlando design studios.
The firm is in a period of strong growth, and this expansion enhances PGAV’s capacity to build unsurpassed travel, tourist, and entertainment destinations both in the US and around the world.
PGAV Destinations is known for providing remarkable experiences which push the boundaries of planning and design. In order to take on more projects in themed entertainment, zoos, aquariums, museums, brand destinations, and hospitality projects across the globe, the firm is appointing talent from many design specialisms and has assembled a team of renowned experts.
Mike Konzen, PGAV CEO, says: “We are thrilled to welcome these talented new team members. They demonstrate our continued growth and add to the strongest group that we’ve had in our 58-year history. PGAV Destinations is set to complete our second consecutive year of unprecedented growth as we finish 2023 and carry that momentum into 2024.
“Alongside our recruitment programs, we continue to make significant investments in our team, including our firm-wide trip to Abu Dhabi in October to visit one of our latest projects, SeaWorld Yas Island.”
PGAV welcomes new talent
The new members of the PGAV Destinations team are:
- Hailey Collum, an architectural designer, who earned both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in architecture from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC). She was formerly a space management assistant for UIUC Facilities and Services, a graduate teaching assistant at UIUC, and an architectural intern at PGAV.
- Architectural designer Riley Ewing, who is from Ashland, Ohio, and graduated from the University of Cincinnati with a bachelor’s degree in architecture and a minor in entrepreneurship. He has undertaken internships in Toledo, Ohio, Jacksonville, Florida, and San Francisco, California.
- Cole Harley, a landscape designer from North Augusta, South Carolina, earned his bachelor’s degree in landscape architecture from Clemson University. He previously worked for RVi Planning + Landscape Architecture, as well as undertaking themed entertainment internships at Universal Creative and AECOM.
- Bethany Lavery, a designer from Sacramento, California, who graduated from Virginia Tech with a bachelor’s in creative technologies and from Savannah College of Art and Design with a master’s in fine arts in themed entertainment design. She has worked as a business analyst at Accenture as a 3D modeller for Three Geared Robot in the past. She has also interned at Universal and Aaron Sims Creative.
- Project architect Charlie Lutz, is from Saint Louis, Missouri. He graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign as a Master of Architecture. Lutz previously worked at HOK, where he spent 18 years designing many different kinds of buildings, including a lab in Palermo, Italy, and a wood-framed garage for the Saint Louis Art Museum.
- Katie Neyer, an architectural designer from Saint Louis, Missouri. She graduated from the University of Kansas with a BS in architectural studies, Master of Architecture, and certificate in historic preservation. Neyer has worked at Grant’s Farm, the historic home of the Busch family, and she was a previous PGAV intern.
- Ethan Sandburg, an architectural designer from Tonganoxie, Kansas, graduated from the University of Kansas with both bachelor’s and master’s degrees in architecture and a minor in geography. He previously undertook an internship at Hollis+Miller Architects.
- Javier Saumell, an architectural designer from Miami, Florida. He graduated from the University of Central Florida with a Bachelor of Design in Architecture and formerly worked in operations at Universal Studios Orlando.
PGAV recently announced its plans to take a company-wide trip to Abu Dhabi in October. This trip will underscore the firm’s dedication to exploring and creating memories, and will also celebrate the achievement of its team. A visit to SeaWorld Abu Dhabi, which was designed by PGAV, will be the highlight of the trip.
