Changing the Rules: Designers Who Shape What Gets Built | Seattle, WA

Gund Hall at night, illuminated behind trees and streaks of passing vehicle lights on the street.
Event Location

Surf Incubator, Wells Fargo Center, 999 Third Avenue, Suite 700, Seattle

Date & Time
Open to the Harvard University community only
Event links
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Alumni Event

Join GSD community members in Seattle, WA, for the second installment of the GSD Alumni Lecture Series.

Sponsored by the GSD Alumni Council and the Harvard Club of Seattle, this panel brings together four GSD alumni who have changed the rules governing what gets built through model-building codes, municipal administration, policy analysis, and elected office.

These distinguished practitioners will discuss what prompted them to move beyond individual projects, what this change cost them in time and career momentum, and how others can get involved. Q&A to follow. Refreshments will be served.

Special thanks to Darren Chang (MArch ’08) of Darren Vinci Architecture & Design for organizing and to Melissa Alexander (MAUD ’13), Data Visualization Principal at Blue Cottage of CannonDesign, for moderating.

Questions? Contact Development & Alumni Relations.

Panelist Bios

Susan Jones (MArch ’88) is the founder of atelierjones LLC. atelierjones has been a national leader in designing and building early mass timber buildings in the US since 2012. She represented AIA National on the ICC Tall Wood Building Committee to adopt the tall mass timber code in the 2021-2024 code cycles. In 2025, atelierjones represented the US in the Venice Biennale.

Peter Steinbrueck (LF ’10) is principal of Steinbrueck Urban Strategies. Peter helped lead the Citizens Alternative Plan initiative before holding office, serving ten years on the Seattle City Council, including a term as president and four years chairing urban development and planning.

Lisa Rutzick (MUP ’98) is a Customer Experience Product Manager bringing human-centered design and user research methods to support permitting and technology at the City of Seattle Department of Construction and Inspections. Prior to this role, Lisa worked in Land Use and then managed Seattle’s Design Review program for many years.

Radhika Nair (MUP ’07) is the founder of Seva Workshop. Radhika has worked at the City of Bellevue, the City of Seattle, and the Puget Sound Regional Council, served on the Seattle Planning Commission, and now runs her own practice, including work on the city’s equitable transit-oriented development strategy.