Travel

Year Joined: 2025

Education and Certifications:

• Bachelor of Architecture, New York Institute of Technology

Professional Background: During his undergraduate studies at New York Institute of Technology, he served as Director and project manager for Freedom By Design, the AIA’s community service program. Shaun developed a strong foundation in community-driven design, focusing on practical, impactful solutions that improve everyday life.

With significant experience in educational and cultural projects, Shaun has worked as an Architectural Designer at Perkins Eastman, where he explored various typologies and cited culture as a defining influence on his approach to design. He later served as an Associate Architectural Designer at WeWork, developing spaces across retail, shared work environments, and corporate headquarters. At Rawlings Architects, his focus shifted to adaptive reuse projects and educational architecture, further expanding his expertise in transformative design.

Position: Shaun Joseph believes that architecture should be a direct response to social issues, offering solutions that meet users’ needs. His position includes production of construction documents, collaborating with consultants in the construction administration phase, and handling the day-to-day needs of an active project.

Personal Life: Shaun remains deeply engaged in the community, continuously exploring how architecture can solve complex challenges in urban environments and contribute to meaningful social impact.

Year Joined: 2024

Education and Certifications:

• Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting, Iona University

Professional Background: Kelly is a former CPA and most recently ran a small business for 7 years, which she successfully sold in 2023.

Position: In her role as Bookkeeper, Kelly assists the Controller with various financial, accounting and administrative tasks.

Personal Life: Kelly enjoys spending time with her family, especially on the beach in LBI and taking long walks with her mastiff Tilly.  Her favorite hobby is physical fitness and in her spare time has been teaching barre classes for the past 17 years.

Year Joined: 2024

Education and Certifications:

• Bachelor of Architecture, New York City College of Technology

Professional Background: Kristian Lugja is a passionate and innovative architecture professional with extensive experience utilizing a wide range of architectural software tools. Known for his creative problem-solving abilities and a keen eye for detail, he has a clear vision for designing functional and dynamic 3D spaces.

Starting his career as an intern at Bertolini Architecture Works, Kristian gained valuable hands-on experience with site visits and reports. He then advanced his career at Ismael Leyva Architects, where he played an integral role in project development, from the initial schematic design phase through to the final issue for construction.

Throughout his career, Kristian has contributed to a variety of projects located in New York City, Florida, and Albania. These diverse experiences have allowed him to refine his design approach and develop a deep understanding of how to address unique architectural challenges while creating innovative, sustainable spaces.

With a commitment to pushing the boundaries of design, Kristian continues to evolve as an architect, delivering high-quality solutions that are both functional and visually impactful.

Position: Kristian’s role as Job Captain includes production of construction documents and coordinating between consultants involved in a given project and helping with daily needs on other active projects.

Personal Life: Outside of architecture, Kristian enjoys playing soccer in his spare time and values spending quality time with his family & friends.

Year Joined: 2025

Education and Certifications:

• Bachelor’s Degree of Architecture, Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University
• Master of Science, Facilities Management

Professional Background: DonDedrick brings over 17 years of experience to Aufgang, beginning his career by working in the field as a junior in High School in 2007. He has experience in all project phases from Schematic Design through Construction Administration. He has worked on a wide variety of buildings, such as single family, multi-family, and luxury residential, as well as K-12 schools, higher education, hospitals, municipal and commercial.

Position: At Aufgang, his projects involve rehabilitation and preservation construction documentation for sets of existing residential buildings in the New York area.

Personal Life: Outside of work, Don enjoys fishing, recreational sports, cooking, reading and freelance design.

Year Joined: 2025

Education and Certifications:

• Degree in Architecture, Catholic University of Santiago de Guayaquil

Professional Background: Anahy’s passion for architecture began during her adolescence when, through exchanges in Italy and China, she had the opportunity to immerse herself in traditional architecture from different perspectives. She was born and raised in Ecuador and graduated with honors from the Catholic University of Santiago de Guayaquil, where she specialized in sustainable architecture, mainly focusing on materials and their construction.

Anahy was a member of well-known sustainable design studios in Guayaquil, which allowed her to delve into innovative and environmentally friendly practices. This experience inspired her to take the next step in her career and move to New York, with the aim of expanding her knowledge both personally and professionally and continuing to evolve as an architect.

Position: In her position, Anahy designs and composes compelling graphic presentations for projects throughout the New York region. She also prepares zoning studies for potential new projects.

Personal Life: In her personal time, Anahy enjoys painting, designing spaces and interior furniture, reading self-awareness books, and traveling.

Year Joined: 2023

Education and Certifications:

• Degree in Architecture, City Tech (CUNY) 2026 (in progress)

Professional Background: Ziani learned about Aufgang through the class that our Director of Planning and Community Development Shiva Ghomi teaches: “Sustainability: History and Practice”. In learning about our firm, she discovered that Aufgang designed the building she lives in.

Position: As part of our Planning and Community Development team, Ziani spends a lot of time preparing zoning and feasibility studies. She has also gotten the opportunity to go on site visits and explore other departments in the office. Ziani believes that architecture is an overlooked way of helping people. She sees it as an opportunity to do a public service job and have a positive impact on people’s everyday lives.

Personal Life: In the future, Ziani wants to get a Master’s Degree in urban planning or environmental studies.

Year Joined: 2024

Education and Certifications:

• Associate’s Degree in Business Administration, SUNY Orange
• Bachelor of Arts in Environmental Design, University of Buffalo
• Master’s Degree in Architecture, Tulane University
• Currently working towards obtaining full architecture license

Professional Background: Prior to Aufgang, Michael spent three years working at Paul Bennet Architecture, where he worked on high-end commercial and luxury retail. His role sent him across the country to conduct site surveys and punch lists. After that, Michael joined Rawlings Architects, a firm that focused on new construction of residential high rises and New York City school projects. There he gained experience at all phases of a project. He also produces shop drawings for a high-end metal fabricator in Baltimore, MD.

Position: Michael’s position includes production of construction documents, collaborating with consultants in the construction administration phase, and handling the day-to-day needs of an active project.

Personal Life: Michael has skills in carpentry and historic home renovation and enjoys spending time outdoors with his two children.

Year Joined: 2023

Education and Certifications:

• Bachelors of Science, Architecture, University at Buffalo
• Masters of Architecture, Illinois Institute of Technology
• Design Award (University at Buffalo): Bath house design involving lighting and inversion of space
• Publication of Thesis: Impact of Psychology of Children on Architecture
• Currently pursuing her architecture license.

Professional Background: Sasha has worked in architecture on a wide variety of buildings, including commercial, residential, mixed use, and universities. She expanded her expertise with three years in lighting design, a passion of hers because of its profound impact on architecture and spaces people occupy. Sasha has also implemented and trained numerous architecture and lighting design firms within BIM.

Position: Sasha brings her passion for combining technology and design to her role. Her experience and enthusiasm make her a valued member of the team at Aufgang.

Personal Life: Sasha enjoys traveling, especially to locations with medieval and gothic architecture. She also loves to garden, run, hike, and read.

Year Joined: 2023

Education and Certifications:

• Bachelors of Architecture, New York City College of Technology

Professional Background: Ousmane previously worked at AECOM, where he was an inspector in the field. He was a scribe in the office and was also responsible for verifying accuracy on the job sites, making sure that the information reported from the field matches the images uploaded.

Position: In his role as Job Captain, Ousmane brings his A-game and strives to learn more and become better each day. Aufgang welcomes his ambitious, driven spirit and looks forward to seeing great accomplishments and unparalleled teamwork.

Personal Life: Ousmane can be found in the gym, training for his favorite pastime, boxing.