Los Angeles Firm Elevates New Associate Principal, Multiple Associates, and Senior Associates
CO Architects recently promoted 14 team members, including Jorge Colón, AIA, LEED AP, the firm’s new Associate Principal. Recent CO-designed projects, from left to right, include UCLA’s Pritzker Hall (photo by Kim Rodgers), ASU’s Health Futures Center (photo by Bill Timmerman), and University of Arizona’s Health Sciences Innovation Building (photo by Bill Timmerman). Click here for high-resolution images.
LOS ANGELES: CO Architects, a leading design firm for healthcare, education, and research facilities, announces the promotions of 14 existing team members at several levels: Associate Principal, Senior Associate, and Associate.
Advancing to Associate Principal is Jorge Colón, AIA, LEED AP. The firm’s new Senior Associates are Sona Aroush, Assoc. IIDA; Chris Kaiser, AIA; Tighe Lanning, AIA, LEED GA; Fallon Lebedowicz, EDAC; and Stephen Sedalis, Assoc. AIA. Team members who have been promoted as Associates are Edgar E. Beltran, NCARB; Yuxuan Chen, AIA, LEED GA; Chanhoo Kim; Jae Lee; Scott Lindquist; Emilee Olson, Assoc. AIA, Assoc. IIDA; Wynord Thomas, Jr.; and Emilio Todescato, AIA.
Serving as Director of Interior Architecture & Design, Jorge Colón, AIA, LEED AP, has been promoted to Associate Principal and brings more than 25 years of design and management experience to his role. His work spans a broad range of project types including academic, commercial, healthcare, and research building projects, as well as the adaptive reuse and renovation of interior spaces. Since joining CO in 2017, Colón has worked on Terasaki Institute for Biomedical Innovation in Woodland Hills, CA, offices for LA County Museum of Art and the Los Angeles Times, Scripps Mercy Replacement Hospital, and UCLA Pritzker Hall.
Responsible for guiding design teams through planning, design, and construction phases to deliver original, responsive, and fully integrated interior environments, Colón works closely with clients and industry partners to define project goals and aspirations, and to identify creative and intelligent design solutions. Having obtained his BS in Architecture (1995) from Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Colón went on to earn an M.Arch (1999) from Arizona State University College of Design, Tempe, and a Master in Design Studies (2011) at Harvard University Graduate School of Design.
Those elevated to Senior Associate include Sona Aroush, Assoc. IIDA, who specializes in interior design for healthcare, higher education, and science and technology projects. Aroush joined CO in 2013 and has led teams on large-scale projects including multiple facilities for Kaiser Permanente, Caltech, and UCLA. She obtained her Bachelor of Art degree (2011) in Art History from California State University, Northridge, and her Master of Interior Architecture (2016) from Cal Poly Pomona, as well as an Interior Design Certificate (2014) from UCLA Extension.
Chris Kaiser, AIA, has also been promoted to Senior Associate. Since joining the firm in 2014, Kaiser has worked on UCI Medical Center Irvine, UNLV Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine, and California State University, Sacramento, Ernest E. Tschannen Science Complex. He earned his B.Arch (2011) from the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, and M.Arch (2014) from the University of Southern California.
Also newly appointed to Senior Associate is Tighe Lanning, AIA, LEED GA, CO Architects’ sustainability leader, who tracks the energy use data to report to the American Institute of Architects each year as part of the firm’s participation in the AIA 2030 Challenge. Since joining the firm in 2015, he has worked on several Kaiser Permanente projects, the University of Utah MED Building, and UC San Diego Health Koman Family Outpatient Pavilion. Lanning graduated from the Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, with his B.Arch/BFA (2006) and University of Southern California with a Master of Building Science (2013).
New Senior Associate Fallon Lebedowicz, EDAC—who joined the firm in 2014—bridges research with design in the firm’s ambulatory care facilities, and she was recognized as a “2020 Rising Star” by Healthcare Design Magazine for her remarkable dedication and portfolio of work, including UC San Diego Health Koman Family Outpatient Pavilion and City of Hope Duarte Outpatient Clinic. She earned her B.Arch (2010) from New York Institute of Technology, Old Westbury, and Post-Professional M.Arch (2013) from the University of Southern California.
Rounding out CO’s Senior Associate promotions is Stephen Sedalis, Assoc. AIA. Since earning his B.S. in Architecture (1999) from Philadelphia University and joining the firm in 2015, Sedalis has provided passionate oversight of technical detailing of building enclosures for several projects, including Health Sciences Innovation Building and Biomedical Sciences Partnership Building—both for University of Arizona—and Northern Kentucky University Health Innovation Center, Highland Heights.
Edgar E. Beltran, NCARB, has been elevated to Associate at CO. He has coordinated the production of laboratory deliverables while helping project teams implement complex BIM requirements on technologically advanced projects. Since joining the firm in 2018, he has worked on Arizona State University Health Futures Center, several laboratory renovations at the University of California, San Diego, and laboratory fit-outs at the University of Arizona, among others. He earned his B.Arch (2005) from Woodbury University, Burbank, CA.
Another new Associate is Yuxuan Chen, AIA, LEED GA. Since joining CO in 2019, she has worked on UCI Medical Center Irvine, North Arizona University Multi-Discipline Academic STEM Research Building, and LAUSD North Hollywood High School Modernization. Chen graduated with a B.Arch (2013) from Southeast University, Nanjing, China, and an M.Arch (2015) from Washington University in St. Louis.
Chanhoo Kim has been elevated to Associate at CO. Since joining the firm in 2019, he has worked on Kaiser Permanente San Marcos Medical Center and Terasaki Institute for Biomedical Innovation, among others. Kim earned his Bachelor of Architectural Science (2011) and M.Arch (2013) from Ryerson University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Since joining CO in 2018, new Associate Jae Lee has worked on Kaiser Permanente Moreno Valley Medical Center, Arizona State University Health Futures Center, and Scripps Mercy Replacement Hospital, San Diego. Lee earned his B.Arch (2013) from Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc), Los Angeles, and M.Arch (2015) from UCLA.
Scott Lindquist—who joined the firm in 2019, having interned in 2017—has been promoted as an Associate. He manages the in-office model shop, allowing him to help other teams explore design options through physical study models and rapid prototyping. Projects he has worked on include Kaiser Permanente Moreno Valley Medical Center and Rockhurst University Sedgewick Hall Renovation. Lindquist earned his B.Arch (2018) from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.
New Associate Emilee Olson, Assoc. AIA, Assoc. IIDA, specializes in interior design and has worked on Satellite Design & Prototyping Laboratory, Kaiser Permanente San Marcos Medical Center, and Scripps Mercy Replacement Hospital since joining the firm in 2019. She earned her B.A. in Interior Design (2015) from Washington State University, Pullman, and was a participant in the IIDA Emerging Leaders Program 2021.
Promoted as an Associate, Wynord Thomas, Jr., has worked on LAUSD John H. Francis Polytechnic Senior High School Campus Modernization in Sun Valley, CA, as well as LAUSD Lincoln High School Modernization in Los Angeles. At CO since 2019, he helps coordinate construction drawings as well as onsite construction administration. Thomas earned his B.Arch (2010) from Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge.
Originally from Italy, Emilio Todescato, AIA, has been promoted as an Associate. He brought mixed-use and commercial experience to CO when he joined in 2020, and has worked on University of Utah MED Building. He earned his B.Arch (2014) from the University of Oregon, Eugene.
About CO Architects
Los Angeles-based CO Architects is nationally recognized for architectural planning, programming, and design in the higher education, science and technology, and healthcare sectors, and works with leading institutions from coast to coast. CO Architects’ specialized expertise includes transformative schools of medicine and health professions, advanced research and teaching laboratories, and innovative clinical facilities on higher education, healthcare, and urban campuses. The firm has been nationally and internationally recognized with more than 195 awards for innovative design and project delivery, including the American Institute of Architects California’s Architecture Firm of the Year Award.
