Hennebery Eddy Architects was named an Emerging Professionals (EP) Friendly Firm by AIA Northwest + Pacific Region, recognizing the firm’s commitment to fostering the development of design professionals early in their careers. Kristin Erhardt and Dan Petrescu accepted the award on behalf of the firm during the ceremony in September. Kristin joined Hennebery Eddy shortly after earning her master’s in architecture in 2018; she provided insight for the award entry as an emerging design staffer. A longtime team member, Dan joined the firm in 2005 as design staff and worked his way up to licensed architect, project manager, and associate principal.
The EP Friendly Firm award evaluates several categories of professional development, mentorship, and benefits, assessing the reciprocal growth that emerges when firms and EPs integrate feedback, create learning opportunities, and provide space for evolving the working environment while designing the built environment.
Since our founding 30 years ago, Hennebery Eddy has remained committed to developing staff into “whole architects and interior designers.” The firm works hard to avoid creating career silos and to expose staff to all aspects of design practice, particularly in the early years. Staff are encouraged to obtain professional licenses and certifications, with the firm providing mentorship and reimbursement. In fact, Hennebery Eddy consistently ranks near the top in the Portland Business Journal’s annual listing of architecture firms — which looks at the number of licensed architects — because of the support we provide toward licensure. We also offer a robust internship program that recruits student designers from around the country and is structured to give interns a strong footing for their future careers. Emerging professionals currently make up about half of Hennebery Eddy’s staff.
The firm is proud of this recognition by AIA and remains committed to continually evaluating our internal practices to holistically support development of emerging designers and leaders within our firm and the profession. For more on what it means to work at Hennebery Eddy, check out our firm values and current opportunities.