Building Ideas

Katie Freeland is the Director of the Columbus Studio and an Associate Principal at MSA Design, a nationally renowned design practice based in the Midwest. She is from Powell, Ohio and attended Miami University, where she received her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Architecture degree. She went on to receive her Master of Architecture degree from Washington University in St. Louis, graduating with honors. She lived in St. Louis for several years before returning to central Ohio and joining MSA Design. Katie is a registered architect and enjoys working on a range of diverse projects types, including municipal, educational, transportation, corporate, and sports and recreation.

Katie lives in Upper Arlington with her husband, Mike, and their two children, Wesley (age 7) and Nora (age 4). In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her friends and family, being outdoors, and traveling.

Robert Sheeran assumed his duties as Vice President, Facilities at Xavier University in 2012 and is responsible for the operations of the physical plant. He served as Associate Vice President for Facility Management from 2002 -2012.

Xavier’s Office of Physical Plant is responsible for the leadership in the planning and design of all new construction, major remodeling, maintenance and improvement on the 2.4 million square foot, 208-acre campus. Sheeran stewards the university’s physical plant resources and works with senior management to prioritize facilities investments to support Xavier’s academic priorities. He provides strategy input in facilities planning and decisions, and he guides the development, update and approval of the campus master plan and major construction activities.

Sheeran has 40 years’ experience in managing commercial construction projects having held senior leadership positions with general contracting and construction management firms in Cincinnati. During that time, Sheeran served as Project Executive on a number of key building initiatives on the Xavier campus, including the Health United Building, Hoff Academic Quad, Alter Hall, Fenwick Place, Cintas Center and Gallagher Student Center. He is a member of APPA, SCUP and the AJCU Facilities groups and received the President’s Award for Excellence in 2011 from Xavier University.

Sheeran has a B.S. Architectural Engineering Technology and B.S. Construction Management from the University of Cincinnati, and a MBA from Xavier University.

Sr. Rita Sturwold is a lifelong enthusiastic, innovative educator, serving as a teacher in Catholic elementary and secondary schools, as an administrator, and, for over 30 years, as a friend raiser and fund raiser. She has been the first to serve in a variety of positions locally, nationally and internationally.

Sr. Rita is a member of the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur, an international congregation of women religious serving on five continents.

She earned a BA in Latin from Our Lady of Cincinnati College, an MA in English from Northwestern University, Evanston, and secondary administrative certification through The Ohio State University. She is one of a few Sisters to be a nationally Certified Fund Raising Executive. She is a member of Class XVIII of Leadership Cincinnati.

Chaminade Julienne High School honored Sr. Rita as a 2019 Distinguished Alumna for her professional achievements.

With a keen interest in Catholic education, fund raising and marketing, spirituality and holistic living, Rita is a frequent speaker at local, national, and international conferences.

https://www.sndden.org/

Senior Associate Athletic Director Steve Cady arrived at Miami in 1976 and has served both a coach and an administrator. Steve was the inaugural Coach and started the nationally-renowned Ice Hockey Program,. Cady credits his lengthy career in intercollegiate athletics to his own invaluable student-athlete experience and a strong belief in the value of the life skills athletics can teach. In addition to his roles at Miami, Steve has been involved in many levels of NCAA Hockey governing and planning bodies across the country. This Upstate New York native earned his undergraduate degree at Saint Lawrence University, and his Masters from Bowling Green State University. Steve is integral in the design, planning, fundraising, and execution of improvements and expansion of the Redhawks athletics facilities at Miami. www.miamiredhawks.com

Mike Penner has been a member of The Ohio State University’s athletic department’s leadership team for the last 14 years providing strategic direction and oversight for the 36-sport athletic department with more than 1,000 student-athletes and 1,700 full and part-time employees. He was promoted to Executive Associate Athletic Director in June 2018 and currently serves as the lead administrator for the department’s facility operations, capital projects and athletic district development; event management and championships; technology, and audio services; and, the sport athletic director for men’s and women’s tennis teams.

In his time at Ohio State, Penner has provided oversight of fan experience and promotions, creative services, the OSU Golf Club, and camps staffs; and provided leadership for more than $200 million of capital projects; has hosted more than 100 NCAA championships and more than 40 Conference championships; and has managed more than 125 events in the 100,000-seat Ohio Stadium.

Penner is a former President of the Collegiate Event and Facility Management Association (CEFMA) and was selected as the inaugural CEFMA/GameDay Consulting Event & Facility Manager of the Year award recipient. He has taught classes in Ohio State’s Fisher College of Business in the Sport Management program and has given dozens of presentations on various event topics at national and regional conferences and local universities. He has worked at the NCAA Hoop City, OHSAA Tournaments for track, tennis, basketball, softball and wrestling, the Special Olympics State Summer Games and the Major League Baseball All-Star Fan Fest.

A 1997 sport management graduate of the University of Dayton, Penner earned his master’s degree from The Ohio State University in 1999. He then began his career at Ohio State in July 1999 with the Department of Recreational Sports where he served as the intramural coordinator. He moved to the Department of Athletics in 2001 as the assistant director of event management and then was promoted to event management director in 2003, assistant athletics director in 2006, associate athletics director in 2009 and is now the Executive Associate Athletics Director for Internal Operations.

The Cleveland native now resides in Upper Arlington, Ohio with his wife Stephanie, daughter Kaylie (7) and son Zachary (5).

Nick Lingenfelter has over 17 years of experience in the Commercial Real Estate industry and began partnering with PLK in 2014 on development projects. He currently oversees the development of PLK’s apartments and for sale townhome projects focusing on site identification, planning, entitlements, project vision, and end design.

Nick has an extensive background with complex real estate structures completing almost $2.9 billion in projects in 10 states, both as a banker and developer. He has significant experience in Tax Credit Financing, TIFs, Bonds, Brownfield Developments, Historic Redevelopments and ground up new construction. Prior to joining PLK, he spent 14 years as a Commercial Real Estate banker in Chicago and Cincinnati.

Nick graduated from The Ohio State University with a degree in Finance where he was a National Buckeye Scholar and most recently worked for WesBanco Bank as the Senior Vice President, Senior Commercial Banker, and Team Lead for Southwest Ohio. He is actively involved in his community where he served 2 terms as the Chairman of The City of Loveland Finance Committee.

Nick is a proud husband to an amazing wife (Jessica) and father to two children (Eli and Zoe). When he is not at work, he is still working and dreams of fishing and the beach. https://plkcommunities.com/

Andrea Swartz AIA is Chairperson of the Department of Architecture at the Estopinal College of Architecture and Planning at Ball State University. A registered architect who has taught in professional architecture programs at Ball State, RPI, and as a graduate teaching assistant, she received her Master of Architecture from the Yale School of Architecture where she was the recipient of the AIA Henry Adams Medal and Certificate. Swartz also attended Yale University for her undergraduate degree - BA with a major in Architecture, Summa Cum Laude.

Andrea has worked with several firms (Rhode Island, Maine, Washington, California) and is licensed to practice architecture in Rhode Island and Indiana, where, in addition to a few residential design projects, she explores speculative and built design work. She has received award recognitions at regional, national, and international design competitions, including a second-place award at the Toronto Sukkahville Design + Build Competition and Exhibition (2014), and recognition at state AIA design “ideas” competitions (2017, 2015). Her photography and creative work has been exhibited nationally. Prior to, and while serving as the Chair of Ball State’s Department of Architecture she taught architectural design studio at all year levels, elective courses in photography, material investigations, and furniture design, as well as the introductory structures courses. Andrea received the 2014 Charles M. Sappenfield Faculty Award from alumni in recognition of her “dedication, contribution, and commitment to the education of students of the College of Architecture and Planning.”

Justin Newell is assistant athletic director and director of the Kenyon Athletic Center (KAC). As director, Newell is responsible for the oversight of the 263,000 square foot KAC, as well as all outdoor field and recreation space. Furthermore, his responsibilities with the athletic department are to act as a liaison to other Kenyon College departments, such as student affairs, maintenance, campus safety, and alumni affairs. Newell will take on all capital projects and facility improvement opportunities to best provide for the student-athlete and Kenyon College experience. Finally, Newell will serve as the primary game administrator for all NCAC and NCAA championships that are hosted by Kenyon College. Newell comes to Kenyon after four years as the director of facilities at Tulane University. In his time at Tulane he served as the game administrator for all events hosted by Tulane, including the opportunity to serve as the tournament director for the 2012 NCAA men’s basketball Final Four. Newell graduated with a Master’s of Education in sports administration from Millersville University in 2005. He received his Bachelor’s of Science in general agriculture with a concentration and minor in wildlife conservation and history. Justin is the current president of the Collegiate Event and Facility Management Association. www.kenyon.edu https://nacda.com/sports/cefma

Todd began his career with the park district in 2003 and by 2017 had received four promotions. During that time, he steered the agency’s five-year strategic plan and completed several key projects including Highfield Discovery Garden, Otto Armleder Memorial Park, Fernbank Park, and the Mitchell Memorial Forest Mountain Bike Trail. Todd has served in the lead role on several park district initiatives including its visioning process, Needs Assessment teams, and most recently the agency’s first Comprehensive Master Plan. He became Great Parks of Hamilton County’s next Chief Executive Officer in May 2019.

https://www.greatparks.org/

Joe serves as the Director of Athletics for Princeton City Schools in Cincinnati. This North-Central Ohio native was a graduate of Lexington High School, the University of Cincinnati, and Xavier University. His career in athletics began as a scholarship student manager for Coach Bob Huggins and the Cincinnati Bearcats during their return to prominence in the 1990's. Prior to coming to Princeton, Joe served at several Districts in Ohio and Kentucky including his alma-mater of Lexington. Joe is the past president of the Ohio High School Athletic Association (OHSAA). www.vikenation.org www.ohsaa.org