We are pleased to announce new leadership in the Arts, Community, and Higher Education sectors, strengthening our strategic expertise and presence in key growth markets nationally.
Rebecca Celis, AIA, LEED AP, has been named Market Sector Leader for Arts and Community and Leila Kamal, AIA, LEED AP, has been named Market Sector Leader for Higher Education.
In their new roles, they will collaborate across HGA’s 11 national offices to align resources and opportunities in the Arts, Community, and Higher Education sectors.
“We’re so excited to have Rebecca and Leila leading the next chapter of our work in the arts and community and higher education markets.” said Tim Carl, FAIA, Chief Executive Officer of HGA. “These sectors encompass a variety of clients with unique opportunities and challenges. Supporting current and future clients with two leaders, each with a deep level of understanding about their markets, will help us leverage our knowledge and talent to design for an evolving future.”
Rebecca Celis is Vice President and Principal with more than 15 years’ experience specializing in arts, community, and higher education projects. Her recent work includes the Janet Wallace Fine Arts Center at Macalester College in St. Paul; the Music and Performance Commons addition at Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota; United Methodist Church of the Resurrection in Leawood, Kansas; the Center for Arctic Studies and new classroom building in development at Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine; and the Classroom & College Services Building at Normandale Community College in Bloomington, Minnesota.
She regularly presents at national conferences, including the 2021 American Alliance of Museums Annual Meeting & MuseumExpo upcoming in June, and the 2021 Building Museums Symposium for the Mid-Atlantic Association of Museums in March. Celis joined HGA in 2006 and has served as the Arts, Community, and Education Practice Leader in Minneapolis since 2019.
“The past year has been challenging for many arts and community organizations,” Celis said. “This role is an opportunity to expand our interdisciplinary design expertise as we collaborate with our clients. I am particularly excited to bring together our designers, researchers, engineers and experts in the arts across the country to help our clients re-imagine how they serve their communities.”
Leila Kamal is Associate Vice President and Principal with more than 25 years of experience directing design for higher education, government, healthcare, and science & technology buildings for public and private organizations. Her client work includes the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Harvard University, Dartmouth College, University of Michigan, and Hamilton College. She serves on the Board of Overseers of the Boston Children’s Museum, is a Mentor for MITdesignX at MIT School of Architecture and Planning, and frequently speaks at industry conferences. Kamal joined HGA in 2020 as a Principal in Boston.
“Learning models are rapidly evolving as new challenges and opportunities converge on campuses across the country,” Kamal said. “This is an exciting opportunity to partner with clients as they translate the sudden disruption of the pandemic into new ways to engage students and promote learning.”