Jessica Sheridan, AIA

A combination of inquisitiveness and energy has marked the career of Jessica Sheridan, AIA. An accomplished designer, her enthusiasm for the profession has made her an effective ambassador for the AIA to both the architectural community and New York City.

Sheridan recently joined Mancini Duffy as a Senior Associate. Previously, as  a manager at Gensler, she eagerly collaborated with the firm’s many teams and clients. She oversees projects in the professional services, finance, and technology sectors across the globe. Working closely with MasterCard, a relationship Sheridan has nurtured since 2011, she has provided design solutions that help the credit card giant foster interdisciplinary collaboration and product development as it repositions itself a technology company. Most recently she completed MasterCard’s new Tech Hub and Project Showcase in New York’s Silicon Alley, but she has also designed headquarters and satellite projects for the company in Miami, Toronto, Bogota, and Buenos Aires.  

Sheridan has been a member of the AIA since her graduation from the Rhode Island School of Design, when she was introduced to AIA New York through its Emerging New York Architects Committee. After working with the committee in developing its international design competition, City of Dreams, she was tapped to become a co-chair. To further aid the fledgling committee, she developed its mission statement and strategic plan. Later she worked as the editor-in-chief of the Chapter’s biweekly electronic newsletter, e-Oculus, a position she held for nearly seven years. In addition to providing editorial oversight, Sheridan overhauled its web interface and updated its graphics and podcasting capabilities.

In 2015 Sheridan’s involvement in the AIA proceeded to the national stage when she became the New York regional representative on the Strategic Council. In her role on the council, she has contributed greatly to its community outreach efforts. Last year Sheridan co-authored the Louise Blanchard Bethune Fellowship, which will help place past leaders of advisory committees on the boards of directors at like-minded organizations.

Deeply affected by the September 11 terrorist attacks, Sheridan has made resilience a focus of her work in practice and in the community. In the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy, she was asked by AIA New York’s Design for Risk and Reconstruction Committee to co-chair its Waterfront Working Group. At Gensler, Sheridan established Gensler Resilients as a way to bring attention to issues of resiliency within the firm and its projects in at-risk areas. She has also transformed the firm’s summer internship program into a pro bono project in the Rockaways, where the effects of the storm are still felt.

For Sheridan, being an architect means fostering communities, whether within a firm, among clients, or with the public. Her service and deep-seated beliefs have resulted in high-performing, responsible designs that have done nothing but strengthen the profession.