AHC Spring 2026 | Adaptive Care Models and Future-Ready Planning

As a Jensen Partners Vice President, licensed architect, and medical planner, Damir leads strategic facilities planning, development of needs projections, space programming, and master plan implementation. Trusted advisor to executive stakeholders, physician groups and governing officials, he focuses on the integration of physical and operational planning through problem definition, situation assessment, and scenario testing. He has worked extensively to generate master plans and define the future care model for safety-net hospitals, academic medical centers, and innovative health systems across the country. Damir works closely with executives and project owners to ensure projects get funded and implemented. 

Daniel leads medical planning, space programming, and master plan projects working closely with stakeholders, clinical users, and design teams. His focus is on the integration of physical and operational planning through situation assessment and options development. Daniel’s master planning projects have included work in all regions of the country of varying sizes, from multi-state systems with extensive ambulatory networks to critical access facilities serving an essential lifeline for rural communities. His work skillfully defines clinical programs for actionable development and implementation. He provides practical insight and management to assure project success. 

Cindy has over 35 years of experience in the healthcare industry with a portfolio spanning domestic and international landscapes. While her primary focus is health planning, she has also gained valuable insights from the owner’s perspective, providing her with a well-rounded understanding of all aspects of healthcare projects—from a minor remodel to the construction of a major new hospital. This comprehensive insight equips her with a holistic understanding of healthcare endeavors at all scales. Her diverse experience encompasses collaborations with renowned children’s hospitals, cancer centers and pivotal replacement hospital initiatives. As a seasoned leader based out of our Seattle architecture studio, Cindy is deeply committed to harnessing her wealth of expertise to engage directly with medical professionals and staff, ensuring meticulous healthcare planning and seamless delivery. 

With over 15 years of experience as a nurse practitioner and a master’s degree in healthcare design, Susan McDevitt brings a wealth of experience-based knowledge to HDR’s health design practice.  Susan’s passion for creating healing environments is evident in her dedication to outcomes-based design strategies and lean principles, which she employs to optimize operational efficiencies and enhance patient care. Her detail-oriented approach and ability to self-start and continuously seek process improvements make her an invaluable asset to our team and clients. Whether translating intricate clinical needs into architectural solutions or delving into new industry trends, Susan’s goal remains unchanged: to design healing environments that empower staff to work efficiently and securely, ultimately benefiting the most important stakeholders—the patients. 

As a health planner, Hao leverages her healthcare-focused education from the University of Kansas and extensive professional experience to deliver thoughtful, human-centered healthcare environments. She has contributed to projects from schematic design through construction administration on medium to large-scale healthcare facilities, with responsibilities including BIM coordination, user meeting preparation, medical planning, interior design, quality control, and engineering, equipment, and construction coordination. Hao is adept at translating complex clinical and operational requirements into effective design solutions. A natural collaborator and problem solver, she works closely with clients and multidisciplinary teams to identify key challenges and develop innovative, practical outcomes. She actively incorporates feedback from patients, staff, and the community, ensuring designs align with real-world needs. Committed to lifelong learning, Hao stays current with evolving industry trends, standards, and best practices, while providing strong  leadership in team and client engagements.

 Andy Drissell, is an Associate and designer at Mahlum Architects, bringing over 16 years of expertise in architecture, medical planning, and stakeholder engagement. Andy has recently provided design leadership on impactful regional projects, including the new Snoqualmie Valley Health Medical Office Building (“The Hub”), the Summit Pacific Medical Center Hospital Expansion, and various clinics for Northwest Kidney Centers. An advocate for evidence-based, patient-centered design, Andy is dedicated to developing resilient, adaptable spaces that promote healing and well-being. 

Claudia brings 18 years of interior design experience on a wide variety of project types including early learning and healthcare. From early planning through design, she is always searching for ways to openly engage clients and the team with the root goal of serving the people who will ultimately occupy and maintain the place. She offers a highly organized and critical approach to design thinking, constantly striving to create holistic environments – showcases of wellness, sustainability, and beauty. 

With over 12 years of architectural experience, Jessi is passionate about designing with healthy materials to support occupant wellness. She is a leader in the healthcare market at Mahlum, focusing on design clarity and delivering the greatest patient experience by balancing budgets with project vision. Jessi played an integral role as Project Architect for Snoqualmie Valley Health’s newest facility, the Hub at Snoqualmie Valley Health.  Other notable projects for Jessi include her work with Northwest Kidney Center of Seattle – Yesler Terrace, Viewlands Elementary School (Seattle Public Schools), Firgrove Elementary School (Puyallup School District), and the Madrona K-8 School (Edmonds School District).  Jessi is committed to designing environments that thoughtfully harmonize with nature to foster comfort, healing, and human connection. 

With over two decades of healthcare leadership in Washington State, Renée Jensen currently serves as the CEO & Superintendent at Snoqualmie Valley Health. Previously, Jensen served as Chief Administrative Officer of Evergreen Health and spent over ten years as Chief Executive Officer of Summit Pacific Medical Center, where she led a successful financial turnaround, the construction of a community – focused wellness center, and a brand-new medical clinic. Renée has built a reputation for guiding complex capital projects from concept to completion, including multiple new construction initiatives, most recently, the HUB, an expansion of the Snoqualmie Valley Health District, designed to support long-term growth. Renée is known as an innovative, transparent leader who engages with the community to bring transformational healthcare to the communities she serves. She is a member of the Washington State Hospital Association Policy Committee, Immediate Past Board Chair of the Association of Washington Public Hospital Districts, and the Chair of the Rural Health Enterprise for the Washington State Rural Collaborative. She enjoys spending her free time in the great outdoors with her family. 

Emrie is an accomplished project manager with 18 years of experience leading complex projects across inpatient hospitals, outpatient clinics, clinical laboratories, and cancer treatment facilities.  She successfully delivers projects in highly regulated environments, consistently driving results that enhance patient care, safety, and operational efficiency. At Fred Hutch Cancer Center, where she has spent the past 8 years, Emrie manages a diverse portfolio of clinical projects, guiding teams through every phase from planning and design through construction and occupancy.  Her expertise in facilities management and operations allows her to effectively align clinical needs with the built environment. Her work includes major initiatives such as the G2 Imaging Expansion and a 150,000 square foot clinic expansion featuring MRI and procedure suite departments, along with specialized projects in radiation oncology, clinical laboratories, and USP 800 compliant pharmacy implementation. 

Michael Ward is a licensed architect with over 35 years of experience. With projects ranging from small retail tenant improvements to large convention centers, healthcare projects have resonated the most for their technical challenges and benefits to the community. As a Senior Associate and Project Architect at NBBJ, Michael has focused on healthcare projects for the past 17 years. He values a collaborative team approach to solve difficult design issues. 

Stu is the construction project manager for the Fred Hutch G2 Imaging Expansion with Lease Crutcher Lewis. He brings 19 years of experience across construction project management, design build delivery, and architecture, with a track record of guiding complex healthcare projects from early planning through occupancy. He is known for his multidisciplinary approach to delivering high performance clinical environments. 

As a principal and landscape architect at Walker Macy, Lara leads the design of distinctive public landscapes. She has contributed to award-winning projects throughout the country including downtown parks, campus planning and design, and sites that support health and wellness. Lara is passionate about the challenge of bringing beauty and clarity to complex urban and natural settings. Her projects balance design vision with keen insight into what makes public spaces function successfully. Since opening Walker Macy’s Seattle office in 2014, Lara has played an active role in shaping city and campus environments throughout the Pacific Northwest, including recent work at the UW Montlake Medical Center. She is a thoughtful leader of interdisciplinary teams and collaborates closely with clients to develop meaningful places for their communities. 

Robert Smith specializes in integrated project delivery and helped lead the progressive design-build team’s effort to reimagine the UW Medical Center’s entrance sequence and solve a decades-old waterproofing challenge – all while keeping the facility open 24 hours a day.  Robert is an Associate Partner at LMN Architects and has over 25 years of national and international experience working on complex projects for institutional and higher education clients.  His other work on the UW campus includes the mass-timber Founders Hall for the Foster School of Business.