Mid Morning Panel: “Integrating Life and Work in the AEC World” Speakers

Julia McFadden, Associate Principal at Svigals + Partners
Julia McFadden is an associate principal with Svigals + Partners - a New Haven, Connecticut architecture and planning firm known for its imaginative integration of design, sculpture, and artwork. 

Following an undergraduate degree in theatre arts and a master of architecture degree from the University of Minnesota, McFadden pursued post-graduate work at the Institute for Public Art + Design at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design to expand upon her interest in creating meaningful places through designs encompassing art, landscape, and structures. 

Prior to joining Svigals in 2008, she worked for ten years in residential design, five years with her own residential firm. This work honed her design thinking around the immediacy and intimacy of our living spaces, strengthened by two years of study with the Wind & Water School of Feng Shui, becoming a certified practitioner in 2010. Through her project experience, McFdden has developed particular expertise in facilitating and leading user and community programming workshops. She recently facilitated a design process with a group of New Haven mothers to create a Memorial Garden for Victims of Gun Violence.

Karrie Kratz, Vice President at Gilbane Building Company
Karrie Kratz is a vice president of Gilbane Building Co., and is currently the operations manager of Gilbane’s Connecticut office. Kratz leads Gilbane’s field operations, which are comprised of a diverse portfolio of complex projects including one of the state’s largest projects, renovation of 165 Capital Ave., several K-12 projects such as Greenwich New Lebanon Elementary School and West Haven High School, Fairfield University, and Danbury Hospital. 

A 19 year veteran of the construction management industry, she has held the positions of accounting clerk, project accountant, project engineer, manager of engineering, regional quality manager, project manager and senior project manager and operations manager over the course of her career. 

Kratz is a 2007 graduate of New England Institute of Technology, B.S. Architectural Building Engineering Technology. A 2010 recipient of the PWC – Woman on the Rise Award and AGC’s 2013 Project Manager of the Year, 2016 Hartford Business Journal 40 under 40 honoree and an ENR Top Young Professional. 

Kratz has dedicated her career to building collaborative teams and providing exceptional client satisfaction on all of Gilbane’s Connecticut projects. 

In addition to participating in several industry organizations and mentoring youth interested in the construction industry, she is also an active member of the Girl Scouts of Connecticut and a meal site team leader for the Shoreline Soup Kitchen and Pantry. 

Anna Greenwald, CEO at On the Goga
Anna Greenwald is a mindfulness coach, speaker, writer, registered yoga teacher, and CEO of On the Goga, a Philadelphia-based corporate wellness company committed to a simple, guiding principle: Happy People Do Great Things. Through her work she serves companies of every size, creating culture-driven wellness programs that enhance personal and organizational success. Greenwald believes that successful teams are made of thriving individuals, and that companies that nurture personal development gain a unique advantage in the competitive landscape. She has worked with individuals and teams including Johnson & Johnson, PwC, The Philadelphia Eagles, L’Oreal, Urban Outfitters, Jet.com, and more. 

Greenwald has been featured as a writer and mindfulness expert in the Association for Talent Development Magazine and Philadelphia Magazine. Her public speaking engagements include work with HR Today Radio, Women to Watch Radio, EmployeeCycle Podcast, DisruptHR Philadelphia, and the Healthy Philly Speaker Series. 

Jessica Nicklin, Associate Vice President for Student Success; Associate Professor, Psychology at University of Hartford
Jessica Nicklin earned a BA in psychology (2004) and a PhD in Industrial-Organizational Psychology (2009) from the University at Albany. Her consulting roles include a test developer associate for American College Testing (ACT), a personnel research psychologist for the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), and a market research analyst for IBM. 

Nicklin joined the University of Hartford Department of Psychology faculty in 2009 and has served as the undergraduate director (2012-2015), director of the Online Masters Program in Organizational Psychology (2014-2018), and associate dean in the College of Arts and Sciences (2015-2018). Currently, Nicklin is the associate vice president for Student Success. 

She maintains an active research program, focusing on organizational justice, workplace motivation, and work-life balance. She has published 25 journal articles and book chapters, an edited book on Work-Life Balance in the 21st Century, and has given over 50 presentations.