Michelle’s journey to engineering began with a dream to design roller coasters. Although her roller coaster dream did not become a reality, she found her passion in architectural engineering, specifically lighting design. Michelle found a career with the perfect balance of technical design and fundamental physics, combined with beautiful, people-centric design in an ever-evolving field.

Engineers have the opportunity to impact people’s lives every single day. One of the most impactful projects of Michelle’s career has been the Omaha Public Schools’ J.P. Lord School. J.P. Lord School serves students with developmental disabilities who may also have sensory, speech, and/or motor impairments. Most of the students are in wheelchairs that position them on their backs, facing the ceiling. Prior to this project, everything that Michelle knew about lighting design was based on a horizontal line of sight, with most electric sources placed above that line of sight.  However, these students have a vertical line of sight, with most sources being directly within the field of view. It made her rethink everything. The end result was a beautifully illuminated space specifically designed to “encourage synapses,” with the hope that the students have a lot of positive experiences.

Michelle is excited to see the technical advancements Alvine Engineering making with building design. Buildings today are significantly more energy-efficient and are designed more with the occupant in mind while being flexible to adapt to changes. Over her 20+ years in the field, Michelle is still continuously educating herself to apply evolving technologies to support new infrastructures best. But Michelle is also putting her experience and knowledge back into the field that has given so much to her. Michelle is a board member of the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America (IESNA)’s Omaha Chapter and is on the faculty of the University of Nebraska’s Durham School of Architectural Engineering and Construction, where she is honored to educate future generations of engineers.