Initially coming to Ankrom Moisan because of our Affordable Housing work, Amanda Lunger, Senior Associate, felt a draw toward sustainability and passive design strategies, as it aligned with her interests. She left the firm at one point, and upon deciding to make a career pivot, found herself back at Ankrom Moisan’s door. 

“I didn’t know I was coming back to Ankrom Moisan since the job posting I encountered didn’t have the company name listed,” she said. “It was a job post from a recruiter, and they were like ‘I see on your LinkedIn that you’ve worked at this company before. Is that going to be a problem?’ I was like ‘No, that’s actually a really good thing.’” 

“I knew Ankrom Moisan was going to be a good place to restart my career in a different way, because of all the great people here,” Amanda continued. “It’s a firm that offers a lot of support for its employees, so I felt like I had a lot of room to grow into a new role that was much more support-based for the office.” 

That was about six years ago. Now, Amanda has gained a whole new set of experiences as a Sustainability Advocate and BIM Specialist. Her interests, experiences, and expertise have led her to become more confident and more comfortable taking up space. 

Amanda in the Portland office

“In general, women in our profession have a tendency to minimize themselves and not want to take up space. It can come off as being overly apologetic, or just as lacking confidence when it comes time to speak up in front of coworkers and peers,” she said. “I think that’s an area I’ve grown in. I’ve built the confidence to speak up and value my own contributions and feel like I belong here. I have things to say and a right to express myself.” 

This subject is something Amanda is intimately familiar with, as in 2020 she, Stephanie Hollar, and Eliza Zenk launched ‘Where are the Women,’ a Do GOOD / Be WELL research scholarship to investigate gender disparity in the architecture industry, and what can be done to position women at the forefront of the field. 

Inspired by her coworkers, Amanda loves to see those she works with get excited about a certain topic, especially if she can help satisfy their curiosity and expand their knowledge. 

“I really enjoy sharing my knowledge with my colleagues and coming up with creative ways to make that content engaging and enjoyable. The two subjects I specialize in can be dry, but there are ways to make it more fun. It goes back to wanting to be a supportive coworker and help my teammates succeed,” she said. “Ankrom Moisan is known for providing project teams with a lot of resources and tools to succeed in the practice of architecture, and as somebody who gets to be on that practice team, I really enjoy teaching and educating my peers about new technologies, whether it’s a BIM tip to make Revit-ing easier, or something about sustainability approaches to design they can incorporate in projects.” 

In fact, being a resource for her peers is Amanda’s favorite part of working here. “I’ve had three different roles now, both on the project team side as well as the support side, with BIM and sustainability,” she said. “I have to say that I really enjoy being on the support side, getting to help project teams succeed. Touching many of the diverse projects that we do keeps things exciting and gives me more opportunities to work with the great people that we have here at Ankrom Moisan.” 

To be successful in this way, as a resource to the firm, Amanda says that she is best supported when people laugh at her jokes. “One of the things that motivates me to find more creative ways to deliver information is when I see someone laugh at a presentation I’m giving or say ‘Oh, I still remember that video you made,’” she said. “If I know that what I’m doing is actually helping to brighten people’s day, then that’s going to motivate me to do it more.” 

When she found out that she had been selected as 2025’s Q2 Employee Ownership Champion, Amanda felt flattered that her work was recognized and valued by her colleagues. You can actually watch the moment she finds out she was recognized with the honor in her nomination video. 

Amanda’s Reward & Recognition nomination video

“A lot of what I do is behind the scenes,” she shared. “Especially on the BIM side, the support I provide is really focused on ensuring other team members are successful, so it’s an honor to know that my coworkers appreciate what I do.” 

To her, “Employee Ownership” means recognizing that you can contribute to the success of the company in both big and small ways, no matter what your position at the firm is or where you are in your career. 

“Taking the initiative to do the right thing and improve our projects at the end of the day doesn’t fall to leadership,” Amanda said. “They make a lot of decisions that impact the direction of the firm, but ‘Employee Ownership’ is the empowerment that you as an employee can also do your part to accomplish that.” 

Looking forward, Amanda has high hopes for the future of Ankrom Moisan’s Reward & Recognition program. “I think it’s great that we have this vehicle to show our appreciation to our colleagues,” she said. “Our profession is probably not unique in this, but it’s one where it can feel like the only time you receive feedback is when it’s negative.” 

“We spend a lot of time focusing on the things that need to be fixed in our designs, document sets, anything that we do,” she clarified. “People are always making red lines, so I like that we have a forum to give each other kudos and recognize when someone is doing a good job. I hope that that spills over into a culture where that’s normalized and we’re doing it more often and more organically, whether somebody is getting one of these awards or not.”