SĀJ Architecture Project Manager Amy McCarthy-Smith, AIA, NCARB, has been accepted into the Leadership Bend Class of 2025.
McCarthy-Smith is a licensed architect in Oregon with 18 years of experience in the field. Her work includes independent schools, K-12 public schools, senior housing, retail, and multifamily housing. Her current projects at SĀJ Architecture include Trinity Lutheran’s new middle/high school and performing arts center, in Bend, and Sisters School District’s new elementary school.
Leadership Bend is organized by the Bend Chamber of Commerce and designed to identify, educate, train, and connect citizens to leadership roles in the community. During the nine-month program, participants work with local leaders to expand their understanding of the Central Oregon region, its history, industries, current challenges, and opportunities.
“I first learned about Leadership Bend from coworkers who were alumni,” McCarthy-Smith said. “I was intrigued with the program and the chance to learn from Central Oregon leaders. I look forward to gaining insight from others with experiences and skillsets that are different than mine, and I’m also looking forward to involving myself in the community more deeply.”
McCarthy-Smith has worked with SĀJ Architecture Principal Architect Seth Anderson since moving to Bend in 2018.
“Amy is a thoughtful leader in our firm,” said Anderson, who graduated from Leadership Bend in 2011. “She’s willing to work hard, embrace challenges with a positive outlook, and rally her team to rise to any occasion. Leadership Bend will increase her knowledge of how our community functions, allowing her to better apply her skills as an architect to make a greater community impact, whether through volunteerism or her work on firm.”
Community building is especially important to SĀJ Architecture, which is a full-service firm offering architecture, interior design, and master planning for public, housing, mixed-use, commercial, and K-12 school projects. The firm’s design approach focuses on how people learn, live, work, play, and thrive within spaces co-created with clients. SĀJ architecture serves clients from offices in Bend and Portland, Oregon.
SĀJ Architecture is a full-service firm with offices in Bend and Portland, Oregon. We offer architecture, interior design, and planning for commercial and public projects ranging from multifamily housing to hospitality to K-12 public and independent schools. Our team’s collaborative, client- and community-focused design process combines exceptional project management and technical expertise to create spaces and places where people live, learn, work, and play.