The Marx|Okubo Staff Continues to Grow

Aug 10, 2015

Marx|Okubo welcomes Samantha Gragg, AIA, LEED AP, Linda Fu, RA, LEED AP, Richard P. Martin, CBCP, LEED AP BD+C, and Henry T. Leung, R.A., to its Southern California offices; James M. La Terza, P.E., LEED AP BD+C, O+M, to its New York office; David B. Noma, AIA, R.A., to its San Francisco office; and John Kundak, P.E., to its Atlanta office.

Samantha Gragg, Associate, has been involved in diverse construction and architectural projects, including retail, commercial, and mixed-use residential, as well as community college and K-12 educational facilities. Prior to joining Marx|Okubo, she served as a project architect for a Los Angeles-based architectural firm, where she provided project management of design and construction document preparation, specifications writing, governmental plan processing, and conducted construction administration services. Samantha holds a Bachelor's Degree in Architecture from Woodbury University, is a licensed architect in California, a LEED Accredited Professional, and a member of the American Institute of Architects.

Linda Fu, Associate, has experience in both Northern California and Southern California, as she was previously a part of the San Francisco Marx|Okubo office. Her experience includes design, construction, and project management in retail, office, multi-family residential, restaurant, and hospitality projects. Her recent projects include owner's representation work for a high-rise office to residential adaptive reuse conversion and renovation projects for non-profit organizations. Linda holds a Bachelor's Degree in Architecture with a minor in Business Administration from the University of California - Berkeley, Master's Degree in Architecture from the University of California - Los Angeles, is a licensed Architect in California, and is a LEED Accredited Professional.

Rick Martin, Associate, was the Director of Sustainability for an Architectural Firm and providing LEED consulting services. Mr. Martin has been involved with another of LEED projects and achieved LEED gold for clients on multiple projects. Some notable LEED projects Mr. Martin has worked on include the Long Beach Airport interiors, The Lot - Formosa South office building, and the Plaza Pacoima project that was a multiple building retail project and achieved LEED gold. Rick holds a Bachelor's degree in Construction Management from the College of Environmental Science and Forestry (ESF) at Syracuse University, has completed additional coursework in sustainable construction management at ESF, is a LEED Accredited Professional with the BD+C specialty, a member of the United States Green Building Council, a Certified Building Commissioning Professional, and a member of the Association of Energy Engineers.

Henry Leung, Associate, has previous experience that includes design, construction and project management in transportation, institutional, hospitality, retail, and custom residential projects. His experience in CAD and BIM has been implemented in several successful projects for a diversity of clients and effective coordination between design and engineering disciplines. Henry holds a Bachelor's degree in Technology of Architectural Science from the University of Ryerson - Toronto, Canada, Master's Degree in Architecture from the University of California, Los Angeles, is a licensed architect in California, and a member of the Asian American Architects/Engineers Association.

James La Terza, Senior Associate, has served in the project management and structural engineering fields since 2000. Most recently, he served as the Structural Engineering Team Leader and Technical Director of Special Inspections for an 80-person A-E firm that specializes in renovation, restoration and retrofit programs for building structures in New York City. His prior experience also includes design of structural framing for new buildings and remediation of failures in structural systems. Mr. La Terza served as a Captain in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers prior to entering the private sector. James holds a Bachelor's Degree in civil environmental engineering from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, Master's Degree in structural engineering from the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, is a licensed engineer in Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New York, a LEED Accredited Professional, and a certified ICC Special Inspector.

David Noma, Senior Associate, worked in the fields of architecture and waterproofing consulting prior to joining Marx|Okubo. He brings to the firm technical expertise in design, building envelope waterproofing, and construction for various commercial, institutional, educational, entertainment and residential facilities. Mr. Noma's experience includes working for nationally noted architecture and consulting engineering firms in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Phoenix, Arizona and the San Francisco Bay area. He has worked on large multi-million dollar projects including projects in Shanghai, China, Honolulu, Hawaii, and the Bahamas. David holds a Bachelor's of Architecture degree from the University of Minnesota-Minneapolis, Bachelor's of Environmental Design degree from the University of Minnesota-Minneapolis, a licensed architect in Minnesota and Arizona, member of the American Institute of Architects, and San Francisco Planning Urban Research Associate.

John Kundak, Associate, has over ten years of structural engineering experience including residential, commercial, and industrial facilities with construction costs over $300 million. Prior to joining Marx|Okubo, Mr. Kundak was a project manager at Ellinwood+Machado structural engineers, managing and performing the design and analysis of new commercial and residential projects. John holds a Bachelor's Degree in Architecture from Istanbul Technical University, Master's Degree in Architecture from Clemson University, Master's Degree in Civil Engineering from Clemson University, and is a licensed Professional Engineer in Georgia, South Carolina, Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi.