SMMA’s Merin, Park, and Walters Promoted to Principal

SMMA last week announced three new promotions to the role of principal: architects Jonathan Merin and Adrian Walters, and civil engineer Will Park.

The promotions were announced at a company-wide meeting by CEO Ara Krafian. 

“For our new and existing principals, I can’t say how thrilled we are to have this team of people helping us run our organization,” said Krafian. “We are exceptional because of them. We hope to continue this organic growth within SMMA where we invest in people and commit to professional development.”

Jonathan Merin, an architect who joined SMMA in 2014, was promoted after successfully leading many of the firm’s corporate workplace design projects. Merin was praised for his business development and outreach efforts, as well as his project management work for corporate clients including Takeda, Olympus, and Waters.

“I’ve worked with Jonathan on many workplace projects, and his wealth of knowledge is unmatched,” said Marie Fitzgerald, Senior Vice President at SMMA. “He brings passion to his work and is always pushing us to build lasting relationships with our corporate, commercial, and life science clients.”

Will Park, who joined SMMA in 2010, manages site planning and technical design for some of the firm’s largest projects. Park was commended for his leadership within the firm and for building strong relationships with legacy clients such as Atlantic Management and The Gutierrez Company. 

“Will demonstrates exceptional dedication to his clients, combined with great leadership skills,” said Brian Lawlor, Executive Vice President at SMMA. “On a project level Will leads by example. His hard work and creative solutions inspire his teams to do their best work, and he is always learning and helping others to grow.” 

Adrian Walters, who joined SMMA in 2018, leads the firm’s fast-growing life science team. Regarded as an industry-leading expert in life science projects, Walters applies his architectural and scientific expertise towards lab planning and design, outreach, and thought leadership within the firm.

“Adrian is a leader in life science—not only at SMMA, but as an architect,” said Krafian. “He’s a leader in what is probably the hottest area of business we’re involved in. Clients see Adrian as a person with a tremendous amount of experience and a tremendous amount to contribute to their projects. I’ve heard it directly from our clients—in many occasions, he’s the best they’ve seen.”

Congratulations to Adrian, Will, and Jonathan on their promotions—a great way to start 2022 at SMMA!