Meet Sheila Cahnman of JumpGarden Consulting in Wilmette

Today we’d like to introduce you to Sheila Cahnman.

Sheila, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
Graduating from architecture school at the University of Pennsylvania in 1981, I moved to Chicago knowing two friends from school. I grew up in Cincinnati but visited Chicago some summers and really loved the excitement and the lake. Carrying my portfolio door-to-door, I visited 90 architectural firms over three weeks. My first job at a small design firm lasted six months; it paid the rent! Laid off during the extremely frigid winter of 1982, I spent my days cold calling 200 offices, working part-time and cross-country skiing at the golf course by the lake. Through involvement with Chicago Women in Architecture, I landed a position at Hansen Lind Meyer, a major architectural firm that specialized in healthcare projects. For 22 years, I worked up through the ranks from intern architect to office managing principal. I realized my real love was healthcare facility planning and design.

The following nine years, I led the healthcare architecture practice at HOK – my team designed many of the major hospitals in the Midwest. After a short stint as National Healthcare Market leader at AECOM, I realized the mega company was not for me. Three plus years ago, I started my own healthcare facility planning consultancy, JumpGarden Consulting, LLC, working all over the US and the world.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Architecture is a challenging field for anyone – especially for women that want to have a family. I continually worked while raising three kids. When they were small, I worked part-time but really carried a full-time workload. This would not have been possible without the support of my husband, company, and understanding clients. My advancement was slower than some men since I didn’t have the extra time in my schedule to do business development after hours and had to limit my travel schedule. Once my kids were independent, I was able to “catch up” quickly and reach my potential.

JumpGarden Consulting, LLC – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
JumpGarden Consulting, LLC, founded in 2014, provides the best in healthcare design, planning and programming solutions with an independent viewpoint and a unique understanding of global design and planning trends. Our experience is based on over 35 years of industry knowledge and monitoring the latest advancements in the field.

This experience includes the planning and design leadership of building and master planning projects for over fifty healthcare clients including major academic medical centers, community hospitals and outpatient clinics around the world.

We partner with architecture, construction and strategic planning firms that require advanced healthcare design, planning, and marketing expertise to win projects and complete them successfully. I am most proud of our continuing relationships with firms all over the country.

We also provide consulting services to health systems who require cost-effective and timely solutions to planning challenges, including peer reviews of ongoing projects to ensure that best practices are being implemented.

What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
This past year I was named a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects (FAIA) and the American College of Healthcare Architects (FACHA). Fellows are recognized with the highest membership honor for their exceptional work and contributions to architecture and society. Out of a total AIA membership of over 90,000, approximately 3 percent of members are recognized as fellows.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.jumpgardenllc.com
• Phone: 312-286-0119
• Email: sheila@jumpgardenllc.com
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jumpgardenllc/
• Twitter: @jumpgardenllc
• Other: JumpGarden Consulting LLC

Image Credit:
Sheila Cahnman

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