Autumn cares deeply about clean living. An avid outdoorswoman, she applies the pack-in/pack-out philosophy to her leisure time, her daily routines, and her work. She helped design a passive house while earning her undergraduate degree, and she built on that knowledge in graduate school as part of the team behind a net-positive house with Habitat for Humanity. “I loved being able to work with the community to provide them with the healthy and safe homes they were looking for,” she said. Those experiences reinforced Autumn’s belief that smart, sustainable features don’t have to add expense to the project budget. And her construction-management minor gives her insight on how to effectively translate designs to the built environment. She knows that proper siting and careful selection of materials, systems, and techniques determine a building envelope’s ability to withstand extreme weather conditions in the Midwest. Autumn is a pragmatic designer, but she appreciates a good escape from reality. The first three books in the Harry Potter series are at the top of her list. “Live the life you want to live and have fun with it!” she said. “You get only one chance.”