From Setback to Expansion
By Gelare Danaie
In January 2024, we celebrated five years in business. I started the year energetic and determined to “go all out!”—I even wrote it on the first page of my work notebook. But just seven days later, a ski accident left me with a shattered ankle. That’s life, right?
By spring, in April, I was finally out of my cast when an existing client invited us to join a large team for a transportation project in New York.
New York! The city I had always dreamed of working in—maybe even living in. I was excited and nervous at the same time. It was my first trip after recovery, and I would be presenting to an important client. I prepared, practiced, and rehearsed many times before the meeting, but even something as simple as choosing which shoes to wear felt like a challenge while still healing.
The meeting was with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. I was presenting our team’s Customer Experience concepts for an airport project as part of a larger group of consultants. When I finished and saw the smiles on the clients’ faces—both in the room and on the screen—I knew I had achieved what I set out to do: bring a spark of joy and excitement to how our public places can embrace human touch and storytelling.
Because the meeting took place in a remote terminal not used by passengers, one of the client representatives offered to walk me back to where I could catch transportation to Manhattan. As we chatted about our shared passion for transportation and infrastructure, he asked if we were certified as a Woman-Owned Business Enterprise (WBE) with the Port Authority. I said no. He looked me in the eye and, in an authoritative tone, said: “You should!”
A year has now passed since that meeting. We didn’t win that particular project, but it sparked our expansion into New York. Today, we have an office and are officially certified as a WBE with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, as well as with the State of New Jersey. Along the way, we’ve met inspiring and creative people in the public building industry and built partnerships that will anchor our practice in the U.S. market.
We are actively seeking to partner with clients and like-minded consultants who share our belief that putting the customer first in the design process is essential for large-scale infrastructure projects. Opportunities often come when you are in the right place at the right time—and with the growing demand for resilient public infrastructure across major U.S. cities, we are confident in the value we can bring to our clients and communities.
We’re grateful for the people and organizations who have supported us along this journey. Together, we look forward to shaping public spaces that inspire connection, resilience, and human-centered design for years to come.
