AKF Welcomes Four New Partners

It is with great pride that AKF announces that Caitlyn Angelini, Shannon Kaplan, Brad Lownsbury, and Charlie Marino have joined the firm’s Partnership. These four proven leaders exhibit superior client relations and have dedicated countless hours to improving AKF through firm operations, growth of an Integrated Service, and expanding our reach to new regions. AKF is a great firm because of its people and will be an even better firm with these four individuals helping to lead the way as members of the Partnership.

Caitlyn Angelini, PE rose through the ranks from Code Consultant to Director of AKF’s Architectural Code Consulting practice. We now congratulate Caitlyn as she takes the next step and joins the AKF Partnership. Caitlyn’s expertise and client relationships have elevated the Code team’s portfolio. In recognition of her ability to deliver solutions rooted in safety, Caitlyn was appointed by the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) as Fire & Risk Jury Chair for the 2019 CTBUH World Congress and 2020 Tall+Urban Conference. She is also active in Professional Women in Construction's Boston Chapter and currently serves on the Board of Directors as Vice President/President Elect. Caitlyn leads AKF’s business development efforts in the Northeast and her skills in that area will be a great asset to the Partnership.

Shannon Kaplan, PE is an Architectural Engineer by trade who focused on electrical engineering and lighting before pivoting her career in 2017 to firm operations. Her engineering career has ultimately centered on the design of net positive energy buildings and renewable energy systems and while Shannon continues to do some work in this area, she now concentrates on staff learning and development, as well as streamlining business operations and firmwide best practices. Her unique background has helped implement successful training initiatives focusing on employee growth and leadership development. Adding Shannon’s specific expertise to the Partnership will continue to ensure AKF has the best quality staff in the industry.

Brad Lownsbury has served as AKF’s Southeast Division Leader since 2018 and under his leadership, AKF revenue has more than tripled in that region in the last three years. It is largely in thanks to Brad that AKF has continued to grow in the Southeast, even in the midst of a pandemic. Throughout his 30 years of AEC industry experience, Brad has built a positive reputation through working collaboratively with clients and his ability to translate strategic planning into achievable innovative design. We are excited for Brad to bring these traits to the Partnership of AKF.

Charlie Marino, CEA has dedicated the past decade to the development and growth of AKF's Energy + Performance team. As it's Co-director, Charlie focuses on strategies to improve energy efficiency, reduce carbon emissions, and leverage incentives for retrofit projects. To help refine implementation pathways that will enable New York City to realize carbon emission reduction goals, Charlie actively participates on advisory boards related to NYC Local Law 97 and industry stakeholder groups such as ASHRAE New York, Building Energy Exchange, and the New York Energy Consumer Council. Charlie’s influential leadership will push the AKF Partnership towards a greater focus on decarbonization pursuits and help foster deeper relationships with our clients.

Welcome to the Partnership, Caitlyn, Shannon, Brad, and Charlie!