Brett Gaillard ‘09 M.Arch/MS.HP, Kassandra Lee '21 M.Arch/MS.RED, Margaret Zyro '13 M.Arch, and Maru Perez Benavides '21 M.Arch will facilitate a virtual information session to discuss working at The MET, their projects, and current career opportunities. A brief Q&A session will be held at the end.
Brett Gaillard ('09 M.Arch/MS.HP) – Head of Capital and Infrastructure Planning
Brett is the Head of Capital & Infrastructure Planning at the Metropolitan Museum of Art where she oversees the planning of all capital and infrastructure projects and helps guide the long-term vision and design of these projects for The Met’s 2.2 million square foot main building, as well as The Met Cloisters. Prior to her role at the Met, Brett was a Senior Associate at Beyer Blinder Belle Architects and Planners where she worked in a leading role on many projects for the Met as well as other cultural, educational, commercial, and large-scale restoration projects. Brett is fluent in all phases of a project and is adept at navigating complex institutions with many stakeholders. Brett received her B.A. in the History of Art and Architecture from Middlebury College, and dual Master of Architecture and Master of Science in Historic Preservation degrees from Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation.
Kassandra Lee ('21 M.Arch/MS.RED) – Associate Project Manager, Capital Projects Kassandra is an Associate Project Manager with Capital Projects at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where she currently helps guide the design and construction of Ancient Near East and Cypriot permanent galleries. Before GSAPP, Kassandra was an urban planning and policy writer for the Singaporean government, where she worked on a variety of projects including steering the 50-year healthcare infrastructure plan for Singapore, crafting a new biomedical business park district, and restructuring the national land lease policy framework. Kassandra is received her B.A from NYU’s Gallatin School of Individualized Studies, and a dual Master of Architecture and Master of Science in Real Estate Development from GSAPP.
Margaret Zyro ('13 M.Arch) – Associate Project Manager, Capital Projects
Margaret Zyro is an Associate Project Manager at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, currently working on the Oscar L. Tang and H.M. Agnes Hsu-Tang Wing. Margaret joined the Met in 2020 as Exhibition Designer working on exhibitions such as Shapes From Out of Nowhere, Surrealism Beyond Borders, and Cubism and the Trompe l’Oeil Tradition. Prior to joining the Met Museum, Margaret practiced architecture with various design studios in New York City, such as Thomas Phifer and Partners, and Leong Leong. Margaret received her B.F.A. in Industrial Design from James Madison University, and Master of Architecture from Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation.
Maru Perez Benavides ('21 M.Arch) – Junior Exhibition Designer, with the Met’s Design Department, where she realizes exhibitions and installations from concept to production, in collaboration with curators, conservators, and the museum’s project and construction managers. Maru has worked on exhibitions such as Chroma: Ancient Color in Sculpture, Richard Avedon: Murals, and Rich Man Poor Man at the Met Cloisters, producing presentation materials and construction drawings in all development phases. Maru holds a B.S. in Architecture from Northeastern University and a Master of Architecture from GSAPP. During her time at GSAPP, she was part of the GSAPP Exhibitions crew, Housing Lab, and LatinGSAPP. Prior to her role at the Met, she worked at Anmahian Winton Architects and Handel Architects.
The conversation will be moderated by Alice Xinyi Lin '24 M.Arch
This event is hosted by GSAPP Career Services
When: March 21st, 2023, 11:00 AM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Register in advance for this meeting:
Organized by Columbia GSAPP Career Services. Open to currently enrolled Columbia GSAPP students.