Ashley Hoolihan, AIA, LEED GA, project manager and associate and Amanda Truemper, AIA, LEED BD+C, senior project manager and associate have joined the ownership group of St. Louis-based architecture, planning, urban design and interiors firm Trivers. As associate principals, Hoolihan and Truemper will help lead the firm alongside principals Joe Brinkmann, AIA, LEED AP; Joel Fuoss, AIA, IIDA, LEED AP; and Amy Gilbertson, FAIA, LEED GA and associate principals Neil Chace, AIA, LEED GA, WELL AP and Martin Padilla, AIA, LEED GA.
“Sustaining Trivers’ 50-year legacy of design excellence means continually investing in the people who shape it,” Brinkmann said. “Welcoming Ashley and Amanda into our ownership group reflects our commitment to strategic growth and long-term vitality.”
Brinkmann, Fuoss and Gilbertson assumed ownership of Trivers in 2015 from Andrew Trivers, FAIA, who founded the firm in 1975. With the goal of creating career development opportunities for others within the firm, the three principals developed a strategy to add new owners over time.
“Ashley and Amanda have made our firm stronger by building trusted, lasting relationships with clients and helping shape our robust culture,” Gilbertson said. “Their commitment to mentoring others within the firm and sharing their expertise on national stages reflects not only their individual talents, but also the kind of collaborative, forward-thinking leadership we value most.”
With a longstanding commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion, Trivers is also proud to increase the number of women in the ownership group. According to the latest American Institute of Architects (AIA) Membership Demographics Report, only 17 percent of principals in architecture firms are women.
Hoolihan earned her bachelor’s degree in architectural studies from Southern Illinois University and master’s degrees in architecture and construction management from Washington University (WashU) in St. Louis before beginning her career at Trivers in 2011. She focuses on leading Trivers’ education practice and has worked on projects at WashU, the University of Missouri system, Missouri State University, and the University of Illinois among others. She led construction administration efforts for the $41 million Health Professions Education Building at the University of Pikeville in Pikeville, Kentucky, which received multiple AIA design awards. Hoolihan helps lead Trivers’ Hiring Committee and was a founding member of its Community Committee. She is the North Central Regional Professional Development Chair for Society for College and University Planning and a 2023 recipient of Building Design + Construction’s 40 Under 40 class of 2023.
“I am grateful for the opportunity to help guide Trivers into its next chapter while staying true to our core beliefs,” Hoolihan said. “Continuing to establish Trivers’ expertise in areas such as education and workplace and working in more communities across the country are exciting challenges I am ready to take on with the rest of the ownership group.”
Since earning her bachelor’s degree in architecture from WashU in 2000 and her master’s degree in architecture and certificate in historic preservation from the University of Southern California in 2005, Truemper has achieved more than 25 years of experience. Her expertise in corporate workplace design and branded environments is paired with a passion for historic and adaptive reuse. Throughout her career, Truemper has worked on projects in the hospitality, mixed-use and multi-family, retail, education, and mission-driven sectors while contributing to business development and strategic management initiatives. Her work has been honored with awards from the AIA, IIDA Gateway Chapter, Illuminating Engineering Society, and Landmarks Association of St. Louis. She is a certified SEED member of the Public Interest Design Institute and a member of the Commercial Real Estate Women Network.
“I look forward to working with the entire ownership group to continue championing Trivers’ efforts to enrich the communities we serve through bold ideas, collaborative processes and spaces that elevate human experiences,” Truemper said. “I am honored to be in a position to help uphold the values that have guided our firm for five decades.”
The principals and associate principals will continue identifying leaders for future ownership consideration.
“We’re excited to continue creating opportunities for team members who show real commitment and a strong, collaborative mindset to grow with us in meaningful ways,” Fuoss said.
