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Soon after Becca Cavell joined THA Architecture in 1998, she revealed her ambitions to firm leaders.

“I asked them early on, ‘How do I get to be part of the management team?’ ” she said.

Cavell, a self-described goal-oriented person, will become managing principal of the Portland-based firm next year.

“I’m very assertive; I don’t wait to be asked,” she said. “I’ve always been assertive that I want more responsibilities.”

Cavell, one of THA’s six principals, currently is co-managing the firm with principal Jonah Cohen before taking on full responsibility next year. She will be a great managing principal, THA founding principal Thomas Hacker said, because she has both creative design talent and a knack for running a firm.

“Those two things don’t always go together,” he said. “She is a rare person in that type of way. People like her are exceptionally important for a firm like ours.”

Others who have worked with Cavell agree. Her ease interacting with people shows in designs that are sensitive to building users’ needs, they say. She’s also passionate about building restoration and teaching the next generation of designers.

“She’s one of the most disciplined people I’ve ever met,” Cohen said. “She’s just been a star and steadily rose.”

Cavell, 49, grew up in Reading, England. She said it was a daunting task to figure out a career path.

“I am not one of those people who knew from age five I wanted to be an architect,” she said. “In the U.K., when you go to college you have to actually declare your major before you start. I didn’t know what I wanted to do. I took stock in what I liked doing and it was everything.”

After working for a few years before starting college, Cavell eventually enrolled in the University of Liverpool to earn a master’s degree in architecture. In 1989, Cavell was selected to participate in a yearlong exchange program with the University of Oregon. Her first stay in the U.S. left a lasting impression.

“I had a really fantastic year in Eugene,” she said.

She moved to Portland in 1994, and immediately approached THA about employment; however, it didn’t have any openings at the time.

“The firm had such a great reputation,” she said. “It was my number one choice.”

Cavell instead got a job with SERA Architects, and stayed three and a half years. There, she served as construction administrator for a Portland City Hall renovation completed in 1998.

“I’m so proud of it,” she said. “That’s one of the most significant projects of my career, even though it was so early.”

The project fostered her longtime interest in restoring historic buildings.

“(It’s) the opportunity to give the building the respect it deserves, to give it back to its community,” she said. “I love working with old buildings.”

Cavell’s work on Portland City Hall helped her gain a position at THA. She oversaw design for 15 Multnomah County Library projects, including a renovation of the North Portland branch and construction of a new Woodstock branch in 2000.

Ginnie Cooper, who was head of the Multnomah County Library system at the time, said Cavell’s design for the Woodstock branch responded to the community’s needs.

“The community does love that building,” Cooper said. “It’s like a little jewel in the community.”

She was impressed with Cavell’s attention to detail, her frequent presence on the job site and positive energy throughout design and construction.

“That made me feel confident that this was going to be the building that we saw in the design,” Cooper said.

University of Oregon architect Christopher Ramey worked closely with Cavell on UO‘s HEDCO Education Building, completed in 2009, and the Lewis Integrative Science Building, completed in 2012.

“One of her strengths is her listening ability – her ability to listen to the true individual user who is right next to her at the table and put that into context,” he said. “In some ways, she set the standard for how we want other designers interacting with our users.”

Working closely with clients is part of what Cavell loves most about architecture.

“It’s a very people-oriented profession. It’s meaningful,” she said. “Architecture can have a profound influence on the human experience, and I’m proud to be part of that, and I take that responsibility very seriously.”

Cavell, an American Institute of Architects fellow, also values giving back to her community. She co-founded Street of Eames, a Portland-metro tour of mid-century and modern homes that ran for five years and raised money to support homeless youth. She also teaches at the University of Oregon in Portland.

“The thing about Becca is she really cares,” Cohen said. “She wants to make the world a better place.”