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Rena Simon has established herself as a visionary leader in architectural design over her 21-year career. Since joining ZGF in 2007, Simon has been instrumental in some of the firm’s most diverse and award-winning projects, including the US Embassy in Asuncion, Paraguay, Li Ka Shing Center Biomedical Lab at UC Berkeley, Pearl Izumi North American Headquarters, and the Portland International Airport Main Terminal Expansion – the firm’s largest project to date and Oregon’s largest project in history.

On the PDX project, Simon led the development of the roof and skylights through collaborative study models and light experiments with the University of Oregon School of Architecture’s Lighting Lab. Her work emphasized creating deeper connections with nature through biophilic design principles, focusing on simple, elegant solutions that function on multiple levels. Her work on PDX extended into a collaboration with Randy Gragg and William Smith to develop the PDX section of the City of Possibility exhibit, showing built and unbuilt architectural models representative of the city of Portland.

Simon’s leadership trajectory began unconventionally after starting in construction administration and documentation. When the 2007 recession prevented her from pursuing a master’s degree, she became self-taught and entered design competitions to develop her skills, transitioning into a design leadership role.

Her commitment to mentorship spans 15 years with ACE, a national mentorship program, where she has guided high school students interested in architecture, construction and engineering. She also has been active in ZGF’s mentorship programs and Emerging Professionals group. She also has served as a juror for UO Architecture critiques.