Cleary O. Buckley, AIA, LEED AP
Lee Eric Grutchfield, AIA
Stephen Kredell, AIA, LEED AP
Stephen Rooney, AIA, LEED AP
William H. Truex, Jr., FAIA
Tom Cullins, AIA
Meet the Rest of the Team

David Epstein, AIA, LEED AP
Partner

Bachelor of Architecture, Virginia Polytechnic and State
University College of Architecture and Urban Studies

University of Connecticut, College of Engineering Honors
Program

It wasn’t until I got to College that I developed an interest in Architecture. My first art course was taught by an architect with a great passion for controversial works, and his enthusiasm was infectious. One day I spoke with friends about my growing interest and how fascinating it would be to be an architect. They challenged me to pursue that course - and I am still challenged today.

I enjoy practicing an art that has profound social relevance and technological sophistication. Architecture represents a great synthesis of competing forces, and at its best, can inspire and challenge the way we live and think about our world.

I suppose the biggest and best surprise about practicing Architecture has been recognizing the highly collaborative nature of making places. As architects, we work at the crossroads of the Owner, Builder and Consultants and our role in the process of building is not unlike conducting an orchestra. It is this interaction with people that can be the most effective and rewarding part of creating great buildings and spaces.

Becoming a partner at Truex Cullins & Partners has been a wonderful affirmation of my commitment to high-quality design. There is a feeling here that anything is possible and we bring that enthusiasm to every project. I feel fortunate to be part of such a great organization.

Kim Deetjen, ASID
Partner, Director of Interiors Studio

Bachelor of Fine Arts Interior Design, Syracuse University

My life-long passion has always been interior design. From my early years, I followed my mother’s pursuit of the arts as a painter and was fascinated by my father’s technical prowess as a structural engineer, building bridges around New England. The ability to visualize space and effectively combine color and light together with form and function has always been my strong point. I surround myself with creative people who have nurtured my talent as an interior designer. Throughout my career working for leading architectural and interior design firms from Washington, D.C. to Boston, I have gained a wealth of knowledge and practical experience. This exposure also enabled me to gather an endless array of artisans and manufacturers, a veritable quarry of design trade sources.

Interior design is an intricate weave of formal architectural practices with a careful, sensitive overlay of decoration. One must have a strong sense of the spatial possibilities, their organization, focal point, quality of light, balance of color and texture, and appropriate style of furnishings. I find never–ending satisfaction in the creative process and take an open and collaborative approach with my clients, encouraging their individual preferences and priorities. Working together, we are able to blend our passions to create dynamic spaces that reflect their vision, capture their personality, and embody their values and style. I strive to make a difference in their lives, creating warm, pleasing spaces which enhance the way we live, work and play.

I am proud to be a partner and to offer creative leadership to our Interior Design Studio at TruexCullins.

Robert “Sparky” Millikin
Partner, Director of Operations

Master of Business Administration,
Yale School of Management

Bachelor of Arts, Dartmouth College

My original interest in architecture was kindled by a combination of summer employment in the construction industry and an inspiring college course on the history of architecture. Being part of the creative process is greatly satisfying, but for me the act of creation took the form of actually building buildings instead of creating their forms on paper. The hands-on involvement of pouring concrete, bolting steel beams to columns, and learning carpentry had a wonderful physicality which agreed with my desire to engage the world head on and see the tangible results of my labor.

Designing, engineering, and constructing a building is an immensely exciting, complex, and challenging process. Now, more than ever, I remain amazed at the extraordinary effort involved in each such undertaking. It is the marriage of aesthetics, science and engineering, technology, context, planning, and imagination.

Today, combining my studies in Architecture and Management with practical experience in the field, I have the opportunity to help guide a firm of uniquely talented individuals in their endeavors to create inspiring designs of a lasting and vital nature.

Tom Hengelsberg, AIA, LEED AP
Senior Associate

Bachelor of Architecture, Syracuse University

I come from a family of academics, builders, artisans, and naturalists. These combined influences naturally led me to choose the profession of architect-ture. My training, study experiences in Europe, and my continued thirst for learning opportunities are all brought to bear in my work every day.

I believe that the practice of environmental sustainability is the defining mission for architecture in the present time and for the future. I am committed to working with all of our clients to help them achieve advancement of this agenda in any way possible. At the same time, we must insist on the highest-quality planning, design, and aesthetics, so that the buildings we create will have a personality or a soul, will stand the test of time, and will be loved and revered by future generations. Through our decisions, large and small, we are in a unique position to positively influence the preservation of our natural environment and the making of our society.

Cleary O. Buckley, AIA, LEED AP
Associate

Master of Architecture, Rice University

Bachelor of Arts, Bennington College

I take joy from great buildings and spaces, and from the process of exploration and discovery that goes into their making. My love of architecture provides me with an endless supply of sights to visit in the world where I delight in the play of form, space, and light. The complex process of design that includes elements of art, construction, and diplomacy is challenging and rewarding. Because the built environment has great power to influence our lives, it is imperative that I as a shaper of these environments continually strive for excellence. Safety, accessibility, and functionality are starting points for every project. With care and rigor we add firmness, commodity, and delight.

Lee Eric Grutchfield, AIA
Associate

Master of Architecture, Norwich University

Bachelor of Science, Brandeis University

I like to think that my path to becoming an architect might be part of a very old tradition. A tradition of apprenticeship, where the potential architect learned to make a building from the ground up: To hone, cut and fit timbers, lay stones, feel the weight and texture of the materials, hear the changing sounds as the spaces become enclosed. Through these hands-on experiences one learned to intuitively understand structural and acoustic principles, mathematical formulae, and above all the working of natural light.

My mother is an artist and my father was an athlete. My undergraduate education was at Brandeis University, where I played NCAA basketball and studied philosophy. After that I spent 14 years working as a carpenter, builder and contractor in San Francisco and Vermont. Then, during the winter months, when it was too cold to be out on a scaffold, I studied architecture at Norwich University - where I got my master's degree.

I think that my personal and professional background has helped to give me an understanding of what makes a building extraordinary. A building should do more than satisfy a client's needs, it should also give joy, and spiritual sustenance. For me, making a building is about going beyond the client’s expectations, and showing them something new.

Stephen Kredell, AIA, LEED AP
Associate

Master of Architecture, Virginia Polytechnic and
State University, College of Architecture and Urban Studies

Bachelor of Arts, University of Pennsylvania

I’ve found that, in one way or another, I have always placed a high value on the built environment and, because of that, expected much from it. Architecture offers the opportunity to play an active role in the making of these places – a fundamental aspect that I relish.

I find architecture to be, first and foremost a collaborative effort. This collaboration between architects, owners, consultants, users, builders, and tradespeople allows for the implementation of a wide and varied range of ideas. The corresponding collaborative nature of the TruexCullins studios allows for intelligent, creative, and thoughtful designs that respect the variations of clients, ideas, sites, and programs.

Stephen Rooney, AIA, LEED AP
Associate

Bachelor of Architecture, University of Texas at Arlington

My serious interest in design began, beyond the receipt of childhood presents of art supplies, when
my mother asked me upon entering high school what I'd like to do with my life. Although wanting everything from life at that point, I settled on "A job where I get to draw a lot, and spend a lot of time outdoors". This inspired her to talk a local architect into touring me through their office, where they had on display a new design for a part of the city in which I lived. This is when I began to understand that the drawn imagination is the birth of man-made creations. The magic of helping a client to physically occupy their imagination continues
to be a powerful motivator for me today.

Master of Architecture, Harvard University Graduate
School of Design

Bachelor of Arts, Dartmouth College

I have built my professional life around the premise that we have the ability to direct and create a superbly humane environment at all levels- from our homes to our villages, towns and cities. I have been energized by the knowledge that we can direct and shape the built environment for the betterment of mankind and bring it into harmony with the natural environment.

Planning and urban design, with a focus on creating humane spaces, has been a passion for me throughout my career. My best architectural creations have been those which have a strong contextual base, appropriately reflecting their purpose and reinforcing their surroundings in style, shape, scale and materials. These projects range from private single family residences to large public endeavors such as the Church Street Marketplace here in Burlington, Vermont.

When I think about architecture, I imagine looking at each building as if it were a piece of a puzzle. A structure does not exist in a vacuum; it is not the whole event. It’s how we organize the pieces that give the full picture.

To read an interview with Bill Truex about his career and his plans for retirement please click here.

Tom Cullins, AIA
Partner - Retired

Master in Architecture, Harvard University Graduate School

Bachelor in Architecture, Syracuse University

For over forty years, my career in architecture has focused on creating physical environments that earnestly try to capture the spirit of a client's program, are in harmony with the site, and go beyond the ordinary by creating designs that have a special character.

Since childhood, painting, drawing, photography and a love of international travel and cultures have enriched my designs through a heightened sensitivity to visual relationships and the interconnectedness of culture, place and the built environment.

A sincere love of working with people--from clients, to our in-house architectural teams, to our consultants, allows me the joy of leading the creative process. The social, cultural and physical impact of planning and designing buildings in our cities, towns and landscapes demands our very best as designers--thoughtfulness, creativity, tenacity and leadership.

Whether designing a college building, a large or small resid-ence, a resort or a campus master plan, genuinely listening to the client, thoroughly understanding the site, and responding with an appropriately creative and daring design has always been my passion. The clarity of this conceptual vision is especially important.

Put simply, I wholeheartedly love the remarkable endeavor of design -- the intensity and fun of working with clients, and ultimately, the lasting impact of this wonderful effort. My enthusiasm only continues to grow for my profession's work of creating truly special places.

Katrina Nye, ASID, LEED AP
Debbie Palmer
Joseph Petrarca
Kathleen M. Piotrowski
Renata Polakova
Cecilia Redmond, LEED AP
Wayne Sornberger
Carol Stenberg
Morgan Van Alstyne
Ian C. Welcome
Matthew Wheaton
Kevin White
Dennis Willmott
Susan W. Weeks, LEED AP