From left: Dalina Cruz, Wally Harris and LoriAnne Jones
By Joshua Burd
DIG Architecture has elevated Dalina Cruz, Wally Harris and LoriAnne Jones to the associate level, continuing an active stretch for a firm that has marked several milestones of late.
Based in New Brunswick, the practice announced the promotions during a recent 20th anniversary celebration, according to a news release. They mark what DIG described as a defining moment for its team, noting that Cruz, Harris and Jones will maintain their current project responsibilities while stepping into elevated leadership positions to shape its strategic direction, foster community-centered design and mentor emerging talent.
Cruz is a senior interior designer, while Harris and Jones are senior project managers.
“True collaboration means exploring the details and opportunities that others might overlook, ensuring every design decision is anchored by its human impact,” said DIG CEO Jeff Venezia, a co-founding principal. “As we scale our operations across all of our offices in New Brunswick, Philadelphia and Queens, this new leadership group brings the precise blend of technical excellence and civic purpose needed to anchor our growth and deliver lasting value to the communities we serve.”
Vince Myers, president and co-founding principal of the recently rebranded firm, added: “Sustainable growth requires a strong structural foundation, not just in our drawings, but within our internal teams. Dalina, Wally and LoriAnne have consistently demonstrated the operational excellence and forward-thinking mindset that our clients rely on.”
Within the firm’s interior design studio, Cruz has been instrumental in aligning multiple disciplines across architecture, interiors and environmental graphics to create seamless, intuitive environments, the news release said. Her approach ensures that specialized interior spaces across education, health care, civic spaces, senior living and transportation sectors are grounded in what it described as purpose, impact and human experience.
Harris, meantime, has more than 20 years of design experience and specialized expertise in building envelopes and historic restoration, the practice said, adding that he is known for technical precision and expertly navigates some of its most-complex public- and private-sector projects, including several Carnegie-era libraries across Philadelphia and New Jersey. His deep technical knowledge also ensures multilayered structural and historic restoration requirements — from code review, materials search and design detailing to scheduling and construction administration — are seamlessly integrated, managed and monitored across every phase.
Rounding out DIG’s newest associates is Jones, whose nine-year tenure at the firm has a highly specialized focus on community-centered health care, education and transformative reuse. An emerging leader in so-called evidence-based design principles, she has expertly spearheaded a decade-long relationship and nine federally qualified health center assignments for New York City’s Urban Health Plan, using building information modeling and an MBA in strategy to guide multidisciplinary teams through clinical planning, feasibility and construction administration.
Jones also actively champions industry equity through involvement in AIA Central NJ and the ACE Mentor Program.
