Sydney grew up in Central Florida and went to Auburn University, where she graduated in 2016 with a Bachelor of Architecture and a minor in Sustainability. While there, she studied abroad at the Istanbul Technical University (Istanbul, Turkey) and at Unitec Institute of Technology (Auckland, New Zealand). After graduating, Sydney lived and worked for a year on the Eastern Shore of Maryland working on hospitality projects. Sydney then moved to DC in 2017 where she has been working on hospitality, commercial, institutional and multifamily projects over the years. After becoming a member of AIA Northern Virginia chapter, she has been part of the Design Awards Committee since 2018. She is a 2019 graduate of AIA Virginia’s Emerging Leaders in Architecture program and was the AIA Virginia Regional Associate Director (RAD) from 2021-222 and the State Associate Representative (StAR) in 2023 for AIA NAC (National Associate Committee). In her free time, she loves to paddle board and play tennis.