Rachel Pampel Receives ALEP Accreditation

Join us in congratulating Rachel Pampel on becoming an Accredited Learning Environment Planner (ALEP), a professional certification awarded after her successful participation in a rigorous ten-month course of study provided by the Association for Learning Environments (A4LE). The ALEP credential was designed to elevate professional standards, enhance individual performance, and identify those in the educational design industry who demonstrate the knowledge essential to the practice of educational facility planning.

Since joining Newman in 2018, Rachel has focused her role on K-12 and Higher Education projects, from feasibility and master planning studies to multi-year design and construction efforts.

“Rachel has a deep abiding and passion for elevating the design of educational environments extending through her academic work and architectural practice,” says Steven Orlansky, Newman's K-12 Market Sector leader. “Her attaining the ALEP certification, an intense, collaborative program for educators and planners furthers her commitment to educational design and to Newman's thought leadership in this sector.”

Complementary to her project experience and prior to her ALEP certification, Rachel earned a graduate degree in Education at the University in Oulu, Finland, which culminated in a FERA award for Best Master's Thesis in Education, for her thesis on the design of good learning environments. She continues her research on this topic through case studies and workshops with educators and designers all over the world, often in partnership with the A4LE. Rachel's additional outreach efforts include co-chairing committees and sub-committees for A4LE and the AIA, where she focuses on ongoing efforts to connect and support educational planning professionals in the pursuit of good learning environment design.

Join Rachel as she presents the recently completed Creative Minds International Public Charter School renovation project on October 6 at AIA|DC's Committee on Architecture for Education Fall Social.