NELSON Worldwide, award-winning architecture, design, and strategy firm, welcomes Radhika Dharanipalan as Senior Project Manager based out of the Alpharetta, Georgia, office. As Senior Project Manager, Radhika will lead the development and coordination of civic education projects—working collaboratively with both in-house and consultant teams on multiple projects through all stages of design, with passion, creativity, and acute attention to detail.

“Radhika has an unwavering passion for collaboration and engagement with the local community that is a highly-valuable asset to have on our team,” says Chairman and Chief Executive Officer at NELSON Worldwide, John “Ozzie” Nelson Jr. “She brings forth extensive experience encompassing all phases of construction and renovation projects with engaged involvement in various project types, making her the ideal candidate to spearhead new education developments.” 

As a professional architect, she embodies a creative yet practical approach to design and project delivery, focused on value addition. Radhika leverages 16 years of experience in education, transit, hospitality, and high-rise mixed-use developments—applying her knowledge to monitoring project schedules and budgets as determined by the client. She will work with the team and ensure that reviews occur at the designated stages of projects to maintain document quality. Most importantly, Radhika will embrace specific steps to create, develop and promote a diverse workforce and an inclusive environment.

“We are witnessing many new developments and changes in the education space— changes NELSON is prepared to tackle head-on,” remarks Radhika. “There is a lot of opportunity for growth in the Atlanta area, and I look forward to being part of the NELSON team as we prepare to strategize innovative solutions to accommodate emerging trends and pursue these opportunities.”

She previously held roles as Senior Project Manager at KAI Enterprises and as a Project Manager in Facility Design and Construction Services at Kennesaw State University. It is at Kennesaw where her interest in the education sector began. Working closely with the team and seeing the impressive scope of her daily professional pursuits on campus motivated her to stay in this space and, ultimately, led her to NELSON. Having spent the last couple of years collaborating virtually, she is looking forward to increasing personal interaction with teams and clients in the civic education sector and connecting with the larger design and construction community in the Southeast and Atlanta area.

Radhika knew from a young age that she would dedicate her professional career to dealing with space. She attributes this revelation to a childhood experience at a unique and spatially complex garden in India that left a permanent impression on her mind. She later earned her Bachelor of Architecture from Anna University in Chennai, India. From there, she continued her architectural journey in Illinois with a Master of Architecture and a Master of Science in Construction Management from The University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign.