Allison is a licensed architect with 20+ years of experience in environmental building and consulting, as well as some involvement in low–income housing development and administration. Allison recently started Capen Consulting LLC to take on projects of interest in the environmental, building and social justice realms.
Prior to starting her consulting business, Allison was the Technical Director for the Living Building Challenge at the International Living Future Institute, a consultant at Paladino, and on the architectural staff of Seattle based firms Boxwood and Miller/Hull. Allison has been involved in local environmental design advocacy, as Chair of the Sustainable Design Resource Group for AIA Washington Council and through work with the AIA Seattle Committee on the Environment. Her current interests center around the environment and issues of equity, access and education, as well as the various political levers impacting those concerns. She is currently on the board of the Meridian School and the Mountain to Sound Greenway. She holds a MArch from the University of Washington and a BA from Princeton University in the History and Theory of Architecture. Born in Minneapolis, MN, Allison has lived in Seattle since 1991 where she enjoys, camping, skiing, traveling, and coming up with “projects and adventures” with her husband and daughter.