RLPS is pleased to announce the promotions of Ty Shappell to Associate Partner and Stefanie DePugh to Senior Marketing Coordinator. Both are longtime members of the RLPS team and familiar faces to many of our clients and partners. Rather than simply listing accomplishments, we asked each of them to share a few reflections on the experiences and perspectives that shaped their careers.
- American Institute of Architects
- Certified Construction Contract Administrator
- LEED Accredited Professional – United States Green Building Council
- NCARB Certificate Holder
What inspired you to pursue architecture?
I’ve been around construction since a young age and fondly remember spending summers exploring my grandfather’s steel fabrication shop and examining prints on the drafting table. I would tag along on visits to construction sites whenever it was safe to do so.
Describe your first job (or one of your favorites) and what you learned from it.
I was fortunate to secure a summer internship at an architectural firm between my senior year of high school and first year of undergraduate studies. I conducted my first punch list that summer reviewing more than 7,000 stadium seats at the Reading Royals hockey arena.
What is your favorite quote or phrase to live by?
“Are you really sure that a floor can’t also be a ceiling?” by M.C. Escher is a great reminder to always challenge assumptions. In construction there is often more than one way to build something, and the best solutions usually come from questioning assumptions.
- Certified Professional Services Marketer (CPSM)
- Society for Marketing Professional Services (SMPS) - Central PA
What inspired you to pursue marketing?
I fell into marketing by chance. I studied photography and paired it with business classes because I hoped to find a way to build a stable career in a creative field. Growing up, I was always drawing, making things, or looking for opportunities to be artistic, so it only made sense to find a profession where that side of me could remain part of my everyday life.
Marketing turned out to be the perfect balance. It allows me to combine communication, strategy, problem-solving, and visual thinking while working alongside incredibly talented people. One of the things I value most about RLPS is being surrounded by thoughtful, creative individuals who continue to inspire me every day.
What is a hobby or special interest of yours?
I’ve recently picked up linocut printing and really enjoy the hands-on process of sketching an idea, transferring it to the printing block, hand carving it, and creating prints manually. It’s a completely screen-free creative outlet and a contrast to the technology-heavy nature of marketing work.
Explain something that has happened in your professional career that confirmed you are doing what you are meant to be doing.
One of my favorite parts of my role is attending photo shoots after a community has been open and occupied for a while. Residents and staff often share how much they enjoy their spaces and how proud they are of the environment around them. They gather around the photographer’s laptop to preview the images and excitedly react to seeing their community reflected back to them.
Moments like that reinforce the importance of storytelling and visual communication in our work. I enjoy helping capture the essence of RLPS’s projects in a way that supports future relationships and business development efforts while also reflecting the impact our work has on the people who experience it every day.
One comment that especially stayed with me came during a recent client conversation, when someone shared that the quality of the renovated spaces now reflected the quality of care and staff that had always been there. That connection between people, place, and experience is incredibly rewarding to witness.