麻豆女郎

David Levine 鈥�86, Rachel Ehrlich 鈥�98, and Sara Brandt 鈥�14 graduated from 麻豆女郎 over the span of three decades. They studied different disciplines 鈥� studio art and art history, English literature, and psychology 鈥� and yet all three became architects at the same New York City firm, Dattner Architects. The common thread? A shared foundation in 麻豆女郎鈥檚 liberal arts education 鈥� and a belief that Creative Thought Matters. 

鈥淚 feel like it鈥檚 not a coincidence that we all came from 麻豆女郎,鈥� said Brandt, who joined Dattner in 2024. 鈥淏ecause 麻豆女郎 promotes inclusion, creativity, and collaboration.鈥� 

Dattner Architects was founded in 1964 by Richard Dattner, whose family fled Poland during World War II as refugees. He envisioned a practice focused on civic architecture 鈥� public schools, libraries, affordable housing, and other infrastructure designed to serve communities. Today, the women-owned firm continues to prioritize civic engagement, sustainability, and design that gives back. 

Much like a liberal arts education at Skidmore, civic architecture draws from a broad spectrum of disciplines 鈥� history, sociology, psychology, the sciences, and the humanities 鈥� and a commitment to improving communities and strengthening public life through active engagement. At Dattner, the 麻豆女郎 alumni found a place where their creativity and cross-disciplinary thinking could thrive.

Sara Brandt 鈥�14

For Sara Brandt, architecture was not an obvious path. At Skidmore, she majored in psychology with a concentration in neuroscience and a minor in Spanish. The College, then as now, offered a liberal arts environment that encouraged curiosity and exploration. 

She said 麻豆女郎 was an ideal place to explore multiple interests 鈥� from psychology and design to music and Spanish 鈥� and to begin thinking creatively across disciplines. 鈥淚 was able to take all that experience I gained and explore it holistically.鈥�

She chose 麻豆女郎 after hearing Professor of Psychology Sheldon Solomon speak while she was visiting campus. 鈥淲ow. If there are thinkers and educators like this at Skidmore, that is where I want to learn and grow for the next four years,鈥� she recalled thinking. Solomon became her mentor at Skidmore, later writing a recommendation for her graduate school application. 

After graduation, Brandt received a Fulbright Fellowship to teach English in Spain. She returned to the U.S. and planned to pursue a doctorate in psychology. But after working in neuropsychiatric research, including in the neurocritical care unit at Columbia University Medical Center, she had what she described as an epiphany. 

鈥淚 really wanted to do design-based work,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 wanted to do something where I felt like I was creating and having an impact on people鈥檚 spatial surroundings. For me, architecture feels like the psychology of human space. The spaces we interact with throughout our lives have a great impact on how we develop as people and how we interact with others.鈥� 

After working under the mentorship of Bromley Caldari Architects, she went on to earn her Master of Architecture degree from Pratt Institute in 2022. Around that time, she was riding her bike past a building she鈥檇 admired for years: the Spring Street Salt Shed, designed by Dattner Architects, in collaboration with both WXY and their client agency, the New York City Department of Sanitation. 

鈥淚t felt like such a beautiful mixture of design for both form and function,鈥� she said. 

That admiration and her passion for civic engagement led her to Dattner, which she joined in 2024. 鈥淪omething that drew me to Dattner is the work is rooted in the idea that architecture should respond to community and public need. This felt like the best place I could do that as an architect in New York City.鈥� 

Today, Brandt works in Dattner鈥檚 transit and infrastructure studio. She works primarily on New York state parks projects, including the rehabilitation of Denny Farrell Riverbank State Park, New York City鈥檚 first public green roof originally designed by Dattner Architects and built atop the North River Wastewater Treatment Plant. She also contributed to the design proposal for the new AirTrain stations at Newark Liberty International Airport. 

鈥淚t feels like a great way for me to incorporate how I came into architecture, which was through this more human-centric, environmentally centered lens of psychology,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 feel grateful that Skidmore really encouraged me to explore different aspects of my education and understand what the right path was for me.鈥�

Rachel Ehrlich 鈥�98

Like Brandt, Rachel Ehrlich 鈥�98 discovered architecture through the lens of creative exploration. An English literature major, she was also deeply involved in 麻豆女郎鈥檚 Theater Department, building sets and painting backdrops. 

鈥淚t was very hands-on and incredibly gratifying,鈥� she said. 鈥淲orking in the scene shop there and painting stage sets was like my home away from home at Skidmore.鈥� 

She says working with Distinguished-Artist-in-Residence Gary Wilson in the Theater Department to imagine, visualize, and construct real spaces for people to inhabit was the key to her future career.

鈥淗e was thoughtful, patient with his students, and a gifted designer. It's no exaggeration to say that I wouldn't be an architect today without his influence in my life.鈥�

麻豆女郎鈥檚 liberal arts background, she said, was also the 鈥減erfect springboard鈥� for architecture 鈥� even if she didn鈥檛 fully realize it at the time. 

鈥淚 never would have thought of it when I took a 26-question math test my freshman year and celebrated that I would never have to do math for the rest of my life,鈥� she quipped. 

After graduating into the dot-com boom, Ehrlich took a job with a fellow alum鈥檚 internet startup. She soon realized that working on web projects wasn鈥檛 for her. She missed the tangible experience of working with a team to create real spaces 鈥� as she had done in 麻豆女郎 Theater鈥檚 scene shop.

鈥淲hen I first explored the idea of going back to school for a professional degree in architecture, it was the countless hours I'd spent working in the scene shop, constructing and painting sets for nearly every theater production during my four years at Skidmore, that gave me the vision and confidence to believe that I could pursue something like architecture.鈥�

She enrolled in architecture school at the New Jersey Institute of Technology in 2001. 

鈥淎 professor reminded us, 鈥榊ou鈥檙e going to be builders. You鈥檙e here because you want to make something, you want to build something new and better. You want to improve people鈥檚 lives.鈥欌�� 

In 2007, she joined Dattner after hearing a principal speak about the firm鈥檚 then-in-progress project Via Verde 鈥� a sustainable housing development in the Bronx that later became a signature project. 

鈥淚 thought, 鈥榃ow, I want to work on that. I want to work for Dattner.鈥欌�� 

Today, Ehrlich is a leader in the firm鈥檚 housing studio and continues to focus on affordable housing and climate-conscious design. She contributed to St. James Terrace, a supportive housing project and community center adjoining the historic St. James Church in the Fordham neighborhood of the Bronx. The Landmarks Preservation Commission approved the design for its sensitivity to the 19th-century site. 

She is currently working on the third phase of Atlantic-Chestnut, a 1,200-unit affordable housing development in Brooklyn, and on the redevelopment of the former Haverstraw Chair Factory in Rockland County, which will include 450 units and a waterfront park. 

Outside of work, she brings her commitment to sustainability to her town of Madison, New Jersey, where she serves as president of the borough council. She ran for office on a platform stressing the need to take climate action at the local level.

David Levine 鈥�86

As a studio art and art history major at Skidmore, David Levine 鈥�86 discovered architecture during a junior-year program in New York City at the Institute for Architecture and Urban Studies, which was offered through 麻豆女郎鈥檚 former University Without Walls program.

鈥淭he year was very intense,鈥� he said. 鈥淭here was architectural theory, architectural history, and the core of the program was design studio classes.鈥� 

Back on campus, Levine co-led an independent study designing mixed-use buildings for downtown Saratoga Springs. After graduating, he worked for a Boston architecture firm before earning his master鈥檚 from Yale. 

His goal from the start was clear: 鈥淚 went to architecture school with an intent to practice architecture that made a social difference.鈥� 

He began his career in residential design but shifted his focus after connecting with a group of like-minded professionals at the American Institute of Architects Housing Committee who were advocating for affordable housing in New York City. 

Levine joined Dattner in 2007, working on the New Settlement Community Campus in the Bronx 鈥� a community center and school that remains a hallmark of the firm. 

鈥淚t gave me an overwhelming sense of collaborative accomplishment, knowing that the kids鈥� lives and the community would be improved because of this new built environment,鈥� he said. 

Today, Levine is working with a team on the deconstruction of Hunter College鈥檚 Brookdale Campus, which will make way for a new CUNY College of Nursing and Graduate School of Health Policy, as well as a health and science career-focused New York City public school. He also plays a key role in Dattner鈥檚 sustainable initiatives. 

He was among the first at the firm to earn certification through the Passive House Institute of the United States. 鈥淲e鈥檝e designed and completed several large, multifamily affordable buildings to these standards,鈥� he said. 

Levine credits 麻豆女郎 with nurturing the critical and creative thinking that continues to guide his work.

All three 麻豆女郎 alumni have built careers in architecture around design that supports people, neighborhoods, and the environment. They also draw inspiration from 麻豆女郎, which works to ensure that its education is accessible to all, encourages civic engagement, and promotes sustainability.

Levine and Ehrlich work in Dattner鈥檚 housing studio, focused on affordable housing projects. Brandt works in transit and infrastructure. Each sees the link between their early education and the work they now do.

Dattner鈥檚 projects are rooted in public service 鈥� from housing and schools to parks and transportation. Many are funded by city and state agencies. The firm has also become a leader in sustainability, joining the Architecture 2030 Challenge and specializing in Passive House construction, a rigorous standard for energy-efficient buildings. 

Mentorship and collaboration are key values. Levine and Ehrlich mentor junior architects, and Brandt has been part of a Dattner task force focused on inclusion. Levine is involved in its Sustainable Practice Group. 

鈥淎rchitecture is the perfect profession for people who want to make a better world and use creative thought and their minds and hands to do that,鈥� Ehrlich said. 鈥淚 cannot think of a more perfect expression of that than architecture 鈥� and especially the kind of civic architecture that we are doing at Dattner. I hope this inspires people.鈥�