Meet Fusion

John Kelly

President & Founder

John is the founder and President of Fusion Design Consultants, Inc. Having worked for major Architectural companies around the globe, John has been exposed to and worked on a wide variety of Architectural and Interior Design projects. Some of the most notable examples include the 2000 Olympic Games accommodation buildings in Sydney Australia, Specialty Cigar Bars and Retail Outlets in Singapore, Health and Fitness Clubs in Europe and High-end Corporate Headquarters in the USA. John’s extensive world travel has been paramount in molding the person he is today. John’s appetite for design and maintaining business relationships are major drivers for his day to day influences in the office. John graduated from Hull School of Architecture in the UK.

John is married to Christy and is the proud father of Sadie, Lacie and Jemma. He enjoys the balance of personal and professional life and takes as much opportunity to travel as possible. John is also involved with many philanthropic initiatives and is an active board member of The Artist Building at 300 Summer Street, Boston, MA.

Jennifer Peters

Principal

A graduate from Syracuse University with over 20 years of professional experience, Jennifer successfully manages all aspects of small and large projects from concept to completion. She has proven to be a reliable contact for Boston building owners, real estate brokers and major corporations. Jennifer has built a solid reputation for responsiveness and attention to detail.

She frequently provides styling and etiquette advice to the Fusion team. In her downtime, she enjoys traveling and family time with her husband, daughter and their golden retriever.

Michael Knauff

Principal

AIA, LEED AP

Michael has over 16 years experience serving both corporate and retail clients. A graduate of Cornell University, he oversees a variety of projects, including building analysis, building renovation & repositioning and tenant office design. Notable past clients include several Fortune 500 companies in both California and Greater Boston with services ranging from programming, space planning/corporate re-stack, and interior architecture. Michael has worked closely with both suburban and downtown landlords on a wide variety of projects ranging from tenant improvement, infrastructure upgrades, extensive lobby and common area renovations and exterior improvements. He is skilled at overseeing challenging project goals while staying on budget and executing sophisticated design.

Michael looks forward to summer, and spending weekends in Maine with his wife, daughter and their dog – or planning their next school vacation trip to some exciting European locale.

Ken Dixon

COO & CFO

Ken Dixon has over two decades of successful operations leadership experience. He has helped build and run numerous businesses – both as a full-time and as a fractional COO. Ken has led the scaling-up of operations and the management of performance and resource utilization to develop profitable and sustainably successful small and mid-sized creative services companies. As the Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS) Integrator & COO at Fusion, Ken focuses on implementing EOS to optimize and integrate Fusion’s planning, performance, and results.

Ken received his BA from Boston College in Communications & Political Science. He also attended leadership and executive development programs at Harvard University’s Executive Development Center; Babson College’s Executive Education Conference Center, Boston College’s Carroll School of Management, and Boston University’s Corporate Education Center.

Rachel Goldenthal

Associate, Senior Project Manager

Rachel received a BFA in Interior Design from the New England School of Art and Design at Suffolk University. Prior to joining Fusion as a Project Designer, she worked for a national commercial office furniture company creating designs for a wide range of clients including corporate offices, healthcare and government projects.

She lives in downtown Boston and in her free time enjoys trying new restaurants, skiing, traveling and amusing family and friends with character impressions.

Kali Patterson

Associate, Senior Project Designer

Kali’s love of interior design evolved from an early interest in art, color and the creative process. She received her degree in Interior Design from the New England School or Art and Design at Suffolk University and joined Fusion the same year. With a fresh and innovative approach to design related problem solving, Kali has grown to be an integral member of the team. As senior interior designer, Kali’s favorite part of the design process is working collaboratively with a client to make their vision come to life. Kali is a LEED accredited professional and was honored to be among the first class of the Emerging Leaders program through IIDA.

In her free time, you can find Kali balancing in a yoga pose, at a concert, or hanging with her miniature dachshund Miles.

Shanming Li

Lead 3D Visualizer

Shanming is native to China, but has been living and working in the United States for the past 6 years.

He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Art Design – a combination of Interior Design and Landscaping Design – from Sichuan Normal University in China and a Master’s degree in Digital Media from Missouri Western State University. After graduation, Shanming pursued a career in 3D Architectural Visualization and Animation at one of the Nation’s largest Brand Experience Firms. His focus was on solutions for still renderings, digital animations and virtual reality for clients around the globe. In his spare time, he enjoys traveling, cooking and building custom furniture that he has previously modeled with rendering software. He loves his Boston Terrier, Fin and watching Chip and Johanna on HDTV. We believe that he also moonlights as a comedian – when this rather quiet and shy Chinese designer shows his unexpectedly campy, hilarious side.

Julio Diaz-Volquez

Job Captain

Julio graduated from Fitchburg State University with a Bachelor of Science degree (architectural Technology). He is pursuing a Masters's degree in architecture at Boston Architectural College. Julio joins the Fusion team as a Designer. He has experience in commercial tenant fit-out and hotel renovation, base from his previous firm at Dyer Brown. He enjoys learning more about building code when designing. He likes to know the reason behind a building code and how it affects the drawings.

His favorite pastime is to hang out with friends and family, going on adventures such as going to a different state for the weekend, hiking, trying new restaurants, watching anime and shows, exploring a place we never been, safety and following covid regulations)

Paul C. NG

AIA, Senior Project Architect

Paul has over 30 years of experience in interior design and architecture. As a result, he has become well versed in related professions, including MEP/FP and structural requirements. With this ability to sufficiently communicate with consultants, Paul understands the mutual goals of every project and is able to adequately deliver design packages to clients.

KATERINA SULTANOVA

Project Designer

Katerina, LEED AP, WELL AP, Fitwell Ambassador, is an interior architect whose artistic vision is characterized by originality and playfulness based on design research and a solid understanding of sustainability and wellness.

Holding Master's Degrees in Interior Architecture and Environmental Management, Katerina employs a systematic approach to design and gets inspired by natural forms and principles.

Katerina worked on a wide variety of Interior Design projects, including high-end residential, hospitality, educational, and commercial. The extensive world travel experience sparked an acute interest in world cultures, national traditions, and how people's behavior and well-being can be affected by environments where they grow, work, and live.

As an ardent lover of arts, music, and travel, Katerina never misses an exhibition opening and can easily travel to other countries to see an exciting theater play. In addition, she loves to spend her free time cooking and baking for her family and friends, biking, and reading books.

LAUREN BARTLETT

Project Designer

Lauren graduated from Syracuse University with a B.F.A. in Environmental & Interior Design. Before joining fusion as a project designer, she worked at a residential design-build firm and also gained experience through multiple internships in commercial and retail design. Her favorite part of the design process is the beginning phases – coming up with a concept, finding inspiration, selecting preliminary finishes, and space planning.

In her spare time, Lauren enjoys traveling, skiing, cooking, and spending time in Maine with her family and friends.

MARIA PANAGOPOULOU

Senior Job Captain

With a background in architecture and design she has completed projects in Retail Prototype design, Education and Corporate interiors design and documentation, and fixture design. She holds a M-Arch from Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc) as well as a five-year Diploma from National Technical University of Athens (NTUA). She is also registered in the Technical Chamber of Greece (TEE-TCG)

When not at the office she builds furniture and furnishings for clients and friends. Creating excellent construction drawings and details comes with a sense of accomplishment comparable to that of actual construction.

Christopher Pennell

Project Manager

Chris has been in the design and construction industry for over 14 years. He started out building custom homes in upstate NY, specializing in general carpentry and architectural casework. After receiving bachelors of Architecture Degree from Boston Architectural College. He worked in a professional firm for over 8 years on various project types from Master planning and feasibility studies to Office/Retail tenant fit-out, Multi-family Apartment buildings, and Mixed-Use new construction throughout the greater Boston area.

Brittney Mayo

Senior Project Designer

Brittney holds a Master of Arts, Interior Architecture from the New England School of Art & Design at Suffolk University (NESAD) and a Bachelor of Arts, Interior Design from the University of New Haven. Having spent over a decade in the design space, she is proficient in her ability for creating amazing spaces that capture the vibe of both the building and the clientele she is working with. She is also very active in her community as a leader for her church youth program and also serves as an Adjunct Professor focusing on environmental sustainability within building design proojects.

Sarah Attia

Project Manager

As a Designer and Project Manager with nearly 15 years of experience, Sarah specializes in projects for Commercial, Life Science, Healthcare, and Hospitality clients. She has extensive programming, space planning, code analysis, and budget management skills, including research and interior detail development.

Sarah cares about the optimal flow and utilization of spaces while ensuring the Client’s requirements, brand, mission, culture, and unique identities are met. With her background in law, she has a solid grasp of the industry’s business, challenges, and regulatory constraints.

SEONG-IL AHN

PRINCIPAL

Seong brings a “hands on” approach with extensive knowledge of various construction types and the sequence of construction. His experience proves to be invaluable during every project’s coordination process. Seong adheres to a rigorous review procedure and works closely and collaboratively with the different disciplines of the entire design team to ensure that the project is fully coordinated.

His focus and drive throughout a project demand that every project be lead from design documentation to successful construction completion. Seong received a Bachelor of Architecture from Hongik University from Korea and a Master of Architecture degree from Rhode Island School of Design.