Jay was born to Dutch immigrants and grew up in California.  With the exception of a one year stint living and surfing on the island of Maui, he has maintained a constant home in the state.  He spent his early years living in ,and exploring, the canyons between the Malibu coastline and the San Fernando Valley.  He developed skills in surfing, skiing, art photography, ceramics and fine woodworking.  While pursuing a career in marine biology at UCSD, Jay met his future wife Jeanie.  During his stay at UCSD, he concluded that his future would include architecture, and changed his educational course and colleges. He completed his formal education by acquiring a Bachelors of Art at San Diego State University in 1980, and a Master of Architecture at the Southern California Institute of Architecture in 1985. At SCI-Arc he received the Henry Adams Gold Medal.  He and Jeanie, his wife of 36 years, have 3 grown children, and live in Topanga Canyon in a home they built ( Marquette) in 1993.

Justin Roth

Project Captain

Justin spent the majority of his younger years in Huntington Beach, growing up the middle sibling of five boys in an athletic, competitive household.  He attributes much of his success to his loving family who supported and fueled each endeavor along the way.  Open to a change of pace, he moved to Los Angeles to pursue a degree in Architecture and found exactly that in the heart of a rapidly transforming downtown Arts District.  He attended the Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc) where he earned his Bachelors of Architecture degree and graduated with distinction.  Time spent within the walls of SCI-Arc exposed him to the leading edge of contemporary architectural discourse and thought, all the while fostering his drive and passion for the profession.  Over the course of six years, he has gained experience in leading and collaborating on a variety of commercial and residential work.

Shannon Sullivan

Project Captain

Shannon was born and raised in Tucson, Arizona and graduated in 2010 from the University of Arizona, College of Architecture. After several years working in her hometown, she relocated to Los Angeles with her husband and two dogs. Now in LA, Shannon is enjoying working on an exciting variety of residential projects with Vanos Architects and spending weekends cooking, biking, visiting the beach, and hiking with the pups.

Onur Tasan

Project Captain

Onur was born in Istanbul in 1987.

Experiencing the city's constantly changing vibrant urban environment he received his Bachelors of Architecture degree in 2010 from Maltepe University.  Soon after finishing his studies on Global Sustainability at UCLA he joined Vanos Architects team in 2014 as a project designer.

Aside from making buildings happen he likes motor cars and dreams about owning a Mercedes Unimog one day.  He wakes up every morning at 7:40am. He wrote this entire bio about himself in third person.

Steven Matti

Project Captain

Steven grew up in Michigan in the suburbs of Detroit.  Upon finishing high school, he immediately began pursuing his architectural education and career.  He received a Bachelors of Science in Architecture as well as a Bachelors of Science in Civil Engineering before pursuing his Masters in Architecture at UCLA.  Having moved to Los Angeles for grad school, Steven fell in love with Southern California and decided to make it his home for work and play.  When not at Vanos Architects, Steven enjoys reading, cooking, playing guitar, and working out at the gym, on the field, and in the surf.  To relax, he likes to watch movies while lounging with his pup.