Headshot of Helen Schneider

Helen Schneider

AIA, LEED AP
Associate Principal, Cultural and Civic, San Francisco

Over the course of her career, Helen has cultivated a passion for designing spaces for mission‑driven organizations. She collaborates with nonprofit institutions, public agencies, corporations, and healthcare providers, taking time to understand each client’s vision and translate it into a space that supports their work. Her leadership approach is people‑first: she builds strong relationships within her project teams and the communities they serve, creating the trust and alignment needed to deliver thoughtful, high‑impact design.

As our West Coast Cultural and Civic Practice Leader, Helen is adept at managing complex, phased projects with diverse stakeholders. She also serves on the firmwide Innovation Incubator Committee, which provides grants to internal teams pursuing forward‑looking research. She is passionate about bringing this research mindset into her projects, ensuring that innovation and evidence‑based thinking inform every design solution.

  • This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Say hello to Helen
I'm energized by the opportunity to impact the public good. As designers, we are entrusted to make a better world, and so much of our work right now aspires to do that, whether it's corporate or cultural.
Swimmer in a wetsuit entering the calm water, holding a buoy, under a cloudy sky.
Local Immersion
Drawn to the Bay Area for its natural beauty and long-standing commitment to sustainability, Helen relocated to San Francisco in 2008 after beginning her career in Chicago. She is an advocate for the region’s public transit systems and can often be found wheeling her bike onto ferries, trains, and buses as she navigates the city. Outside of work, she spends her time with her family, raising two spirited children and chasing the tides along Bay Area beaches for a refreshing open-water swim.
Modern wooden building surrounded by tall trees with people enjoying the outdoor space.
Enchanted Hills Camp
Napa, CA
project work

For over 70 years, Enchanted Hills Camp and Retreat (EHC) has provided blind and low-vision visitors with unparalleled opportunity for outdoor recreation and blind life skills development. Tragically, EHC lost over half of their buildings in the 2017 Napa wildfires. In the aftermath of the fires, they had the opportunity to reimagine the physical environment to more directly serve the goals of the camp. Helen’s team led a campus redesign focused on celebrating the qualities of the blind lived experience and better positioning the camp to transform the lives of future users.

Enchanted Hills Camp
Hear more about the project from our design team and the camp community.
Modern building facade of ODC for 2024 Summer Sampler event at night.
ODC Dance Company
3175 17th Street, San Francisco, CA
on the boards

A beloved Mission District nonprofit, ODC was the first modern dance company in the United States to own its home facility, the ODC Theater. This new expansion project sits directly next door to the original theater and forges critical connections between that venue and ODC’s growing campus.

3175 17th Street transforms an unoccupied former box factory into a vibrant hub for rehearsal, performance, and community gathering, a beacon for the arts that happen within. The design includes flexible dance studios, workspaces, and a unique third‑floor performance space that opens to the city with an operable wall, creating a powerful indoor–outdoor connection and framing views across San Francisco.

Helen's Featured Work

Enchanted Hills Camp
Work
Enchanted Hills Camp
Napa, California
100 Hooper
Work
100 Hooper
San Francisco, California
Back to top