Rick España

Principal

As the son of a military officer, Rick traveled often as a youth. His mother painted and exposed him to the world of creative arts. He was intrigued with floor plans of the various homes he lived in and was fascinated with ways to improve them. Rick studied architecture extensively in high school but put his design interests on hold to pursue a bachelor's degree in marketing. By the age of 26 he, along with his business partner, owned a series of successful athletic shoe stores in San Diego County. Not satisfied, Rick took an Introduction to Architecture course at the NewSchool of Art and Architecture and was hooked. Today, as an urban planner, designer and manager, Rick has dedicated his career to creating meaningful environments. He adheres to the philosophy of “contribution” and believes that a life is well lived when you strive to make the lives of others better. Besides his passion for traveling, Rick is dedicated to his family and you will often find him and his wife attending youth baseball and football games for their two boys.