Drawing on his training in architecture and planning, Drew’s work sustains and strengthens local culture and traditions through thoughtful, community-driven designs and policies that reinforce a community’s unique sense of place. Drew’s work is animated by an interest in how walkable, equitable, sustainable and beautiful neighborhoods, main streets and downtowns can thrive in a wide range of contexts, be they big cities or small towns.

Since joining Opticos in 2013, Drew has applied this sensibility to impactful projects in a variety of places, from an award-winning place-based comprehensive plan and follow-up implementation charrettes in Memphis, Tennessee, to contextually-sensitive form-based codes for rural Kauaʻi County in Hawaiʻi, and neighborhood plans for an affordable Missing Middle Housing neighborhood in Mammoth Lakes, California. Uniting these projects is an emphasis on authentic community engagement and feasible implementation strategies that empower communities and provide confidence in the face of change.

Drew enjoys getting to know a place through its food, and can be found at farmers markets and local dives whenever visiting a new place.