Everardo Jefferson serves as the director of the architectural team, the firm's principal manager of the building's development. From schematics through the occupation of a space, he maintains a hands-on personal engagement in the process. Founded on the idea that design and craft are interdependent, he emphasizes an integrated, global approach, one based on collaboration with the construction trades and the careful execution of a client's vision.

The resulting designs are simply built yet perceptually complex. The simple skylights and carpenter-built plastic diffusers of the Heritage headquarters bring a spiritual experience of light to all the building's inhabitants. The curtainwall fins of the glass enclosure of Queens Theatre-in-the-Park allow a straight stick system to generate a gestalt perception of a curving surface.

He has won numerous distinctions including AIA national and chapter awards, multiple NOMA national awards for Excellence in Architecture, a New York City Art Commission award, and a Municipal Arts Society MASterworks Award. In 1998, Caples and Jefferson were Emerging Voices of the Architectural League; in 2009, they were honored as New York City's MWBE of the Year.

Mr. Jefferson's design work has been featured in a wide range of publications including Architecture, Architectural Record, The Architect's Newspaper, ArchDaily, Architizer, C3, Competitions, Detail, Fast Company Design, Tatlin, and The New York Times. Mr. Jefferson has taught courses at NJIT, Columbia, and Syracuse universities. With Sara Caples, he co-edited the New Mix issue of AD in 2005; he was Managing Editor of Perspecta 13/14, the Yale Architectural Journal.

Mr. Jefferson holds a Bachelor of Industrial Design from Pratt Institute and a Master of Architecture from Yale University. His public service includes serving as a juror for the National AIA Design Awards and for the New York Foundation for the Arts, and serving on the boards of the AIA New York Chapter, Family Justice, and the Harlem Charter School. Mr. Jefferson is an NCARB certified architect, licensed in the state of New York.