The BCD Team

Our team structure is multi-faceted, multi-disciplinary and collaborative. Our backgrounds, skills and personalities are a perfect and uncommon blend. Meet our powerful team.

Benita Cooper: Owner & Principal Architect

BCD wears my name, but is built firmly on the loyalty and teamwork of the amazing women and men you will meet here. Everyone here is not only great at their work but also a great human. I am very proud to introduce you to our multi-disciplinary team.

Learn more about my backgound by visiting: Meet Benita!

Jamie Nester: Senior Architectural Designer

I always say, “Architecture chose me!” My passion for homes, design, and figuring out how it all went together started very early.  I began my foundation studies in traditional architecture and hand drafting at The Catholic University of America.  Missing the beautiful city of Philadelphia that I’ll always call home, I then transitioned and completed my Bachelor of Architecture degree at Drexel University.  BCD was my first internship while studying at Drexel. After several years working with other high-end residential firms, life circled back around, and I joined the team full-time.

I love being able to envision and deliver a space that people have dreamed about, everything from putting together unique space-planning ideas, to solving construction challenges, and finally finishing with a homey touch. When I am not designing, I enjoy baking (it's like therapy for me!), sampling wine, reading, getting outside, and spending time with my family of 4, including our lovable beagle Snoopy.

Jason Cooper: CEO and Photographer

I spent a decade working in architecture, with a Master of Architecture from University of Washington and Bachelor of Architecture from University at Buffalo, before switching careers to the social sports industry, motivated by a side hustle and passion for entrepreneurship. Today I’m also the co-owner and co-founder of Heyday Athletic. This crossover has given me the exact skills needed to help BCD thrive as a small business dedicated to the highest level of design and client satisfaction.

I get a tremendous amount of joy working behind the scenes on business management, so Benita and her dedicated staff can focus on making beautiful work. I am especially proud to see BCD build relationships with our clients that often last well beyond the projects.

I am a family man and love spending time with my wife Benita and our two very active boys. I enjoy cooking for others, traveling to new places, coaching youth leagues, playing golf and long walks on the beach (cliché but true!).

Katie Guglielmi: Designer and Stylist

I hold a Bachelor Degree in Communications and Theater from the University of Scranton, and was doing improv and stand-up comedy before I met Benita. When my family decided to remodel our kitchen, we hired BCD, and I discovered we had a fantastic working relationship and collaborative energy. Right after the project was complete, I joined the team.

My very first job at BCD was to work on a fast-paced, intense project with Netflix. It empowered and equipped me with a heightened focus and creativity, that I try to bring to every project now, big or small, intense or simple.

As a former BCD client, I can understand clients’ perspectives. It makes me happy when I can see a client share the same joy I had, when I went through my own kitchen renovation.

Louie Andracchio: Co-Founder of Timber Forge & Coop Forge Mobile

Benita and I met working on the Divine Lorraine Hotel in Philadelphia. Timber Forge – the custom fabrication firm I founded in 2014 with my brother Joe and Jack Braithwaite – was hired to work with BCD to design a series of new hospitality space and create unique features.

We immediately hit it off, and not only now routinely work together on both residential and commercial projects, but also co-founded a new business together, Coop Forge Mobile. CFM is a fully custom furniture and fixture line catered to home and business owners that appreciate the finer details and finishes of their pieces.

Find out more about our partnership and let us know what we can design and build for you at our Coop Forge Mobile online shop.

Michael Anthony Murphy: Designer and Photographer

I’m what's referred to (by myself) as a Dadapreneur: Commercial Photographer, Writer, Producer, Director, Home Chef, Husband, Dad.

I first studied health administration. Not a creative curriculum whatsoever. Art and I would reunite after years of estrangement. Today, I love to create by any means that suits me, whether with a camera, a keyboard, or a cast iron skillet. You never work a day when you love what you do. And it's easy when I get to shoot the fantastic works of BCD.

My wife and kids are my muses and harshest critics; a blessing and a curse, I suppose. When we aren’t all working or in school, we love to spend time outdoors, especially going on big, challenging hikes or lazing on the beaches of OCNJ and LBI.

Steve Paul: Senior Construction Specialist

I was exposed to construction when I was a teenager going on construction sites with my dad. I went to tech school to learn how to draw construction drawings and have been doing drawings for 30 years.

I still like to go to construction sites to learn and stay sharp and understand how things work and why the code is what it is. I like to meet people to learn and make new connections and stay friends.

When I am not working, I enjoy driving my Ironman Mustang for fun and with other car lovers. I was a volunteer firefighter for 30 years and decided to step away and recharge my batteries. I look forward to spending more time with my family and going on trips with my wife. I have a dog named Odin and like superhero movies. Go Ironman.