Profiles

Email to a friend

Name: Michele Dempsey

Birthplace: Scranton, PA

College/University attended: University of Pennsylvania, Master of Architecture; Lafayette College, BA in Engineering

Occupation: Architect

Testimonial: I love Scranton! Perhaps you have to leave Scranton to realize how much there is to love about it, but maybe it just takes some reflection on how much it has to offer. Personal reflection created a long list of things I love about Scranton, such as:

visit: DxDempsey

• DxDEMPSEY, the architecture firm I started here a year after I moved back,
• the DxDEMPSEY team that I work with everyday,
• the support I got from the community and the local leaders who encourage entrepreneurialism when I opened the doors of my business,
• the opportunities that exist here and that can be created here if you have a dream,
• that my family is nearby and I can visit my nephew everyday,
• that we take care of each other here,
• that I can afford to own a beautiful home,
• that I can be floating on raft at a lake or be flying down the ski slopes both within 15 minutes of leaving the downtown,
• that my commute is 5 minutes – with traffic,
• that I can walk into any one of three different independently owned coffee shops and they all know my drink,
• that I can leave in the morning and spend an entire Saturday afternoon at MOMA and get home in time to go out with my friends at one of the many incredible new, local restaurants for dinner,
• that people take the arts seriously around here,
• that there is original music, the arts festivals and the theatre,
• the St. Patrick’s Day Parade!,
• that I can be a leader here and stand out in the crowd,
• and that what I do has an impact on the region.
Moving back to Scranton has been one of the best decisions of my life.

It’s been an interesting road that led me back to my hometown. After earning my engineering degree at Lafayette College, I moved to Philadelphia where I received my Master of Architecture at the University of Pennsylvania. After working several years for nationally renown architecture firms in Philadelphia and Washington, D.C., I believed I was moving back to Scranton temporarily in order to observe the construction of a house I designed for my parents. As far as I was concerned, Scranton was a pit stop on my way to New York City. Then something happened. I was energized by what I saw happening. The very beginning of a ground swell of change was forming. There was a charismatic young Mayor in office who was determined to make Scranton the best city in the state. Mayor Chris Doherty made promises and kept them. At the same time, I was going out and loving the local music scene. I was making new friends and it was so much easier to meet people and really get to know them than in the bigger cities. I was seeing my family every week and getting to spend quality time with the people I loved most in the world. I was getting involved in the community. In short, I was enjoying myself whole-heartedly.

I decided that I could make a difference here. The bigger cities were saturated with architects and Scranton was a place on the move. This is where I felt a young and talented architect could contribute so I opened the doors of DxDEMPSEY: architecture | design | planning in 2003. As a start-up firm with a focus on innovation and technology, I was able to get prime office space in the Scranton Enterprise Center as part of the business incubator. Since the building is KOZ, my firm saves money on taxes which helps build capital. Plus, we are surrounded by the synergy of other entrepreneurs.

It has been wonderful and fulfilling to participate in the revitalization of this region. Scranton has become a place where dreams can come true and for my part, I help design and build people’s dreams. I have friends who came back to run their family businesses, to run for political office, to produce and star in their own regionally broadcast political show or to start their own business. We all sit on boards or participate in great organizations like POWER! and Scranton Tomorrow. We all volunteer our time in the community in some way. None of us would turn back. This town feeds on innovation and determination. People with fresh ideas and the desire to create their futures have become the life blood of the region and the economy. We are here, we are ready, we hope you’ll come back and join the fun!