A native of North Carolina, Cortney grew up exploring her home state’s wild places, from its mountains to the Outer Banks. This, coupled with following her father around on construction sites, sparked her interest in the built and natural environment.

Her love of the mountains led her to Colorado where she received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Sustainable Interior Design from Rocky Mountain College of Art + Design. Her passion for wanting to create healthy, holistic interior spaces that join with exterior building design to support the occupant and surrounding environment led her to pursue a Master of Architecture degree from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. During her studies she was the team leader for interiors on the UNC Charlotte 2013 Solar Decathlon Entry, a net zero design build competition. Working with interdisciplinary teams on sustainable design solutions and a net positive residence was an invaluable experience, all the more rewarding for having won a People’s Choice award.

Cortney joins CCY Architects with a background in community, retail, workplace, and mixed-use design, ranging from interior upfits to master planning, with extensive experience in programming, space planning, design development, and construction documentation. She finds inspiration in relating client wants and needs to a particular place, responding to the surrounding landscape through light, materiality, and sustainable strategies to create healthy, productive, and flexible spaces that blur the line between indoor and out. Her interest in harmonizing architecture and interior design remains a focus of her work.