Team

President & CEO/Co-Founder

Kisha Given, MSML, Assoc. AIA

With over 20 years of executive leadership in the healthcare architecture and construction fields, Kisha Given serves as president and CEO of Given Design Group, where she is responsible for the company’s operations and management, including contracting, accounting, team management, HR and client engagement.

Prior to co-founding GDG in 2005, Kisha worked extensively on the contracting and development side of the industry, with Tiller Construction, Co., and was involved in residential design, including several notable residential projects throughout Southern California. Since establishing GDG, she has utilized an entrepreneurial approach to lead the firm in steady year-over-year growth, expanding from a home business to its current office headquarters in Orange, California, and its expansion into Silicon Valley, opening a second office in Campbell.

Kisha played an important role in transitioning Given Design Group toward working in healthcare architecture and is responsible for the client-first approach that GDG is known for.

“While we are known as the HCAI architecture specialists, what really sets Given Design Group apart is our personal approach. Jess and I have a saying that ‘It’s not just business, it’s personal’ and that influences our approach with serving clients and our GDG team. Our hands-on process is designed to make development of healthcare facilities easier, so it’s important for us to cultivate strong relationships and work closely with our clients as partners, especially as the healthcare industry continues to evolve. I am passionate about meeting the needs of our clients and our GDG team through teamwork and leadership.”

Principal Architect/Co-Founder

Jesse Given, AIA

For more than 30 years, Jesse Given has reshaped the look and functionality of healthcare facilities in California through innovative design projects that uniquely focus on the end user and improve the way that hospitals and other healthcare facilities operate.

His career in architecture began at the Phillips Jansen Group in New York City, before relocating to New Mexico where he spent two years working for Lloyd and Tryk Architects. Jesse settled in California in 2000 and spent several years working in residential architecture, designing custom homes for celebrities and notable residents throughout Southern California.

Realizing the opportunity to utilize his architectural talents for a greater purpose, Jesse co-founded Given Design Group (GDG) in 2005 to specifically focus on healthcare architecture. Under his leadership, GDG established itself as the industry’s first design firm specializing exclusively in healthcare architecture, focused on hospitals, nursing centers and other facilities within the healthcare sector. In doing so, Given Design Group is considered a leading expert on facility updates and development under the guidelines of California HCAI (Health Care Access and Information), the regulating body that governs the state’s healthcare industry.

Under Jesse’s leadership, GDG has grown from a home business to separate offices in both Orange County and Silicon Valley, overseeing a large team of architects, project managers, job captains, project coordinators and other professionals.

“What we offer our healthcare clients is experience & reliability. Our clients know they can lean on our expertise for getting their projects successfully across the finish line.”