Ramune Bartuskaite is the CEO and Founder of an advocacy platform called Spec Matters whose mission is to empower the building industry to write healthier specifications and make better material selections—because these decisions matter. Architects, interior designers, and developers are making material selections every day without knowing the impact on human health and the environment. Spec Matters is a free website and newsletter solving this problem by providing a hub of accessible healthy building information. Ramune is an architect at FIFTEEN Architecture + Design in Philadelphia—a practice driven by the desire to affect positive change. FIFTEEN is committed to delivering a new model for the practice, improving client experience and project delivery through smart partnerships and new processes. As a healthy building advocate who has developed an expertise in navigating the many resources and tools available for designing healthier buildings, Ramune’s insights result in spaces that enhance the wellbeing of the many building users and occupants served by FIFTEEN. Ramune is a Lithuanian immigrant and a first-generation graduate. She holds a Masters of Architecture from the University of Pennsylvania, a Bachelor of Arts in Architecture with a Marketing Minor from Miami University, and a Certificate in Healthier Materials and Sustainable Building from Parsons School of Design. She’s a recipient of the Alpha Rho Chi Medal for leadership, willing service, and promise of professional merit and a co-editor of a book titled Women [Re]Build: Stories, Polemics, Futures. The book highlights female architects, designers, scholars, and educators who are pushing the boundaries of architecture and design.
