John founded NELSON in 1977. During
his years of leadership as President and
Principal of Design, the firm grew into a
top five commercial interior design firm
with offices nationally. At the same time
NELSON gained recognition through winning major projects as
well as design awards and cover articles in industry publications
featuring the work. Some of the more notable local projects;
Cigna’s World Headquarters, Liberty One Building, Sun Oil’s
10 Penn Center Building, and the Fidelity Bank Building (now
Wells Fargo) Renovation/Restoration. This project won the res-
toration of the year and was the film site for the movie “Trading
Places” starring Eddie Murphy. Today as the firm’s Founder and
Principal of Design, his efforts are dedicated to building global
recognition for creative solutions and mentoring young designers
to promote design excellence. In addition, each year under the
guidelines of the U.S. Green Building Council, he organizes em-
ployees from the various offices to volunteer their time to needy
schools to build things ranging from an outdoor classroom for
thirty to a library with new furniture and books. John continues
to be active in seminar panels nationally and civic and community
groups and is a guest lecturer & critic at the collegiate level.