TEAM
The Studio io Team is a diverse team of Catholic design and consulting professionals located around the country who collaborate closely to contribute various specializations in ministry planning, sacred architecture, liturgy, design, and the sacred arts. We are blessed to have a team with classical training in architecture and art history, advanced studies in liturgy with concentrations in sacred art and architecture, and former careers in residential design, interior design, and construction.
LEADERSHIP
Michael RAIA – PRESIDENT
Michael Raia, AIA Allied is a Texas native who holds a B.S. in Architectural Studies from the University of Texas at Austin and a Master of Arts in Liturgy Degree from the University of Saint Mary of the Lake in Mundelein IL with a concentration in sacred art and architecture. He has served actively in leadership roles for numerous campus, diocesan, and parish ministries. After years of experience designing and managing religious, community, and other commercial projects for an architecture firm in Austin, he founded Studio io in 2018 and has since worked for many Catholic clients since, also providing formation around the country on beauty, evangelization, sacramental aesthetics, and other related topics. Having overseen and managed religious projects of almost every size and type, he delights in striving for thoughtful, innovative solutions to difficult challenges. Michael and his wife Hannah are parishioners at St. Mary Cathedral in Austin, where they have assisted with marriage prep and RCIA. His brother, Fr. Jonathan Raia, is director of the University Catholic Center in Austin, and their parents remain active Catholics in Houston.
MiKE F. TAMARA – SENIOR ASSOCIATE
Mike Tamara, AIA holds a BA in architectural studies and art history from Hobart College in Geneva, New York, and an M. Arch I from Syracuse University. Having studied in Rome and Florence, he has over a decade of diverse architectural experience in both firm and association work prior to joining Studio io in 2019. His experience ranges from designing and managing multi-million dollar institutional academic projects to smaller public and private projects of a historically sensitive nature. His writing on sacred architecture has been published in Crisis Magazine, Adoremus Bulletin, and Traditional Building Magazine, and he has been a featured presenter at liturgy and sacred architecture conferences. With a Certificate in Classical Art & Architecture (ICAA), Mike has a particular passion for the interface of traditional architectural styles with both modern construction methods and materials, and respect for contextual vocabulary in both new construction design work and alterations to existing and historically sensitive structures. Mike and his family live in upstate New Jersey.
PROJECT MANAGERS / DESIGNERS
RYAN PIGG
Ryan Pigg received his undergraduate degree in chemistry from Benedictine College and spent a semester in Florence. The beauty of Italy gnawed at his heart, and it ignited his desire to design churches in the future. He then completed his Master's of Architecture studies at Colorado University in Denver and has worked on a number of projects in the Midwest since then, including the beautiful new Church of the Immaculata in St Marys KS just prior to joining the Studio io team. He brings a love of Byzantine and Romanesque design to his work, as well as a desire to renew beauty in the Church. He has experience in liturgical furnishings design and detailing classical buildings using modern construction methods. He is also passionate about perfecting his sourdough loaf and his fly fishing cast. He spends his spare time working in his garden with his wife and three sons in Topeka, Kansas.
KATIE Ortega
Katie (Torvinen) Ortega grew up in the mountains and high desert of Northern Nevada, and completed her BA in International Studies in Business and Foreign Language at Hillsdale College in southern Michigan, which included studying abroad to Tours, France and finding a love for photography. After a missionary year in New England and Quebec and spending a few years as a secretary to a CPA, financial advisor, and investigator for Nevada's Gaming Control Board, she earned a Master of Architecture degree at the University of Notre Dame’s prestigious Graduate School of Architecture studying Classical Design. Katie has a passion for serving the Church, traditional design, and a commitment to vernacular style and local materials, labor, and craftsmanship. Active in both the Institute of Classical Architecture and Art (ICAA) and the Catholic young adult community, she is passionate about church architecture solutions responsive to physical context and the needs of ambitious pastoral ministries. Katie and her husband Jerome live in Denver.
ELIZABETH OPENSHAW
Elizabeth Openshaw grew up in Raleigh, North Carolina and completed her BS in Interior Design and minored in Business Administration at East Carolina University in NC, which included studying abroad in Tuscany, Italy, where she developed her love for classical architecture and the fine arts. Following college, she then served as a FOCUS college campus missionary for two years at Coastal Carolina University in South Carolina and another few years working as a residential interior designer. With the desire to use her design skills in the Church, Elizabeth provides interior design, rendering, marketing assistance, and overall design support for the team. She has a passion for finding beauty in all things, her Catholic faith and serving others. She and her husband Tommy, a Naval Aviator, are currently stationed on an island in Washington State.
ELSA KOSEGARTEN-STUBBLEFIELD
Elsa Kosegarten Stubblefield hails from Saltillo, Mexico, and earned an undergraduate degree in Environmental Design from Texas A&M University which included an architecture semester in Monterrey, Mexico, and a summer in Innsbruck, Austria, where she studied German. She later completed her graduate studies at Clemson University in South Carolina, where she earned a Master of Architecture degree. During her graduate studies, Elsa was an architecture intern in Mexico City, and volunteered in Antigua, Guatemala with the campus ministry. With extensive experience in high-end residential construction, commercial design and project management, Elsa also provides expert drafting, modeling, and rendering support for the team. She and her husband Jeremy, a professor of biology at Benedictine College, live on the bluffs overlooking the Missouri River in Atchison, Kansas with their two girls.
NICK VASKO
Nick Vasko holds a BA in Philosophy from the University of St. Thomas, St. Paul with minors in Latin and Catholic studies and a graduate level certificate in Educational Leadership. After rigorous formation at both St. John Vianney Seminary in St. Paul and the North American College in Rome, Italy, Nick spent 10 years in the construction industry as a business owner and project manager. In 2017, he discerned the call to focus exclusively on sacred work, serving over 30 Midwest parishes before joining the Studio io team, and he is currently pursuing graduate studies in Sacred Art. Nick is passionate about apostolically-minded evangelization efforts, having founded numerous formation-based groups such as the Nehemiah League, Holy Family Guild, and various bible studies. He enjoys leading wilderness canoe expeditions for laity, priests, and bishops. Nick, his wife Megan, and their four children live in the Twin Cities metro of Minnesota.
BEN SPITLER
Ben Spitler is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame where he received a BA in architecture and a minor in Theology. While studying at ND’s School of Architecture, known for its focus on the classical architecture tradition, he studied abroad in Rome for a full academic year, and traveled extensively throughout Italy, Europe, and also visited Egypt. After graduation, he moved home to Buffalo, NY where he worked at a local architecture firm. Wanting to play a more active role in Buffalo’s revitalization, Ben started a design consulting company to help guide the development of local adaptive reuse projects, and currently works with architects / developers who believe in the transformative power of architectural beauty. He brings a knowledge of both renovation and new construction planning to the Studio io team. Ben and his wife Katherine, a graphic designer, still reside in Buffalo (Go Bills!) with their children.
KATHERINE KELLY
Katherine holds a BS in civil engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She continued her studies in sacramental theology and sacred architecture at The Liturgical Institute. Over her career she has worked for both architectects and general contractors, and thus is well versed in both the design and construction sides of projects. She has worked on projects ranging from the Front Office for the Chicago Cubs and the Wintrust Grand Banking Hall to the Saint Thomas Aquinas Newman Center at UNL and the Harvard Catholic Center. Katherine offers extensive research capabilities to the Studio io team including over a decade of studying stained glass with multi-generational studios in the United States and Germany. In her spare time, she enjoys reading and backpacking at the National Parks.
COLLABORATIVE TEAM
Studio io also regularly relies on additional assistance from dedicated and skilled independent contractors, interns, and other professionals as needed for the following services:
3D Modeling and Renderings
Construction Drawings & Drafting Assistance
Historical / Precedent Research
Sacred Arts / Iconography & Sacred Furnishings
Graphic Design & Communications