About
Patricia A. Harris, Esq., LEED AP
Founder & CEO
Patti spent 13 years as the Managing Partner of a New York City-based construction law firm; in addition to overseeing the business operations of the firm, she advised clients on office and business management issues. Patti is very active in design industry organizations and quite attuned to business issues and challenges faced by design professionals.
LicenseSure is Patti's second start-up business. Through her first business, The Harris Group LLC, Patti provided consulting services in the areas of business start-ups, operations, management and strategic planning. She started her career as a corporate attorney with the New York City law firms of Giancarlo & Gleiberman and Richards & O'Neil.
Education / Qualifications
Green Building Certification Institute
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Accredited Professional, 2009
New York University, New York, NY
M.B.A., Corporate Finance, with distinction, 1996
New York University, New York, NY
J.D., 1988
Pomona College, Claremont, CA
B.A., Government, 1984
Industry / Community Participation
Global Design Alliance
Board of Directors, 2005 - Present
Chair-Elect, 2020
The Mayor’s NYC Building Task Force following Sandy, Special Committee on Homes
Member
Beverly Willis Architecture Foundation
Member of the Executive Committee, Treasurer (Chair in 2018)
The Association of the Bar of the City of New York
Member
The American Bar Association
Member
NYC Builds Bio+
Member of the Company Formation Leadership Committee
The LicenseSure Team
Mariana Stefan
Client Experience Manager
Mariana has been working with law firms and other small businesses since 1998. Over the years, she has worked in many areas of professional service firms, including financial management, office management, records management, HR oversight, firm Excel guru and overall software support.
At LicenseSure, Mariana is working with clients to facilitate their filings, act as a liaison throughout the business formation and qualification process and oversea billing and accounting issues. Mariana lives in Surprise, Arizona, with her husband and near her recent college graduate son; she enjoys serving the elderly and cooking with as little salt as she can get away with.
Craig Heed
Accounting and Business Compliance Coordinator
Craig graduated Stony Brook University in 2011 with a B.A. in Art History & Criticism, and Hunter College in 2019 with a B.S. in Accounting. After working for several years as a guitar teacher, he joined LicenseSure in 2018, where he coordinates invoicing, analyzes and prepares financial statements, and procures and maintains professional licensing for a wide range of clients in architecture, engineering, and landscape architecture. He enjoys playing music, drawing and watching New York Yankees baseball.
Phoenix Collins
Business Compliance Coordinator
Phoenix has a Bachelors in Music, English, and Economics-Mathematics from Columbia University (2019) and a Masters in Music from King’s College London (2020). She is passionate about music, event planning and ultimate frisbee, and hopes to explore these and other interests in the future.
Maria Poliski
Business Compliance Coordinator
Maria has worked at several law firms in Manhattan over the years.
At LicenseSure, Maria has been working with clients in architecture, engineering and landscape architecture to facilitate their filings, business formation and qualification process.
Maria lives in Brooklyn and enjoys reading, yoga, going to Broadway shows and pet sitting cats and dogs.
Ximena Ospina
Business Compliance Coordinator
Ximena Ospina studied sociology and business management at Columbia University. She graduated in 2020 and is currently enrolled at the CUNY School of Law. She is passionate about bike riding and learning new languages. In 2021, she was in the top 1% of Duolingo users. In the future, Ximena hopes to travel the world and practice the languages she is learning.
Recent Publications
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NY Real Estate Journal
Thinking About Starting Your Own A/E Firm? A Top Ten List of Considerations
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e-oculus
Designing the Right Entity
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Resiliency Reports Revealed in NYC
Good Things Come in Three
Recent Speaking Engagements
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Fall 2019 ACEC Tri-State Conference, "Expanding Your Firm's Geographic Footprint"
September 23, 2019
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Global Design Alliance, "Trends in Construction Law"
September 11, 2019
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Center for Architecture, "States of Confusion: Laws and Regulations Impacting Multijurisdictional Firms"
August 20, 2019
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New York State MWBE Forum: A Roundtable for Architects and Engineers
October 2, 2014
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Global Design Alliance, Records Management Policies: Update 2014
September 18, 2014
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Global Design Alliance, Future of Practice: Social Media
June 2012
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SMPS-NY, Market Forecast/Market Trends
January 2012
Alumni
Clara Pinchbeck is currently a Digital Art History MA student and the Samuel H. Kress Digital Art History Graduate Fellow at Duke University. She joined LicenseSure from 2018 to 2019 where she enjoyed partaking in creative problem-solving, being the mediator between firms and governments, and fostering relationships with clients. Hailing from Guilford, CT, Clara received her BA in Anthropology and Art History (with Distinction), graduating cum laude from Kenyon College in 2018.
Diane Gordon has a degree in Economics from Binghamton University (2010) and is currently working on her Masters of Science in Data Science. She is an aspiring entrepreneur. She has a passion for traveling and hopes to do more during her lifetime.
Jerry graduated from Seton Hall University in 2017 with a degree in Marketing and expects his law degree from Pace University in 2021. He has a passion for cars and likes to go surfing in his free time.
Expert in urban transportation, spatial data analytics, and machine learning. As a transportation planner I strive to contribute innovative, equitable solutions to "wicked" problems. I work to move millions and to fight for justice.
Manna graduated from New York University with her undergraduate degree in Economics and she has now returned to NYU to pursue her Master's Degree in Energy.
