In 1984 Kathryn (Marsh) Shaffer graduated Magna Cum Laude from Kansas State University with a Bachelor of Interior Architecture and in 1988 she graduated Suma Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Architecture from Louisiana Tech University. Originally her work began when she was a teenager working in her architect-father's office. Her internship began in 1984 working for architectural firms in Connecticut, followed by Louisiana (Benjamin Franklin High School with Eean McNaughton, AIA), then New York giving her an extensive background in cultural building types and construction techniques. In 1988 she played a key role in the design of the 1990-2012 Carousel Center in Syracuse New York then obtained her license in Connecticut later that year. In 1990 she began working as Kathryn Shaffer, AIA on residential, commercial and industrial projects: notable projects include 1993-94 production housing and clubhouses for Rancho La Quinta and Rancho San Carlos as an employee of Robert Lamb Hart (one project was later awarded the Nathaniel A. Owings Award), MacArthur Center in Norfolk, VA (1995-96), The Asian Art Museum (as an employee of LDA for HOK), among others and tenant improvement projects with Huntsman Group for the Shorenstein Companies in San Francisco.
Today, her eleven (11) year old firm,KSA, is committed to the design and implementation of a modern design philosophy using environmentally sustainable architecture. The firm completes architecture and design of all types of custom buildings with a focus on sustainable residential, public, office, retail, and restaurant projects.