In 2004, Kathryn (Marsh) Shaffer AIA began her firm Kathryn Shaffer Architect. During it's incorporation in 2008-2011, the firm continued it's work under the name Kathy Shaffer Architect, Inc. (KSA).

In 1984 Kathryn graduated Magna Cum Laude from the School of Architecture, Planning & Design at Kansas State University with a Bachelor of Interior Architecture. In 1988 she graduated Summa Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Architecture from Louisiana Tech University with an emphasis in architectural history. Originally her work began when she was a teenager working in her architect-father's office in the 70s, Appleby & Marsh in Wichita, Kansas (Her father began his career working for Uel C. Ramey's  in Kansas, the Ape & Man Building for the Sedgwick County Zoo and numerous nursing homes throughout Kansas for Chuck Wurth, Sr.(Mid America Health Centers, Inc.).  Part of her architectural internship was completed in Connecticut and Louisiana when she worked for such firms as Kaestle Boos and Russell Gibson von Dohlen (1985-86) and McNaughton Associates (1987) doing educational and church architecture and the final stages were completed in 1988-89 while she played a key role in the design of the award-winning new Carousel Center in Syracuse, NY for Dal Pos Associates. In 1989 she became NCARB certified and obtained her license in Connecticut and in California a year later. In 1990 she began working on her own as Kathryn Shaffer, AIA on public, commercial and residential projects including the Amanda Residence shown here. She is currently licensed in California, Hawaii, Texas, and Connecticut.

For an interim period, Kathy worked for firms including LDA with HOK Architects on the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco, SGPA on new and renovated high end commercial projects, Robert Lamb Hart, Planners Architects & Landscape Architects on the Rancho La Quinta and Santa Lucia Preserve projects, and with Huntsman Group on tenant improvement projects for internationally known property owners including Walter Shorenstein (The Shorenstein Company). Also prior to starting KSA, she teamed up with another local architect on high-end multi-million dollar custom homes in Marin and Sonoma Counties, California.

Today, the multi-disciplined firm is committed to the  design and implementation of a modern design philosophy using environmentally sustainable architecture. Though much of her design work is done by hand (and at times on site in design charettes) and she has the ability to quickly modify historic drawings drawing by hand, the office is fully CAD based using AutoCAD 2014 as their medium.

Projects Shaffer designed or co-designed have won 2 International awards, 4 AIA CNY awards, 1 AIA Gulf States award, and the California Architectural Foundation (CAF) Nathaniel A. Owings Award. Shaffer’s work and her work at other architectural firms have been featured in  Architectural Digest, Golf Magazine, The Nineteenth Hole, Travel + Leisure Golf,  and Architecture South.

Because of the long design and construction cycle for major projects, she continues to win awards and recognition for projects she did while working for other architectural firms.