Vocon Designer Olivia Morrison Named Crain’s 20 in their 20’s

This article is originally from Crain’s Cleveland Business published September 16, 2025.

Olivia Morrison has a long history with Vocon, a Cleveland-located architect firm, and is making history in it.

Morrison started at the company six years ago as a design intern, a role she held for a year before joining the team in a full time position. Since then, she has worked on key projects and spearheaded firm-wide sustainability discipline initiatives.

Morrison, who is from New Springfield near Youngstown, found her passion for design while pursuing her Bachelor’s degree in Interior Design at Kent State University. There, in addition to a study abroad program in Florence, Italy, Morrison gained perspective around how design projects tie into community, wellness and sustainability, which have been a “driving force” in her work.

Additionally, Morrison’s parents live in East Palestine, Ohio, where in 2023 a train that was carrying hazardous materials derailed and “further fueled my dedication to advancing initiatives focused on environmental and social health.” 

“In my career, I am most looking forward to just continuing to evolve this different type of work that we’re doing related to environmental, social, cultural implications, and how we can continue to push those boundaries,” Morrison said.

The sustainability initiative, which was formally implemented at the beginning of this year after initially starting as a grassroots effort, focuses on how Vocon can implement holistic sustainability into its practices and projects, Morrison said. This includes taking into account the environmental, social, health and climate impact of the resources the team uses in projects.

During her time with the firm, Morrison has worked on adaptive reuse projects, including CrossCountry Mortgage‘s headquarters in Cleveland. Additionally, she worked executing projects with the Cleveland Foundation and John Carroll University. 

One of the rewarding parts of being a designer is watching projects come to life from concept to completion, Morrison said. Similarly, she is looking forward to further developing the sustainability program to help clients make a bigger, positive impact on the community.

Morrison aims to give back to the community in and out of her projects at Vocon. She is a volunteer at the Cleveland Animal Protective League, the Cleveland Food Bank and VeloSano, a year-round fundraising effort to beat cancer, contributing funds to Cleveland Clinic.

Morrison said she wants to explore and connect with individuals and organizations that are “involved in making Cleveland a truly sustainable, impactful, resilient community” and “collaborate with those different parties to bridge all the different disciplines, because it really takes a multidisciplinary view to make good solutions.”