Résumé

Jonassen spent his entire career working for the large Seattle architectural firm of NBBJ, and has had particular impact on the field of healthcare design. Marga Rose Hancock has said of him: "Jim Jonassen has received widespread recognition for his innovative approach to delivery methods and contracting vehicles, his enormous impact on health care design, and his business development and leadership." (See AIA Seattle Honors.org, "James O. Jonassen AIA Seattle Medal of Honor 2008," accessed 03/20/2025.)

Architect, Naramore, Bain, Brady and Johanson (NBBJ), Architects, Seattle, WA, 07/1967-03/2009. Jonassen's LinkedIn.com page indicated that he had been with NBBJ between 07/1967 and 03/2009. Another LinkedIn.com page listed his affiliation with NBBJ to have been from 07/1965 until 03/2009. His AIA KnowledgeNet page listed him as having been with the firm between 06/1965 and 03/2009.

Principal in Charge of Health Care, The NBBJ Company, Seattle, WA. Jonassen had this title before 1983 and continued in this role after he became Managing Principal in mid-1983.

Managing Principal (managing ownership partner), The NBBJ Company, Seattle, WA, Palo Alto, CA, and Juneau, AK, 1983-1996. Northwest Architecture, the journal of the Washington Council of the American Institute of Architects reported this in its 07-08/1983 issue: "James Jonassen, AIA, has been appointed managing principal of The NBBJ Company, which includes the Seattle and Palo Alto, California architectural practices; Management and Planning Services, an economic and land-use planning entity in Seattle and Juneau, Alaska; and Project and Cost Management, a Seattle-based project and cost management entity. He will continue as principal in charge of health care facilities for the firm. (See "People," Northwest Architecture, vol. 6, no. 3, 07-08/1983, p. 14.)

Chief Executive Officer, NBBJ, Architects, Seattle, WA, -2009.

Teaching

Associate Professor, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, Honolulu, HI, 2001-2008.

Professional Activites

Member, American Institute of Architects (AIA), Seattle Chapter.

Member, AIA, Steering Committee on Architecture for Commerce and Industry, 1971-1973.

Member, AIA, AIA Life Cycle Cost Task Group Editorial Board, 1972- .

Member, AIA National Task Force on Cost Containment, 1977- .

Chair, AIA, Steering Committee, Academy on Architecture for Health, 1980-1986.

Member, AIA, Large Firm Roundtable, 1988-2008.

Member, AIA, Large Firm Roundtable, Executive Committee, 2004-2008.

President, Architecture and Children, Northwest Foundation, Board of Directors, 1987-1992.

Member, School Zone Institute, Board of Directors, 1990-1995.

Member, Swedish Hospital Medical Center, Foundation Board of Governors, Seattle, WA, 1994-2008.

Member, Seattle Architecture Foundation (SAF), Board of Directors, Seattle, WA, 1998 - 2006

Author, Designing the Design Firm: the Quest for High Performance Design, (Atlanta: Östberg Design Management Library, 2011).

Member, American College of Healthcare Architects (ACHA).

Member, International Union of Architects (UIA).

Member, National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB).

Member, Health Insights Foundation, Board of Directors, Baton Rouge, LA, 2000-2007.

Chair, Health Insights Foundation, Board of Directors, 2006-2007.

Member, Health Insights Foundation, Committee on Architecture for Health.

Member, Health Insights Foundation, Committee on Architecture for Commerce and Industry.

Professional Awards

Fellow, American Institute of Architects (FAIA), 1987.

Fellow, American College of Healthcare Architects (FACHA).

Fellow, Health Insights Foundation.

Recipient, AIA, Seattle Chapter, Gold Medal, 2008.

College

B.Arch., University of Washington (UW), Seattle, WA, 1959-1964.

M.S., Architecture, Columbia University, New York, NY, 1965.

College Awards

Named to Tau Sigma Delta, University of Washington (UW), Seattle, WA.

Relocation

Born in Montesano, WA, James O. Jonassen resided with his parents and two siblings at 413 Fleet Street South in Montesano, Grays Harbor County, WA, in 1950. At age nine, he lived here with his parents James and Marilyn and siblings Marilyn and Gary. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation National Archives at Washington, DC; Washington, D.C.; Seventeenth Census of the United States, 1950; Year: 1950; Census Place: Montesano, Grays Harbor, Washington; Roll: 2825; Page: 4; Enumeration District: 14-15, accessed 03/20/2025.)

Parents

His father also James Enevold Jonassen (born 10/19/1912 in Montesano, WA-d. 03/29/1985 in King County, WA) worked as a carpenter in 1950. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation National Archives at Washington, DC; Washington, D.C.; Seventeenth Census of the United States, 1950; Year: 1950; Census Place: Montesano, Grays Harbor, Washington; Roll: 2825; Page: 4; Enumeration District: 14-15, accessed 03/20/2025.)

His father's parents were Anders Jonassen (born 12/04/1879 in Denmark-d. 04/09/1939 in Seattle, WA) and Ane Elisabeth Jørgine Enevoldsen (born c. 1878), both born in Denmark. Anders Jonassen immigrated from Denmark through Boulogne, France, to the US in 08/1904. They married on 08/08/1908 in King County, WA. (See King County Marriage Records, 1855-2017 - Anders Jonassen - Ane E J Enevoldsen, King County Marriage Records, 1855-2017, Washington State Archives, Digital Archives, http://digitalarchives.wa.gov, accessed 03/20/2025.)

His mother was Marjorie Eileen Smith (born 03/25/1917 in Montesano, WA-d. 10/15/1993 in Kirkland, WA), who managed the household. They wed on 05/04/1935 in Grays Harbor County. (See Grays Harbor County Auditor, Marriage Records, 1871-Present - James E Jonassen - Marjorie Smith, Grays Harbor County Auditor, Marriage Records, 1871-Present, Washington State Archives, Digital Archives, http://digitalarchives.wa.gov, accessed 03/20/2025.) Marjorie's parents were Oliver Smith (born in OH) and Ruth Gardner (born in PA).

Spouse

Jonassen married twice.

He first married Patricia Evelyn Glenn on 07/26/1958 in Grays Harbor County, WA. (See Grays Harbor County Auditor, Marriage Records, 1871-Present - James O Jonassen - Patricia E Glenn, Grays Harbor County Auditor, Marriage Records, 1871-Present, Washington State Archives, Digital Archives, http://digitalarchives.wa.gov, accessed 03/20/2025.) They divorced on 11/06/1975 in King County, WA. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation Washington State Archives; Olympia, Washington; Washington, Divorce Index, 1968-1996, accessed 03/20/2025.)

Jonassen married Marilyn J. Wilson (born c. 1942 in Milwaukee, WI) on 06/11/1977 in Jefferson County, WA. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation Washington State Archives; Olympia, Washington; Washington, Marriage Index, 1969-2014, accessed 03/20/2025.)

Biographical Notes

Member, School Zone Institute, Albuquerque, NM, 1990-1995.

Member, Swedish Hospital Medical Center, Foundation Board of Governors, Seattle, WA, 1994 - 2008.