ALUMNI/AE
BY DESIGN
Skylar Mahaffey ’19
THE SHAPE of HOME Skylar Mahaffey ’19 did not expect to end up in construction. She studied finance, imagined a future in banking or financial planning, and spent her college years moving between Florida, Wisconsin, and remote coursework during the upheaval of the pandemic. Today, however, she manages projects for Richard E. McCue, Inc., a high-end custom home builder in Connecticut, helping oversee everything from multimillion-dollar estates to small-scale renovations. In many ways, the work feels surprisingly aligned with the education she received at Millbrook. For Skylar, design and custom building is not simply about aesthetics. It is about relationships, problem-solving, communication, and creating spaces that reflect how people want to live. Every project begins with listening: to architects, subcontractors, clients, designers, inspectors, and suppliers. Her role is part manager, part translator, part negotiator, and part conductor. “At the end of the day,” she says, “I call myself a glorified ringmaster.” The company she works for specializes in luxury custom homes throughout northwestern Connecticut and nearby parts of New York. Projects can take years to complete and often involve highly specific requests, imported materials, and complex logistical coordination.
SPRING 2026 •
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