She is the founder of TenBerke, formerly Deborah Berke Partners, a New York City-based architectural design firm.

[4] Deborah Berke was born in 1954 in Manhattan, New York City, and raised in Douglaston, Queens.

[5] She traces her decision to become an architect to age 14, when she would explore Queens and study the borough's small-lot houses.

[6] Berke attended the Rhode Island School of Design, earning a BFA in 1975 and a BArch in 1977.

The female protagonist, Casey, is a fan of her work, citing the regional branch of Irwin Union Bank designed by Berke as her third favorite building.