OUR STORY

Shepherd Sterling emerged from our first extensive design-build-furnish project. It could have easily become the familiar nightmare story of ongoing timeline extensions, rising capital overruns, and the dismay of a result that doesn't match what you envisioned.

That outcome was avoided—but only because Neil ensured it. Most people don’t have the expertise or capacity to hold that level of control.

We founded Shepherd Sterling to be that for others: to steward the design-build-furnish process the way Neil stewarded that first project, that led to many more.
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Neil Cuffy | Founder, CEO
Neil sets the standard for how we work—building and leading a high-caliber team, and cultivating long-standing relationships with manufacturers, artisans, and partners who bring design into physical form. He previously founded an overseas branding and marketing agency serving international clientele, and brings a deep contextual understanding of how environments shape perception, experience, and value.‍

Cherisse Cuffy | Founder, Principal
Cherisse leads the design team and holds a Master of Science in Counseling Psychology, an uncommon foundation in her field. She draws on principles of environmental psychology and biophilic design to shape the sensory experience of a space. Her perspective was formed across the Caribbean and Latin America, where nature and sensory richness are woven into daily life, and later refined through more than a decade of designing experiences, first for global technology companies like LinkedIn and Workday, now for private residences and professional spaces of discerning clients.

Beyond the Studio
‍Our care for the conservation of nature runs through everything we create—a stewardship expressed in biophilic interiors, nature-inspired art, and publishing. This includes BANOVICH, our debut wildlife volume, designed as a collectible decor piece featuring immersive imagery and educational narratives from the adventures of John Banovich, internationally acclaimed wildlife cinematographer, filmmaker storyteller and author.

Our support of education is equally personal and profoundly important, rooted in our own upbringing by parents who sacrificed to make learning possible. We are proud to support faith-based schools and classical education—foundations that shaped who we are.