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Submit ReviewThis is Part 3 of a special three-part mini series about the housing crisis in the Bay Area and the architects, designers, activists, developers, and innovators that are doing something about it.
This final installment features individuals and organizations working toward three vastly different housing solutions, their design processes, and visions for the future. Guests featured in this episode are:
We hope you enjoyed this series! Let us know what you think by sending feedback to hello@designvoicepodcast.com
This is Part 2 of a special three-part mini series about the housing crisis in the Bay Area and the architects, designers, activists, developers, and innovators that are doing something about it.
Part 2 explores how people are currently navigating building housing in the Bay Area and features conversations with Caroline Souza, principal at David Baker Architects, and Mauren Sedonaen, CEO at Habitat for Humanity Greater San Francisco.
This series is sponsored by AIA San Francisco and DLR Group.
There’s a massive housing crisis across the United States - what can architects do to help address it?
In this special three-part mini series, we’ll be digging deeper into the housing crisis in the Bay Area and hear from the architects, designers, activists, developers, and innovators that are doing something about it.
This series is sponsored by AIA San Francisco and DLR Group.
Her career began at HOK, working on large-scale and highly-complex international and national planning and landscape projects. Later moving to the private sector, Sarah, was able to apply her appreciation for historical gardens to creating highly personalized, timeless and contextual spaces.
In 2012, she started her own practice, Boxleaf Design, a full service landscape architectural firm, focusing on high end residential and commercial work in the Bay Area. Sarah is continually seeking insight and creative rejuvenation from the Bay Area's native and diverse environment, in its purest and most rugged form.
In this episode, Sarah talks about how her interest in landscape architecture developed, what landscape architecture school was like, and her first job experiences out of school. Sarah also shares what made her decide to start her own studio, her experience growing and managing a practice, her design process, how landscapes are always evolving and never finite, and advice for those who want to start their own businesses.
Madelynn Ringo is an architectural designer specializing in experiential spaces that resound with purposeful beauty. With an insatiable passion for problem-solving and high regard for heartbeat moments, Ringo creates storied environments expressed within a formidable architectural framework. Simply, Ringo scales brand identities to life with a commitment to feel-good originality.
Ringo received her Architecture Master’s degree from Yale University and employs her classical training through an intuitive lens that celebrates beauty and architecture as an experiential artform. Her sculptural approach to space powers Ringo’s adventurous use of texture, form, materials and color, pushing functionality into a realm of convention-breaking appeal.
Previously, Ringo served as the creative lead on retail experiences for Glossier, designing locations in Miami, Boston, Austin and Atlanta. Immersive experiences for iconic brands such as Studs, Bala, Funny Face Bakery and the Museum of Ice Cream are among her portfolio of designs for beauty, wellness and culturally inclusive lifestyle brands with a focus on collaborative exploration, collective solutions and a strong belief in spaces that resonate. Madelynn is also the Head of Studio Design for aging wellness brand age.com/">Modern Age, bringing the customer experience to life through careful consideration for every customer touchpoint.
Ringo founded Brooklyn-based studio.com/">Ringo Studio in 2020 with a focus on collaborative exploration, collective solutions and a strong belief in spaces that resonate.
In this episode, Madelynn shares her experience moving to New York City, navigating the early years of her career and curating her professional experiences before starting her own studio. Madeleynn talks about her design process, why she loves the discovery phase of projects, and how she balances inspiration versus invention in the visually saturated world that we all live in now. We also talk about designing for Gen Z and Millennial audiences, and the desire to create emotional reactions in people when they enter a space. You can also find Madelynn on Instagram @madelynnringo.
Deryl is a licensed engineer and the fifth generation of her family to work in design and construction. Her firm is an extension of the nation’s oldest African American design and construction firm, and traces its origin to Moses McKissack, a master builder who was also a slave. Before founding her firm in 1990, Deryl earned a B.S. in civil engineering at Howard University and worked at Turner Construction and Dames & Moore to hone her experience in field work, business development and construction management.
Among the many nationally significant projects in McKissack’s portfolio of work today are Museum of African American History and Culture, the Lincoln and Jefferson Memorials, the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial, the Obama Presidential Center and the Navy Pier Centennial Projects in Chicago.
In this episode, Deryl talks about how she first got her start in the industry by drafting at her father’s architecture firm at the age of 12, her experience managing a large university facilities team by the age of 27, and what ultimately made her want to start her own business. Deryl shares the challenges she’s faced throughout her career as a black woman, how she’s persevered to become the successful business woman she is today, and gives some great advice for those who want to start their own businesses. Deryl also talks about her 7 point plan to combat racism in the AEC industry.
In this episode, Latoya shares how she went from being a Fulbright Senior Scholar in Taiwan, to becoming Director of Operations at Moody Nolan in New York. She shares her experience as a professor at Pratt, how she developed her skillset as a professor, her approach to teaching and meeting students where they are. We also discuss the challenges of becoming a working mother, and figuring out how to carve out space for yourself.
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Books Anamika mentions in the episode:
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Wendy Rogers is CEO and Chief Talent Officer of LPA Design Studios, an integrated design firm dedicated to creating projects that innovate, inspire and improve people’s lives. Wendy leads a team of more than 400 architects, engineers, landscape architects and interior designers in California and Texas. As CEO, she handles the day-to-day operations of the firm, with a special focus on increasing the role of LPA's proprietary research unit, LPAred, and expanding LPA's unique informed design approach. As Chief Talent Officer, she is also responsible for developing the culture and lifestyle at the firm to retain and attract people who want to grow and make a difference in the built environment.
Wendy is a vocal advocate for sustainable design and the importance of using research to support design strategies. LPA has made energy performance a core value of the firm. For two years in a row, LPA was largest firm in the country to surpass the AIA 2030 Commitment, which establishes annual targets for reducing energy in projects. She is a regular speaker at events advocating for designs that respond to the environment and the needs of the people who use the spaces.
A graduate of California Polytechnic State University in Pomona, California, Wendy is a LEED Accredited Professional and a Fellow of the AIA.
In this episode Wendy talks about her career journey from starting as an intern at LPA to being named CEO in 2017. Wendy shares her advice for those who want to become leaders in their organizations, how to foster a culture where people can bring their authentic selves to work, and raising your hand for something when you don’t think you’re ready yet. Wendy also talks about being CEO during the pandemic, how she thinks architecture firms will need to evolve in the future, and gives some great advice for working parents.
An adjunct professor for over 10 years, she has taught design studios, construction detailing, building science, theory, and design-build and community engagement courses at Boston Architectural College, Wentworth Institute of Technology, and Northeastern University. In addition to her teaching, Marilyn has lectured on her research and served as a guest critic at architecture schools across the country.
In this episode, Marilyn talks about all the ins and outs of running your own architecture practice! We cover so many interesting topics in our conversation, from how Marilyn accidentally ended up starting her own business, to how she experiments with her business and is now getting into development, to finding the right clients and not undervaluing your work. We also talk about setting boundaries as a business owner and if you really have to be on all the time.
Kavitha Mathew is the Global Diversity Officer at KPF, and leads the firm’s diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts, as well as the development and implementation of the firm’s global Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) commitment. Mathew oversees KPF’s many internal Communities such as KPF Public, KPF Pride, and KPF+, helps guide KPF’s recruitment and resourcing, as well as its philanthropic and volunteer efforts. Leveraging her experience as an architect, Mathew’s work at KPF has a project-focused component, advising on engagement and communication with the community. Kavitha is also the Founder and President of Equity Co:LAB, and the Special Projects Director of the American Institute of the AIANY. Previously Director of Corporate Architectural Services for Ralph Lauren, she has also worked in various architectural roles at firms including KPF, Spacesmith, and Ted Moudis Associates, as well as her own practice.
In this episode, Kavitha talks about her career journey, from practicing as an architect, to working on the client side, to now becoming the Global Diversity Officer at KPF. Kavitha shares how her passion for equity and social justice work developed, what she thinks is needed at an organization to make equity and inclusion efforts successful, and her advice for companies who are just beginning equity work. We also talk about Corporate Social Responsibility, and the movement toward transparency.
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Kat Dovjenko is the Senior Creative Director at Muse & Company. Inspired by the dynamic energy around architecture and urban planning, Kat believes that the more complex, ambitious, and unsolvable the problem, the better. She drives talented teams to unite and achieve outcomes they would not be able to do individually—at multiple scales and in multiple stages of the design process. She most recently worked at Google's R&D for the Built Environment where she oversaw workplace innovation projects.
Kat loves navigating speculative pockets of the future and weaving together how they might impact our built spaces. She never shies away from ambiguity, and is skilled at using foresight and storytelling to propel leading edge technologies into real products for the built world and beyond. She studied Finance in Vancouver, Canada, before earning her Masters in Architecture from the University of Toronto.
In this episode we talk about:
Resources Kat mentions:
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Stacie Wong is a Principal at GLUCK+. Named by Fast Company as a top 10 most innovative companies in architecture, the firm is recognized for Architect Led Design Build. Stacie’s considerable design and construction experience began 26 years ago with the Yale Building Project's design-build of a single-family residence in New Haven. Ever since, she has been involved in educational, commercial and residential work across the United States. Stacie brings expertise in leading strategic planning, research, programming, and community stakeholder engagement with private and public institutional clients, as well as stewarding the design and construction for the successful completion of many technically complex projects. She has been an advocate for architects’ involvement in construction to increase their agency in the building process and impact on the design of the physical environment, including features in Metropolis Magazine, Wallpaper* and Architectural Design (UK). Notable award-winning projects include ONStage at Kaufman Astoria Studios in New York City, Pilkey Lab, a LEED Gold science research building for Duke University Marine Laboratory on their coastal campus; Artist Retreat in Upstate New York; and The East Harlem School in New York City. Current projects in progress include Van Sinderen Plaza, affordable housing in East New York and City Seminary of New York's campus in Harlem. Stacie received her Bachelor of Arts in Architecture from the University of California at Berkeley and a Master of Architecture from Yale University.
In this episode we talk about:
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Angelica Trevino Baccon is a principal at SHoP Architects in New York City. She leverages deep expertise in and a passion for evolving technology to create inspiring, sustainable spaces for people, often in next-generation workplaces. She led the SHoP teams for the new Uber Headquarters in San Francisco and the Atlassian Headquarters in Sydney, as well as several other large-scale projects for major global tech companies. Angelica has great success in meeting fast-paced and far-reaching design and delivery challenges and finding consensus with multi-layered stakeholder groups—in the interest of spatial vitality and community connection—for some of the firm’s most complex projects. She holds a Bachelor in Architecture degree from ITESM in Monterrey, Mexico, and a Master of Architecture from Harvard University, where she has also served as a professor.
In this episode we talk about:
SHoP projects mentioned in the episode:
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Jennifer Sodo is a leading expert in the design and planning of dementia living environments. A senior associate with Perkins Eastman’s senior living practice in New York City, Jennifer translates her own and others’ research on biophilic design and whole-person wellness into thoughtful designs to create healthy and meaningful places for older adults living with dementia. She speaks regularly at conferences and industry events and has published articles and papers on a variety of topics pertaining to senior living. Jennifer is also co-host of Perkins Eastman’s new Shaping Dementia Environments podcast, a show that explores uncommon thinking in design for dementia through interviews with industry leaders.
In this episode, Jennifer shares how, like many others in the field, her personal experiences drew her to the senior living practice. She talks about innovations and the guiding principles in the design of these spaces, and gives her pitch on why emerging professionals should join this area of work. We also have a super interesting conversation about podcasting! Not many architecture firms have produced their own podcasts, and Jennifer and her co-host’s show was the first of its kind at Perkins Eastman. Jennifer shares her experience with creating the show, if others at Perkins Eastman will be following suit, and her thoughts on if more firms should start producing their own podcasts.
Resources / Links:
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This episode features three women who all left architecture for the real estate world! Chi-Chi Lin, Danlu Li, and Yi Li all studied architecture and practiced for a few years before realizing that they wanted to do something else. After leaving the profession and getting MSRED degrees, they now all work in different areas of the real estate industry in New York City.
In our conversation, Chi Chi, Danlu and Yi Li share when each of them realized they didn’t want to practice architecture anymore, how they transitioned to their new careers, what they miss about architecture, but what they love about their new work. They also give great advice for people who want to pivot from architecture to something else.
We also talk about the challenges of being a woman in real estate, finding a firm that has your same values, and how both architects and people in real estate are inherently futurists.
Lilian Asperin is a partner at WRNS Studio, where she helps lead the design process and build teams that deliver aspirational outcomes. Lilian values a firm culture that embraces collaboration, connection to the community, risk taking, and fostering talent.
Lilian attended the University of California, Berkeley, where she earned her BA in Environmental Design and graduated with honors. After completing her studies, Lilian worked at architecture firms around the Bay Area, including Stanley Saitowitz, the City of San Francisco’s Bureau of Architecture, SOM, and NBBJ. Recently completed projects include the Salk Institute for Biological Studies Master Plan, the Center for Science and Innovation at USF, and UC Merced’s 2020’s Public-Private-Partnership (P3) project. A leader within the Society for College and University Planning (SCUP), she organized the first-ever Hackathon for MOOC’s as part of the Pacific Regional Conference and will be continuing her involvement with the organization as 2018-2021 Pacific Regional Chair.
Lilian utilizes her experience as a practice leader and licensed architect to develop synergistic relationships with leaders throughout the architectural and educational communities. Deeply involved with the local community, Lilian works to raise awareness and help break the cycle of poverty in the Bay Area through her work as a Tipping Point Community Partner. Lilian also acts as a Board Director of AIA San Francisco and is the Co-Chair of the Equity by Design Committee, a call to action for everyone to realize the goal of equitable practice and communicate the value of design to society.
In this episode, Lilian shares how her personal experience as a first generation Latinx student has informed her career and passion for the higher education sector. We also talk about inclusive design, how architects should re-think the timeline of the project process, how to map out your career goals with post-its and poster boards, normalizing mental wellness in the profession, and the importance of inviting everyone’s full lives into the office.
Cecilia Cuff is a 20-year veteran of the hospitality scene and the Founder and Managing Principal of The Nascent Group, a hospitality design and project management agency. Cecilia has established herself as a pacemaker in the hospitality design industry, focusing on art and efficiency-inspired design, inclusivity, community development and sustainability.
Cecilia has managed hospitality openings and brand launches for companies like Hyatt Hotels & Resorts all over North & South America, Ski Resort and Adventure Resort Renovations for companies like Taos Ski Valley and M Vacation Resorts & Properties. Her involvement and enthusiasm for corporate brand development is always guided using community development, food sustainability and minority inclusion as a moral compass. Regenerative farming practices, local ingredient sourcing and at-risk youth professional development are common threads that link her work and programming that remain strong long after she has developed a project.
As a part of a career dedicated to flawless and carefully executed hospitality service, Cecilia’s career client list brags seamlessly handling celebrities from Sheryl Crow, Lil Wayne, Emeril Lagasse, Snoop Dog, Rihanna, Kanye West, Seal, Brad Pitt & Angela Jolie. Elevated hospitality experiences in event production has remained her differentiator, creating and curating large scale wine festivals all over the United States, as well as aiding in the production of multi day music festivals and experiences.
Cecilia now operates her own firm, The Nascent Group, acting as an ally to urban planners and community developers to create more inclusive economic design, as well as aiding businesses with hotel and restaurant openings, operation brand launches and design. She also operates Parse SECO, a multidisciplinary art space offering art residencies and space for underrepresented communities and mentorship for at-risk youth with sister branches in New Orleans, San Francisco, New York and Mexico.
In this episode, Cecilia shares her career journey in the hospitality industry, using her entrepreneurial spirit as a force for good, and pushing for inclusivity in her work with developers. We also talk about how the hospitality industry has the power to change the trajectory of people’s lives, and the magic of walking into a space and having your breath taken away.
It’s a special podcast crossover episode, featuring Practice Disrupted!
The evolution of architectural practice has been relatively slow towards change, yet modern shifts in business and design management have prompted today’s leading architects to rethink how they work. The Practice Disrupted podcast addresses how technology, cultural shifts, and emerging best practices in business are prompting industry disruption and transformation. The series features thought leaders on business, innovation, entrepreneurship, and/or architecture.
About the Practice Disrupted Hosts:
Evelyn M. Lee, FAIA, MBA, MPA is a licensed architect in the state of California, with over 15 years of experience working with individuals and companies that are looking to reshape their future. She is the founder of Practice of Architecture, the first-ever Senior Experience Designer at Slack Technologies, and the first female Treasurer to AIA National‘s Board of Directors.
Je’Nen M. Chastain, MBA, Assoc. AIA is trained in architecture and business management with a decade of experience working with award-winning architects. She founded Apostrophe Consulting to help architects improve firm culture, and strengthen their teams and businesses. She specializes in talent development, change management, and business strategy, including marketing and communication.
In this episode, Evelyn and Je’Nen share some great insights on how to push for change within an organization, how to know when to stay or leave your current job, the value of having an entrepreneurial mindset even if you work for someone else, what services architects should be offering but aren’t, and more!
Check out more episodes of Practice Disrupted at: https://practiceofarchitecture.com/podcast/
Lauren Schmidt is a Principal at KPF in New York City. The youngest woman in KPF’s history to be named Principal, Lauren is invaluable to projects of all types, coordinating with multiple stakeholders, consultants and design teams, and overseeing projects through all phases.
Lauren has served as designer and manager for some of KPF’s most notable and complex New York City projects. She collaborated to develop the design for One Jackson Square, a national AIA award-winning residential building situated over several active subway lines. Lauren managed 55 Hudson Yards, a large-scale, transit-oriented office building that features a unique, finely-crafted wall system. The building’s irregular structure incorporates a ventilation building for the subway station below, requiring detailed coordination with the MTA and city stakeholders.
Much of Lauren’s work focuses on maximizing the potential of underutilized or outdated buildings through repositioning. She has contributed management expertise to adaptive reuse projects such as Hudson Commons, which adds 17 stories above a former warehouse creating state-of-the-art office space; 175 Park, a reimagining of a traditional suburban office building in New Jersey; and 660 Fifth Avenue, for which a new, custom glass curtain wall façade maximizes occupant comfort while reducing energy consumption.
Lauren also plays an integral role in the operations of the firm itself overseeing recruitment, staffing, and mentorship alongside KPF’s senior leadership. She holds a board seat on the Design Futures Council, and was named one of PWC’s 20 Under 40 Outstanding Women in Construction. Lauren helped launch KPF’s Educational Program, actively participates in the ACE mentorship program, and has taught Architect Registration Examination courses at the New York Center for Architecture.
In this episode, Lauren talks about her experience of moving up through the ranks at KPF, how architecture is a group effort, and the importance of communication and collaboration. She shares some great advice on what makes someone a good leader, how to develop and hone their leadership skills, and how one can differentiate themselves at a larger, international firm. Lauren also talks about how being an athlete has informed who she is as a person and the importance of having an outlet in your life that isn’t architecture related.
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J. Meejin Yoon, AIA FAAR, is the Gale and Ira Drukier Dean at the College of Architecture, Art, and Planning (AAP) at Cornell University and cofounder of Höweler + Yoon, an award-winning design studio engaged in projects across the U.S. and around the world. An architect, designer, and educator, Meejin is committed to advancing pedagogy, research, and practice to expand new knowledge across fields and disciplines, and to bringing deep expertise to the urgent environmental and social challenges facing our cities and communities.
In this episode, Meejin talks about her journey to becoming Dean at Cornell AAP, why she always wanted to maintain a creative practice alongside teaching, and what qualities she thinks makes someone a good architecture professor. Meejin also talks about how making the architecture discipline more accessible will make it more impactful, and how our disciplines in the built environment have to step up at this moment to address climate change, justice and equity in ways we haven’t before.
Visit the Cornell AAP website here: https://aap.cornell.edu/
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Saakshi Terway is a Designer at Wiencek + Associates in Washington DC. She is especially interested in responsible and sustainable architecture that has a social impact on local and global communities, and seeks to produce work that allows architecture and design to become a tool in empowering communities.
In this episode, we talk about job search advice for recent grads, finding a mentor (and why you need multiple mentors), figuring out what you want to do, and advocating for yourself. Saakshi also talks about the challenges and biases many immigrants face in the AEC profession, and why speaking out and sharing your story is so important.
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Christine Williamson is the founder of the Building Science Fight Club, an Instagram community dedicated to teaching building science and construction to architects and other building professionals. She also provides technical design consulting services to architects, developers, and contractors, assisting with design development and reviewing details and specifications to improve durability, comfort, and energy efficiency.
In this episode, Christine and I talk about how building science is design, pushing through the painful early years of your career where you feel like you don’t know anything yet, how Christine ended up teaching architects about building science and creating an online course. Christine also shares why she started the Building Science Fight Club, and gives a behind the scenes look at how she creates content for account.
Learn more about Christine at williamson.com/">https://www.christine-williamson.com/
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Janet Tam is a founder and Principal of Noll and Tam Architects. Janet grew up in Richmond, California, and studied architecture at UC Berkeley in the 1970s and early 80’s, when the university was a pioneer of socially responsible design. There, she encountered groundbreaking courses on social factors and user needs, and was drawn to the power of architecture to enrich people’s lives by serving the public good.
Janet and her business partner, Chris Noll, founded their firm in 1992, to establish a talented studio of architects that pursued the ideal of active community involvement and environmentally responsive design. Since its founding, the Berkeley-based firm has become a leader in Bay Area public architecture, and is noted for championing women in leadership roles. Janet’s work, and that of the firm, is regarded for its emphasis on recognizing and articulating shared community values with projects that bind people together in a common vision for the future.
In this episode, Janet talks about: her experience of starting a practice while raising two daughters; how introspection and surrounding yourself with experts is key to building a healthy firm; working with a firm therapist; how the strength of the firm’s culture helped them get through the pandemic; what it means to stay “fresh” in the architecture profession; succession planning, letting things go, and passing on knowledge; and how architects never retire but morph into something else.
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Primaverarch is an organization dedicated to stimulating change for the recognition of women in the architectural profession. Inspired by the renaissance era and the symbolic idea of spring, Primaverarch is a movement of rebirth, revival, and renewal.
Primaverarch was created by Nadeen Hassan, Chaerin Kim, and Soany Marquez, three minority-women who recently graduated from the Spitzer School of Architecture at the City College of New York. Throughout their studies, they experienced a lack of professional support, mentorship, and recognition, and so decided to start Primavera. Primaverarch is a catalyst movement that is dedicated to creating a seat at the table for all women in the field.
Learn more about Primaverarch at: https://www.primaverarch.org/
In this episode we talk about: why Nadeen, Chaerin, and Soany started Primaverarch; on giving their interviewees a space to feel empowered, and feel like they have a voice; Primaverarch’s goal of showcasing diverse voices, and that white women do not represent all women; how amplifying black voices should not just be a trend, but is something you’re supposed to be doing constantly; the long term goals for Primaverarch, and creating not just a platform but a space for opportunities and a support system for emerging professionals; on infiltrating national organizations like AIA to push for change; being conditioned in architecture school to just accept the status quo, and the need to push back and question who is being taught or amplified; why the lack of statistics on Middle Eastern or Arab architects is problematic; and how Nadeen, Chaerin, and Soany provide a support system for each other, have each others backs, and push each other forward
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Kate Thatcher is the Chief Executive Officer of Architecture + Information (A+I), a strategy-led architecture and experience design agency based in New York.
As CEO, Thatcher drives the acceleration of innovation, collaboration between teams and subject areas, and further development of culture and inclusion initiatives within A+I.
Kate first began her career at A+I in 2004, returning again in 2011 upon completion of her Masters in Architecture degree from Yale University. At A+I, Kate has led design teams creating spaces for world-class companies like Equinox, Chanel, and Horizon Media. She became a principal at A+I in 2018 and was named the agency’s first CEO in 2020. Her innovative project experience and unique perspective having worked up the ranks of the organization inform her leadership style.
A tireless advocate for equity within the architecture and design professions, Kate is responsible for the launch, in 2020, of the firm's +IMPACT initiative, a platform for A+I’s employees to leverage their talents and expertise on opportunities at the intersection of design and social impact.
In this episode we talk about:
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Sylvia Kwan, FAIA is a principal based out of DLR Group’s San Francisco office. She has practiced in San Francisco for more than 40 years and her past and present designs continue to impact the built environment in the Bay Area. Sylvia founded Kwan Henmi Architecture in 1980, and in 2017 Kwan Henmi joined DLR Group, where Sylvia continues to focus on the transportation and higher education sectors. She takes great pride in building relationships with clients and exceeding their expectations.
Sylvia is an AIA Fellow, and has served on AIA boards at both national and local chapter levels. She has received numerous awards and personal recognitions for her design and business achievements, including the San Francisco Business Times’ 75 Most Influential Women in Business.
In this episode we talk about:
Special thanks to Drew Henmi for this episode’s intro song. Check out the full version of the song here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X4K7uFzRNNk
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Liz Brack is a structural engineer based out of DLR Group’s Phoenix office, where she is actively involved in a diverse range of building types with a focus on K through 12 projects. Liz is active in the community through the organization and participation of multiple STEM outreach with the local schools. She is also the active Philanthropy chair of the Structural Engineers of Arizona Young Member Group. In addition to her work with DLR Group, Liz teaches an intro to structural engineering course at Arizona State University.
In this episode we talk about
Elaine Molinar is a Partner and Managing Director at Snøhetta. She began her career as a designer of the Alexandria Library in Egypt after participating in the initial conception for Snøhetta’s winning competition entry. Throughout her time with Snøhetta, Elaine has held key positions in major cultural projects and competitions in Canada, the Middle East, Europe and the United States including the award-winning Norwegian National Opera & Ballet and James B. Hunt Jr Library at NCSU. In 2005, she helped found Snøhetta’s New York office after the firm was awarded the National September 11th Memorial Museum Pavilion at the World Trade Center in 2004, the office’s first commission in the Americas. Elaine currently leads the general management of Snøhetta’s US practice.
Elaine’s commitment to the issues of social and physical well-being influences her work not only as a design leader but also as an employer and cultivator of Snøhetta’s growing practice. Her early training in classical dance and performance brings an insightful understanding of ergonomics, perception, and comfort to the environments we design and inhabit. Her experience in the design of theaters, libraries, and the workplace has given Elaine an in-depth understanding of complex programmatic issues and has positioned her well to champion design from the user’s point of view.
Elaine’s work has led to numerous international awards and recognition including the Stanford Prize for Innovation in Research Libraries, AIA/ALA American Library Award, and an AIA Presidential citation, among others. Elaine has served as guest lecturer, studio critic, and awards juror in addition to daily practice. She is a member of the American Institute of Architects and is a LEED accredited professional.
Erica Loynd, FAIA is a Principal based out of DLR Group’s Seattle office, and is a Justice and Civic Studio Sector Leader. Erica is particularly passionate about sustainability, restorative justice, and the impact of the built environment on human wellness. She is an expert at leading teams to elevate conditions for disenfranchised people, and setting innovative justice standards that support wellness, equity, and transformative programs to successfully return people to their communities. Volunteering with AIA WA Council as the state licensure advisor, AIA Seattle’s mentorship programs and membership steering committee, Erica has worked with architects and aspiring candidates to enrich their careers in architecture. She has also been leading the national AIA Academy of Architecture for Justice Knowledge Community to push for innovations in research and operations to better serve all people.
In this episode we talk about:
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Qeturah Williams is a Senior Architect based out of DLR Group’s Houston office. As a Project Manager and Senior Architect with 16+ years of design and construction experience, her expertise lies in the management of all phases of the architectural design process - from direct collaboration with new and existing clients to visioning, programming, design, and construction administration. She loves the technical aspect of architecture and finds that there's nothing more satisfying than seeing a well-drawn detail implemented by a skilled tradesperson. Qeturah’s broad range of work includes diverse commercial projects across multiple market sectors - institutional, industrial, Laboratories, Healthcare, High Education, and K-12 Education.
Qeturah is especially passionate about education projects, and their immediate, positive impact to the client, community, educators, and learners. She believes that through design, architects are the stewards of the future, entrusted by the clients as partners to meet and exceed their goals. Qeturah is the 11th Licensed Female African-American Architect in Texas and 7th in Houston.
In this episode we talk about:
Natasha Espada, AIA, NOMA, LEED AP BD+C is the founder and Principal of STUDIO ENÉE Architects. She has over 25 years of design and construction expertise in both renovation and new construction for institutional, civic, and commercial clients. Natasha served as the 2020 President of the Boston Society for Architecture. Her platform focused on equity, diversity, inclusion, and social justice in the profession, as well as working to make Boston a Design City by bringing art and design to all neighborhoods in Boston.
She has been a speaker on Equity and Practice at the AIA Grassroots Conference in Washington, D.C., AIA Connecticut’s Equity Summit, and AIA New Hampshire’s The Future of Practice Conference. She is also an Adjunct Professor at Northeastern University and has been a design critic and lecturer at Harvard GSD, MIT, Yale, Wentworth, Roger Williams, and the BAC. Since 2012, she has served on the Committee for Green Communities and the board of the Permanent Public Building Committee in Needham, MA. Natasha is a graduate of University of Florida and holds a master’s degree in architecture from the University of Virginia with a certificate in American Urbanism.
In this episode you’ll hear:
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Vanessa Kassabian is a Cultural+Performing Arts design leader based out of DLR Group's New York office. She works closely with teams across the firm to facilitate design discussions and provide critical guidance on considerations around site, programming, massing, aesthetics, and execution. Vanessa has extensive experience designing for significant cultural programs throughout the United States, as well as in Canada and Mexico. As a strong proponent of collaboration and an integrated design approach, Vanessa works to foster client, consultant, and internal design team relationships from concept design to construction completion.
Born and raised in Texas, Vanessa is an active member of the American Institute of Architects and a LEED Accredited Professional. As a champion for the power of design, Vanessa focuses a great deal of her time on educating and mentoring the next generation of designers and has served as a visiting professor at the School of Visual Arts in New York City, and a guest lecturer at the Haifa International Waterfront Conference in Haifa, Israel. She previously led a research-based design workshop at the University of Calgary’s Faculty of Environmental Design, and has served as a studio critic at Columbia University, the Pratt Institute, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Syracuse University, and the University of Pennsylvania.
In this episode we talk about:
- Vanessa’s design philosophy, and how it has been shaped by her previous experiences at OMA/REX and Snohetta, and now at DLR Group
- How to build a strong design culture
- What we miss about being in the office
- How to increase diversity in design leadership, and Vanessa’s advice for emerging professionals who want to become Designers
- How we need to expand the notion of what constitutes “design”
- If you can teach someone to be a good designer
- What Vanessa finds most rewarding about being an architect
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She Builds Podcast is a show featuring the seldom told stories of women who build; women whose worth is not taught in architecture school, but who have shaped the industries of architecture, construction, and development throughout history. The podcast was started by Jessica Rogers, Lizi Raar and Norgerie Rivas, three friends who, after graduating from Syracuse University School of Architecture together, wanted to fill in the gaps in their education and share those with others. Episodes have featured Norma Merrick Sklarek, Julia Morgan, Jane Drew, Eileen Gray, Zaha Hadid, and many more!
In this episode, Jessica, Lizi, and Norgerie share the origin story of She Builds, their process for researching and putting together the show, and the most interesting things they’ve learned about the women they’ve featured. We also talk about the importance of seeing others like yourself in the profession, and how architecture history curricula are still stuck in their old male-dominated Eurocentric ways, but that this might slowly be changing.
Learn more about She Builds at www.shebuildspodcast.com!
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Joann Lui is an architect and founder of the Facebook community Women Architects Collective. With over 2700 members and counting, the Women Architects Collective has grown into an active community where women architects find support, build their networks, and celebrate their accomplishments. Joann is also a personal brand strategist and helps architects and designers build an unforgettable online presence and get noticed in their careers and businesses.
In this episode we talk about what inspired Joann to form the Women Architects Collective, why everyone should have a personal brand, and what the most important factors are in building your personal brand. Joann also gives some great advice for introverts on how to find your voice when it might be out of your comfort zone, and shares her thoughts on leadership and mentorship.
Learn more about Joann here: www.joannlui.com.
And check out the Women Architects Collective here!
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Julia Nagele is the Director of Architectural Design at HEWITT Seattle. She believes the success of today’s projects rely on the expertise of many, and is dedicated to creating an inclusive environment that promotes participation from a broad range of diverse thinkers. Julia helps enforce these values at HEWITT, as the team strives to address complex urban conditions in a straightforward and elegant manner. Her experience as an Assistant Affiliate Professor at the University of Washington reinforces her professional practice by guiding team projects as an editor and forming strategies for successful outcomes. She believes the art and science of making architecture, navigating agencies and understanding complex client organizations requires her to connect the dots at the right time for the right people. In doing so, the most opportunity and value for a client’s project will be realized.
In this episode, Julia tells the story of how a chance encounter in Rome led to her moving to Seattle. Julia shares how her career transitioned from an ebbing and flowing path to a clear trajectory upware, and gives some great advice on how to become a Designer at a firm. We also talk about how there are no shortcuts to being innovative or creative, and what it’s like to be on a Wikipedia list of the tallest buildings designed by women.
HEWITT projects referenced in the episode:
Winka Dubbeldam is the Chair and Miller Professor of Architecture at the University of Pennsylvania Stuart Weitzman School of Design, where she has gathered an international network of innovative research and design professionals. She has also taught advanced architectural design studios at Columbia, Cornell, and Harvard University, among other prestigious institutions. Winka was named one of the DesignIntelligence 30 Most Admired Educators 2015, and has been a juror at the Prix de Rome, several AIA juries, and at the Bogota Architecture Biennale in 2010.
As the founder/principal of the New York firm tectonics.com/">Archi-Tectonics, Dubbeldam is widely known for her award-winning work, recognized as much for its use of hybrid sustainable materials and smart building systems as for its elegance and innovative structures. Archi-Tectonics' work ranges from residential to commercial, from real to virtual, and is realized in urban designs, architectural designs, and installations.
In this episode, Winka talks about her role as Chair of Architecture at UPenn, and highlights some of the exciting programs and research that's happening at the school. Winka also talks about her experience starting Archi-Tectonics, what the hardest part of running your own practice is, and the impact she hopes to have through her work.
Katie Swenson is a nationally recognized design leader, researcher, writer, and educator. She is a Senior Principal of MASS Design Group, an international non-profit architecture firm whose mission is to research, build, and advocate for architecture that promotes justice and human dignity. Before joining MASS in early 2020, Swenson was vice president of Design & Sustainability at Enterprise Community Partners, Inc., a national nonprofit that invested over $43.6 billion in community development. She founded Enterprise’s National Design Initiative, directing the Affordable Housing Design Leadership Institute, the Pre-Development Design Grant, and the Rose Fellowship. The Rose Fellowship partners emerging architectural designers and cultural practitioners with local community development organizations to facilitate an inclusive approach to development resulting in sustainable and affordable communities.
A prolific writer, she released two books in the fall of 2020: Design with Love: At Home in America, and In Bohemia: A Memoir of Love, Loss and Kindness, both by Schiffer Publishing. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Comparative Literature from the University of California, Berkeley and a Master of Architecture from The University of Virginia. Katie was also a Harvard University Graduate School of Design Loeb Fellow in 2018-2019, and has taught at the Boston Architectural College and Parsons School of Design at The New School and lectured extensively on sustainable community development and affordable housing.
Bonnie Bridges is the founder and Principal of bba.com/studio/">Studio BBA in San Francisco. A strategic, clear thinker, perceptive listener and creative dynamo, Bonnie leads Studio BBA with adaptability, energy and fearless optimism. Drawing on deep expertise in the skilled facilitation of decisions and processes, and an intuitive, analytic nature, she guides the studio’s atelier of designers in creating beautiful, enriching, successful spaces and buildings for their clients.
Bonnie brings a keen awareness of place and purpose to her work, with an approach to the design process grounded in human experience, logic and thoughtful actions. This humanistic methodology took form during her graduate and doctoral research, which explored the relationship between being and building—through contemporary architectural theory and the study of phenomenology as interpreted and developed by Husserl and Heidegger, Kenneth Frampton, and Juhanni Palassma.
Site-specificity and material simplicity are essential aesthetic principles in Bonnie’s work, informed by growing up in California and ten years in the Sonoran Desert. She was profoundly inspired by these landscapes—imprinting within her a fundamental experience of light and space.
Actively involved in the civic realm and the greater architectural community, Bonnie is fueled by a deep, longstanding dedication to advancing the profession—through mentoring, teaching, advisory and Board roles. Bonnie founded the firm in 1992, preceded by working for award-winning firms in California and Arizona.
In this episode Bonnie shares how her deep knowledge of contemporary architectural theory enriches all projects at the firm. Bonnie talks about how at the core of her work is the belief that everyone who participates in a project actually matters. She also shares her experience of starting her own practice while raising a family, and that one can be dedicated to their intellect, values, and what they bring to society, but equally dedicated to their family.
June Grant is an architect, designer and researcher committed to the craft of buildings, their potential to enhance cities and develop socially responsible solutions to complex real-world problems. June is the founding Principal of lab.com/">blink!LAB architecture, a boutique, research-based architecture practice focused on adaptive and transformative sustainable development. Her design approach rests on an avid belief in cultural empathy, data research, and new technologies as integral to design futures and design solutions. She is also the current President of the San Francisco Chapter of the National Organization of Minority Architects (SFNOMA), where she is committed to growing practice opportunities for under-represented groups by strengthening the role of communication.
In the episode we talk about:
The 2020 NOMA Conference will be October 14-18, 2020! Check out https://www.noma.net/conference/ to learn more.
Alyssum Skjeie is a museum professional focused on presenting multi-faceted stories related to architecture and history. She is the new Director of El Pueblo History Museum in Pueblo, CO. In her new role she is eager to learn more about the Southern Colorado region in order to create collaborative exhibitions with the community. Prior to moving to Pueblo last December she lived and worked in Pittsburgh, PA for 8+ years. In her time there she was part of the Heinz Architectural Center at Carnegie Museum of Art, and curated or was a team member for over 20 architecture exhibitions and countless public programs. Significant exhibitions Alyssum curated are Sketch to Structure (2015) and Copy + Paste; The Hall of Architecture (2017-2018). She also particularly enjoyed being an integral team member on HACLab Pittsburgh: Imagining the Modern (2015-2016) and Lina Bo Bardi Draws (2019).
In her free time Alyssum runs, hikes, and quilts. She started hosting architecture runs in Pittsburgh as a way to share her love of both running and buildings. Colorado architecture runs are coming soon. She currently enjoys summiting the mountain peaks near Pueblo.
In this episode, we talk about:
Mani Farhadi is a Senior Facilities Planner at Stanford University School of Medicine in the Office of Facilities, Planning and Management. A global thinker and creative thought leader, Mani has three decades of experience in planning and architecture, and in collaborating with both public and private institutions. She enjoys combining her passion for education with her extensive planning skills to bring about stakeholder consensus and thoughtful solutions.
Mani’s leadership extends into volunteer duties as well. She is a former Board of Trustee member at Los Gatos Union School District, and Chair of the Bond Oversight Committee, for which she received the ‘Citizen Architect’ award. Mani also volunteers for the AIA Silicon Valley Women in Architecture Committee, as well as for various Iranian-American cultural and advocacy groups.
In this episode, we talk about:
Mani’s experience of growing up in Iran, and how she came to embrace her intersectional identity
On feeling in-between
Bonding with other Iranian-American architects
The duality of being a mother and working professional, and Mani’s advice for how to merge the two sides of yourself
How Mani made the transition from working at private architectural firms to becoming a Senior Planner at Stanford University School of Medicine
Mani’s volunteer work with the Women in Architecture Committee for the AIA Silicon Valley, and how organizations like WIA have evolved to become more than just about women’s issues
Mani’s experience during COVID and having her two adult sons at home (they made a Tik Tok video!)
Shalini Agrawal brings over 25 years of experience in community engagement, and has dedicated her career to bringing diversity and equity in design, art and architecture. She is co-director of Pathways to Equity, a leadership experience for responsible community-engaged design, and founder and principal of Public Design for Equity, an equity-driven practice for equity-driven outcomes. Shalini is on the board of Architects Designers and Planners for Social Responsibility, and Association for Community Design, as their Director of Fellowship. She is Associate Professor in Critical Ethnic Studies, Interdisciplinary Design Studios and Decolonial School at California College of the Arts.
In this episode, we talk about:
For the first time in the history of the Harvard Graduate School of Design, there are four Native American students enrolled at the same time. They are Elsa Hoover, Zoe Toledo, Heidi Brandow, and Jaz Bonnin, and together, they have formed the Harvard Indigenous Design Collective. Their aim is to support the education and work of Indigenous architects, planners, designers, scholars, allies, and alumni of the Harvard Graduate School of Design.
In this episode, I speak with Elsa, Zoe, Heidi and Jaz about how they all met and found each other at GSD, what inspired them to form the HIDC, and how their Native backgrounds influence the ways in which they think about their work. We also discuss how architects can better acknowledge Native lands, how we all have a responsibility to push projects to have a richer and deeper connection with the lands they sit on and communities they serve, and the importance of including indigenous voices in architecture and design conversations.
Siboney is Enterprise Rose Fellow in the Boston area. She works to understand how architecture and design can best serve communities. She is licensed as an architect in the state of Texas. From 2015-2017 Siboney served as Zoning Commissioner for District 1 in San Antonio. Most recently she helped complete a 63,000 square foot new construction facility for ChildSafe, a non-profit children's advocacy center while at Overland Partners. In San Antonio, Siboney dedicated her time to various non-profit arts organizations including the SAY Si Board of Directors, VIA Metropolitan Transit Community Council and the City of San Antonio Arts, Culture and Heritage Committee. She was a founding member and co-chair of the AIA San Antonio Latinos in Architecture Committee that advocated for multi-generational mentorship in design professions. She is currently working at Opportunity Communities, a community development corporation. Her work for the next two years will focus on affordable housing development and community building because they are inherently connected.
Siboney received her B.Arch from Cornell University. She insists that creative fields are viable vehicles for social change and is committed to prioritizing community voices in design processes.
In this episode, we talk about:
You can read Siboney’s Op-Ed in ARCHITECT magazine here.
Meghana Joshi is a Senior Project Manager at Little Diversified, Newport Beach.
Her projects have been honored with multiple SAGE Gold, PCBC Gold Nugget, SoCal, Argentum, & NAHB awards. She received 2019 AIA Orange County’s “Service Award”, 2018 AIA California’s “Associate” award and “Presidential Citation” honoring her commitment to the profession. She is a board member of the AIA Orange County Chapter, and Director for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion. She founded and chaired the Women in Architecture Committee. Under “Project Amplify” that she founded, she amplifies and celebrates voices and works of minority architects throughout the world with diverse projects.
Furthering her passion for life/ safety in architecture, Meghana has invented an artificial intelligence powered smart device. She spoke at the 2019 AECNext/ SPAR 3D Conference, A’19 Conference on Architecture, 2019 Computational Building Design Seminar, 2019 NOMA Conference on “Enhancing Life & Safety through Artificial Intelligence”. Meghana’s professional contributions were honored at the “Say it Loud” exhibition at A '19 Conference, and she is one of the “Inspiring Moms of 2019” for OC Register.
Bethany Borel, WELL AP is a Senior Associate at COOKFOX Architects in New York City. Since joining COOKFOX in 2012, Bethany’s combined knowledge of architecture and interior design has been a valuable asset to a variety of New York City projects. Currently, Bethany is spearheading the transformative design of the Solaire building in Battery Park City and the International WELL Building Institute headquarters at 220 Fifth Avenue. Bethany also designed and orchestrated the design of COOKFOX’s new, award-winning office on 57th Street, and the interiors of 62 Wooster Street, a landmarked 1920's industrial building to a luxury residential property in the heart of SoHo.
Bethany frequently speaks on the topics of biophilia and high-performance design at events such as Greenbuild and the New York Green Building Conference. Additionally, Bethany teaches a sustainability studio course at the New York School of Interior Design and regularly serves as a guest juror at Columbia University and the Pratt Institute.
Having spent her childhood in the seemingly disparate locales of Tokyo, Japan, and rural Iowa, Bethany has found that a common thread in her design philosophy is that she holds the utmost respect for the natural environment. At COOKFOX, Bethany brings this thinking to her projects as she pursues environmentally responsible design.
In this episode we talk about:
Melissa R. Daniel is an architectural designer in Washington D.C., with a broad range of project experience including multi-family housing, public housing, retail, embassies, federal buildings, and mission critical facility projects. Since 2013, Daniel has ensured that women in architecture have an established platform to tell their stories. She founded a Women in Architecture lecture series for the D.C. metro area, developed fluency with social media and web platforms to boost her storytelling and empowerment capabilities, and served as executive co-chair of the 2017 AIA Women’s Leadership Summit. Melissa is also a recipient of a 2018 AIA Associates Award, the 2018 AIA|PV Emerging Leader Award, and a 2015 BD+C 40 Under 40 Award.
Beyond the profession, Daniel has been a member of the steering committee for She Should Run Frontrunners, a nonprofit that encourages women to run for public office. She has provided direction for the development of the organization’s mission and engagement strategies, and actively recruits new members and potential leaders. Melissa is also the creator and host of Architecture is Political, a podcast where Black and Brown folks have a conversation about architecture.
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Check out the latest Architecture is Political episode where Melissa discusses the recent global protests, reflects on the written responses from architecture firms and allied organizations and how to cope in a work environment when you are the only black/brown person.
Mia Scharphie is a career and business strategist, and the founder of Build Yourself. She helps women in design, tech and innovation move from managing the work to setting the agenda. She helps women move past bias and make their industries and workplaces better places for women's talent.
Mia has trained national industry groups like the American Institute of Architects and Americans for the Arts, and works with leadership and staff at global design and innovation companies such as Stantec, Gensler and HOK. She's a former Harvard Innovation Lab resident, ran a research effort on women in social impact design for the Harvard Business School, and was named as one of Impact Design Hub’s Social Impact Design 40 under 40.
You can find Mia at Build Yourself, on Instagram, or on Linked In.
In this episode, we talk about:
- Why online collaboration is more formal than it should be
- How we will hopefully come out of this pandemic with new virtual ways to collaborate and get things done - but that you can’t learn what it feels like to have the sky as the ceiling in Google Earth
- What we should all be doing to advance our careers during economic high and low times, and actions items to take now
- How to hold onto your career North Star during uncertain times
- The concept of “Umbrella Careers”
For the toolkit that Mia mentions in the episode on finding and approaching mid-career mentors, check out: buildyourselfworkshop.com/designvoicementor
Donna Sink, AIA is a registered architect who is committed to good design for everyone in the community. She has worked on urban design, cultural institution, and art exhibition design projects for the last 25 years and has previously lived in Philadelphia, Detroit, Portland, and Phoenix. Donna now lives in Indianapolis and works at Rowland Design, an architecture and interior design firm doing cultural, educational, and residential projects across the country. Locally, Donna is Board Chair for People for Urban Progress, a non-profit known for salvaging used leather from Amtrak’s Acela seats and turning it into fashionable bags sold to fund urban equity projects. Donna received a Bachelor of Architecture from University of Arizona and a Master of Architecture from Cranbrook Academy of Art. Donna is also one of the hosts of the Archinect Sessions podcast.
Evelyn Lee, AIA, is the first ever Senior Experience Designer at Slack Technologies. Evelyn seamlessly integrates her business and architecture background with a qualitative and quantitative focus to build a better workplace experience for Slack Employees, visitors, and guests.
Evelyn received her Bachelor of Architecture degree with honors in 2002 from Drury University where she minored in Global Studies while playing on the Women’s Soccer Team. In 2003 she received her Masters of Architecture degree from the Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc). Most recently, in 2012, Evelyn finished a dual MPA (Masters Public Administration)/MBA (Masters Business Administration) in Sustainable Management from the Presidio Graduate School.
She is widely published, wrote a monthly column for practice.shtml">Contract magazine for over 3 years, and now is a frequent contributor to Architect Magazine. Evelyn has received numerous industry awards including the 2016 40 Under 40 award for Building Design + Construction and the 2014 AIA National Young Architects Award. She currently serves as the first ever female Treasurer to the AIA National Board.
Evelyn has been a featured Keynote Speaker, Invited Guest, Panelist, and Moderator at national design and architecture conferences including AIA National Convention, Dwell on Design, and Women in Green. Her topics focus on developing knowledge leadership, organizational change management, capacity building, stakeholder engagement, and strategic approaches to put design thinking into practice.
Evelyn has over 15 years working with individuals, organizations, and companies who are interested in applying design thinking to their decision-making process.
For the next few weeks/months, join Design Voice Podcast as we check in with people in the architecture and design professions to hear how they are living, working, and coping during this pandemic.
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Rosa Sheng is a Designer, Architect, Thought Leader who is known for innovating Architecture with over 26 years experience. When asked "What type of Architecture do you do?" Her answer is "The kind that hasn't been done before." She has led a variety of award-winning and internationally acclaimed projects from the aesthetically minimal, highly technical development of the glass structures for Apple’s original high-profile retail stores, Pixar Animation Studios, and notable institutions of higher learning including LEED NC Gold–certified Lorry I. Lokey Graduate School of Business at Mills College, Multiple UC Davis, CSU and Community Colleges to redefine design relevance for student success.
As Founder of Equity by Design and AIA SF President in 2018 , Rosa led 3 nationally acclaimed Equity in Architecture Survey research projects, co-authored AIA National Resolution 15-1 in 2015 for Equity in Architecture, and served on the Equity and the Future of Architecture (EQIA) Committee in 2016, '17 and '18. She has presented on" Why Equity Matters for Everyone", in many cities nationally and overseas. Her work has been featured in Architect Magazine, Architectural Record, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times including talks at Harvard GSD, Stanford, SxSW, TEDxPhiladelphia, KQED/NPR and Cannes Lions Festival. Rosa was honored in 2019 as a Metropolis Game Changer.
Rosa joined SmithGroup in October 2017 as a Principal in the San Francisco office. She is the Higher Education Studio Leader and Director of Equity, Diversity, Inclusion for interdisciplinary project pursuits that tap her expertise in strategic planning, programming, and project leadership for high performing teams.
As a founding partner of KFA, Barbara Flammang, FAIA, has overseen the design and construction of housing and community projects for nearly 40 years, from the adaptive reuse of historic buildings in downtown Los Angeles to the recently completed Los Angeles LGBT Center Anita May Rosenstein Campus in Hollywood.
Her inclusive management practices have tenaciously advanced gender equity and diversity. She has championed her firm’s achievement of 45-55% female architectural staff, consistently, for the past 34 years. The example set by her steadfast mentoring of young professionals has become an essential part of firm culture, resulting in high rates of licensure. She encourages entrepreneurship and proudly acknowledges the successes of alumni of the firm. Her volunteer work includes past service on the boards of the Los Angeles Conservancy and the Santa Monica Westside YWCA.
KFA provides architecture, design, and master planning services for projects throughout the greater Los Angeles metropolitan area using a collaborative approach with each project. The firm’s expertise encompasses transit-oriented developments; mixed-use housing, retail, and office projects; affordable, senior, family, and special-needs housing; hotels and restaurants; educational facilities; and adaptive reuse projects. KFA reshapes Los Angeles by designing great places where people flourish, and is proud to have contributed to the fabric of the city for over 40 years.
Yiselle Santos Rivera, Associate AIA, is a medical planner and the Global Director of Equity, Diversity, & Inclusion at HKS, Inc. With national and international experience on a broad range of healthcare, residential, institutional, and commercial/mixed-use projects, she thrives on building equitable practices, empowering the next generation of leaders, and creating inclusive platforms for engagement. She has served the AIA in local and national roles, including DC Chapter Board Director, Mid-Atlantic Regional Associate Director, and Strategic Council Associate Representative. She co-founded the Latin American Interior Designers, Engineers, and Architects (LA.IDEA) DC Committee and founded “Women Inspiring Emerging Leaders in Design” (WIELD), which received the 2019 AIA Diversity Program Recognition Award. Yiselle is a storyteller, a 2015 Christopher Kelley Leadership Development Program Scholar, and a recipient of the 2018 AIA Associate Award.
Emily Grandstaff-Rice, FAIA, is senior associate at Arrowstreet, a Boston-based architecture and design firm. She has experience with a broad range of academic, hospitality, institutional, and commercial projects, and her innovative design work reinforces that a building is more than its shell; it is an experience.
As a frequent speaker and writer on the future of architectural practice, Emily is fascinated by how technology, the social economy, and environmental urgency are addressed in architectural practice.
She has demonstrated continued and significant service to AIA, including leading the national diversity and inclusion conversation as chair of the Equity in Architecture Commission. For more than a decade of her career, Emily has advocated for emerging professionals: conducting original research on professional development, chairing the AIA Continuing Education Committee, and serving as 2014 president of the Boston Society of Architects/AIA.
Design Voice Podcast is back!
To start off Season 2 of the show, I thought I would do something a little different – share my own story.
I speak with Julia Gamolina of Madame Architect on why I became an architect, how this podcast came to be, and my thoughts on adjusting to life and work so far as a new mother.
Kathy Scott is a Principal at Walker Warner Architects. After growing up on Long Island, Kathy was awakened to architecture's potential during her time at Rice University where she earned a Bachelor of Architecture in 1993. During her years in Houston, Kathy regularly visited Renzo Piano's Menil Collection, drawn by the building's quiet contextualism, simplicity and inventive use of natural light. Kathy was equally impressed by Piano's collaborative approach with master craftsmen and has sought out similar relationships on projects, such as the Wilderness Cabin, Quintessa Residence, and Big Wood River Residence since joining Walker Warner Architects in 1995.
As a Principal at Walker Warner, Kathy leads the design on several of the firm’s projects, and mentors teams in the use of good processes to achieve the highest quality of work. She ensures that all projects are successful in balancing clients' goals in terms of budget, schedule and design. Kathy believes that architecture has the capacity to elevate our daily lives, and that the best work results when designs evolve in a thoroughly considered and deliberate manner.
In this episode, Kathy talks about her experience of staying with the same firm for over 24 years, and what it was like being employee number 3 to now being one of 4 principals at the 60 person office. Kathy shares what she loves about residential projects and designing houses and how architects sometimes have to be client whisperers. Kathy also talks about her experiences of being a working mother, the advice she gives expectant parents, and why firms should offer flexibility and help employees make it work at all stages of their lives.
PJ Glasco is a Principal at Cannon Design. She is a healthcare planner and designer who has worked with many of the nation’s top healthcare institutions to create landmark facilities. Her designs have enhanced the campuses of several institutions, including Texas Children’s Hospital, Harris Health System, the University of Texas Medical Branch and Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. PJ is a past chair of the Houston chapter of the AIA Committee on Architecture for Health and has presented at national industry conferences for several years. PJ has been previously recognized in the “40 Under 40” program of Building Design and Construction as well as by the Houston Business Journal’s “40 Under 40” and Engineering News-Record’s “20 Under 40” for the Texas and Louisiana Region. Her passion & strength lies in creating strong programs based on volume analysis and actualizing them into creative & operationally efficient planning solutions.
In this episode, PJ talks about her experience of immigrating to the U.S. from India to get her Masters of Architecture degree from the University of Houston, how she ended up becoming a healthcare planner and designer, and what she loves most about working in that field. She discusses one of the biggest trends she’s seeing in healthcare design, and has some great advice for how to tackle really complex projects or problems. PJ also shares why we should call it work-life integration, instead of work-life balance.
Phoebe Lam is the Director of Operations and a Project Manager at William Duff Architects in San Francisco. Along with managing the studio’s operations, planning, and hiring, she also works on projects in the single-family residential and commercial sectors. Drawing on experience creating conceptual designs and site plans for 1,000,000 sq. ft. outdoor retail centers, as well as multi-building and multi-block programs and parking layouts, Phoebe also enjoys more intimate, small scale tenant improvements and homes. She excels at managing complex projects with large numbers of consultants and multiple decision makers, and continually looks for new ways to apply sustainable principles and methods in all of her projects.
In this episode Phoebe talks about how she made the transition from project management into an operations role at her firm, and how her life approach influences the way she views her works. We discuss the pressures of thinking you need to act or be a certain way in the profession or out on a job site, and how to get over it and just focus your energy on your work instead. Phoebe also shares some great insight into how you should embrace the fact that your career is never static and reveals what she looks for when hiring potential employees. Whether you’re fresh out of school or have years of experience, she has great advice for job seekers.
Dana Getman is an Associate Principal at SHoP Architects in New York City, leading some of the firm’s most complex and dynamic projects. Dana received a Bachelor of Architecture from Cornell University and a Master of Architecture II from Yale University. She recently completed project management of 111 West 57th Street, a 1,400 foot tall terracotta and bronze super tall residential tower located adjacent to the original Steinway showroom overlooking Central Park. Among other projects, she also led the team during key phases of design and construction for the East River Waterfront including Pier 15 and the Esplanade, which create 14,000,000 sf of public space along the East River. She is an expert working with user groups and community stakeholders to build consensus throughout the design and construction process. Currently, she is overseeing design teams for the National Veterans Resource Center at Syracuse University and the OBO Design Excellence Program. She is Chair of Urban Land Institute Next in New York and a member of the urban planning committee at the Municipal Art Society in addition to regularly lecturing.
In this episode, Dana talks about her journey that took her from a Girl Scout project to architecture school, what it was like managing the design and construction of a residential supertower in Manhattan, how the thought processes that go into design public spaces can inform those of private developments, and gives some insight into the design process at SHoP. Dana also talks about her experiences with having both a fulfilling career while being a young mother, and shares what makes SHoP such a special and welcoming place for families.
Taryn Kinney is a Principal, and K-12 Education Studio Leader at DLR Group. Taryn is a native Texan who has successfully led the strategy, visioning, planning, and design of more than two million square feet of learning space, both nationally and internationally. She enjoys sharing her knowledge from her experiences and creating connections to implement exceptional learning environments. During her 15 years of developing facilities to support new educational models she has seen her clients face increasingly complex challenges. Taryn joins her clients in their journey to define unique responses to external and internal challenges through evidence-based practice. She incorporates current developmental research, environmental psychology, and organizational psychology to design facilities that respond to human learning and behavior.
In this episode, Taryn shares how she went from loving studying architecture in college, to wanting to explore other career options, to finally creating a role for herself that incorporates her interests in architecture, research, the social sciences, and the design of learning spaces. Taryn talks about how she has developed and implemented a comprehensive planning process that empowers students, educators, parents, school boards, and community members to craft a vision for future learning in their community. We discuss how buildings can be a catalyst to help clients achieve their vision, but that buildings can’t change human behavior on their own. Taryn also gives some great advice on what to do if you realize a traditional architecture career isn’t for you.
Natalie Tse is a California licensed Structural Engineer and Project Manager at Tipping Structural Engineers in Berkeley, California with a broad range of design experience in educational, commercial/retail, residential, science and technology sectors. Her portfolio includes the structural design, assessment, and seismic retrofit of over 35 school campuses, a mission critical laboratory and office building, and the design of a new wood-framed cathedral over concrete post-tensioned podium.
Natalie is deeply passionate about innovative solutions, well-integrated and cost-effective designs, responsiveness during construction, and open communication. She is profoundly committed to learning, mentoring, building strong relationships, family, and giving back to the community. In 2015, Natalie co-founded the SE3 Project, a project established to understand and mitigate issues of employee engagement and retention, advancement, work-life balance, and gender equity in the structural engineering profession.
In this episode, Natalie talks about her career journey so far, shares some of the pinch points along the way and how she got past them, and gives some great career advice for both parents and non-parents. We also talk about what inspired her to help co-found SE3, why giving back to the community is so important to her, and what she loves most about being an engineer. Natalie also reveals her favorite structural system.
Rachel Preston Prinz is an architecturally-trained American designer, and founder of the Santa Fe based consulting agency Archinia. She works at the intersection of architecture and design, placemaking, cultural and historic preservation, and community engagement.
In addition to Archinia, Rachel also runs a non-profit organization, Architecture for EveryBody, which aims to bring the craft of architecture, usually reserved for the wealthiest 98%, to the people. Rachel is a filmmaker, an educator, has given multiple TEDx and Pecha Kucha talks on design, and has had her work featured on HGTV, Bravo, NMPBS and Canadian PBS. She is also going blind from macular degeneration.
In this episode, Rachel tells the story of her fascinating life journey thus far, which has taken her from military school, to the cathedrals in Paris, through the Rocky Mountains, and finally to Santa Fe, where she established her hybrid profit/non-profit practice. Rachel shares how despite numerous setbacks, she found her passion and voice, and crafted a career that she loves.
In this special episode of Design Voice Podcast, I’m joined by Carrie Moore and Jennifer Grosso of SOM’s New York office to discuss mentor-mentee relationships. Carrie and Jen talk about the mentorship programs at SOM, and share their insights on why mentorship is so valuable from both the mentor and mentee perspectives. They offer some great advice on what to do if your firm doesn’t have a formal mentorship program, as well as how to find your place at a larger firm. Carrie also shares with her her journey to becoming a director at SOM.
Carrie Moore is a director at SOM’s New York office, where she has worked on some of SOM’s most dynamic and transformative projects within the education sector. She is also passionate about helping others navigate their careers and become successful project leaders. Jennifer Grosso is a Senior Architect at SOM, where she works on all phases of large-scale mixed-use projects. Jen is a also a board member of ArchiteXX, and is actively involved in the Urban Land Institute.
Bianca Koutsakos is a Business Development Manager at Neoscape, a creative agency that specializes in branding and visual storytelling of the built environment. Bianca represents the agency’s San Francisco office, and spearheads the market growth, business development and marketing strategy for their West Coast market. Part of her role involves increasing awareness of Neoscape’s services that specialize in 3D visualization, branding, film, interactive, and design specifically for commercial real estate on the West Coast.
In this episode, Bianca shares what she loves most about commercial real estate, as well as some great advice on what it takes to “make it” in a male dominated industry. We also talk about Bianca’s work with the Women’s Leadership Initiative of ULI, some of the latest 3d visualization and interactive tools that Neoscape’s RADLAB is exploring, and what it means to be a good storyteller.
Wanda Lau, LEED AP, is the editor of tech, practice, and products for ARCHITECT and Architectural Lighting. Along with 10 years of experience in the AEC industry, she holds a B.S. in civil engineering from Michigan State University, an S.M. in building technology from MIT, and an M.A. in journalism from Syracuse University's Newhouse School. Her writing covers a wide range of topics including architecture, technology, business, sustainability, and energy performance, and has appeared in Architect, Architectural Lighting, Eco-Structure, Men’s Health, ASID Icon, University Business, Urban Land, The Syracuse Post-Standard, among others. You can also hear her interviewing leaders in design and technology on Architect's podcast, ArchitectChats.
In this episode, we discuss what current AEC technologies she finds most fascinating, how she comes up with her story ideas, what topics she thinks deserve more attention, and her thoughts on covering the architecture profession in the #MeToo era.
Margaret Cavenagh is a Principal at Studio Gang and leads the firm’s interior architecture practice, working closely with Jeanne Gang on all interior, renovation, and architectural projects. Margaret has experience designing a wide range of project types and scales including multi-family, mixed-use projects; work space design; and custom residential design.
Guided by expert observations of how people use space, Margaret consistently delivers award-winning interior designs while attaining some of the highest sustainability ratings, including LEED Platinum and Living Building Challenge certification. She has lent her design expertise to projects such as the Conservation Center, Maisonette, Columbia College Media Production Center, Shoreland, Harbor Point Residence, Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership, City Hyde Park, and Writers Theatre.
Margaret holds a Master of Architecture from Washington University in St. Louis, and a Bachelor of Science in Architecture from the University of Virginia. She has juried and served as a guest lecturer for the American Institute of Architects (AIA).
In this episode, Margaret shares with me her journey to becoming Principal at Studio Gang, what the design and research process is like at the firm, and dives deep into some of her favorite projects. We also discuss that never ending push and push between the interior and exterior of a building. Aside from all the architecture talk, Margaret also gives great advice on how and why you should advocate for change, not just for yourself, but for your peers and for your profession.
Anthia Wong is a Team Lead and Project Manager with the interior and architecture firm sf.com/">FORGE, where she works on a wide range of commercial, interior, and tenant improvement projects. She focuses much of her time on relationship building and fostering the lines of communication externally with clients, as well as internally within the firm. Her underlying passion of wanting to help people lent well to elevate her to a position that requires making sure that client expectations are being met while nurturing internal teams to make sure members have the tools they need to achieve success.
In this episode, Anthia shares with me her journey from taking a watercolor class in community college, to studying architecture at California College of the Arts, to her current role as a Team Lead at FORGE. We also discuss whether or not leadership skills are innate or can be learned, why working on tenant improvement projects can be a great experience for people fresh out of school, and how being a project manager is kind of like being a mom.
Angie Sommer, S.E. is an Associate at ZFA Structural Engineers in San Francisco. She’s currently a project manager and engineer for a wide variety of projects around the Bay Area and California, with a focus on the educational and senior living sectors. She is heavily involved in a variety of industry organizations, including the San Francisco chapter of Commercial Real Estate Women (CREW SF), and the Structural Engineering Engagement and Equity Committee (SE3) of the Structural Engineers Association of Northern California (SEAONC). On top of all that, Angie is the co-founder of Vow Muse which helps people craft unique wedding toasts, speeches, and vows.
Pascale Sablan, AIA, is an award winning architect and mentor in New York City. Pascale seeks excellence and humanity in all of her projects while providing a resounding voice for the issues facing women architects and architects of color. She’s also only the 315th black female architect to obtain licensure in the US. She has lectured at colleges and universities across the US, is a 2018 AIA Young Architects Award recipient, a past president of the New York Coalition of Black Architects (NYCOBA), and serves on the National Organization of Minority Architects (NOMA) national board as the Northeast Regional Vice President and Historian.
Pascale is currently a Senior Associate at S9 Architecture in New York City. Previously she had been an associate at the New York’s FXFOWLE Architects for more than a decade. As a member of FXFOWLE’s design team, she contributed to a number of commercial, cultural, and residential projects in the U.S., Asia, and the Middle East.
In this episode, Pascale speaks about her career journey and how she developed her advocacy voice, and shares her candid thoughts about motherhood and the architecture profession. Pascale also talks about what she and others at NYCOBA and NOMA are doing to educate and empower minority architects and inspire the next generation.
Julia Gamolina is the founder and editor of Madame Architect, an online platform celebrating women in architecture from different generations, countries, and corners of the industry. Originating as a guest series on ArchiteXX's online journal Sub_teXXt, Madame Architect is designed to encourage young women considering entering this industry by showing the myriad of choices they have in crafting a meaningful career. The ultimate goal for Madame Architect is that everyone who is looking at the site is able to find encouragement and guidance for their own pursuits, and empathy and understanding for the pursuits of others.
Julia is also a Business Developer at FX Collaborative and has experience in both communications and design. She is the Co-Chair of ULI New York’s Young Leaders Group Communications Committee and is on the AIANY Women in Architecture Committee.
Learn more about Madame Architect at www.madamearchitect.org
Sandra Vivanco is a Professor of Architecture and Diversity studies at California College of the Arts, co-director of the CCA BuildLab, as well as the founding principal of plus-d.com/">A+D, Architecture + Design, in San Francisco. Based on the premise that inclusiveness and design excellence can and should co-exist, the work of A+D is globally recognized and operates at multiple scales. As one of a few of Latina-owned architecture firms in the country, A+D explores cultural identity representation as design inspiration for new and invigorated public spaces.
In this episode, Sandra and I discuss so many interesting topics - the scrappy beginnings of her architecture practice, the melding of architecture and diversity studies in her curricula, on why representation matters, on engaging communities throughout the design process, and more!
Learn more about Sandra at: https://www.cca.edu/academics/faculty/svivanco
Learn more about A+D Architecture at: plus-d.com/">www.a-plus-d.com
Jennifer Wolch is the William W. Wurster Dean and Professor of City and Regional Planning in the College of Environmental Design at University of California, Berkeley. Jennifer holds a BA in Anthropology and an MA in Geography from California State University Hayward, and a PhD in Urban Planning from Princeton. She's a scholar of urban analysis and planning, and her past work focused on urban homelessness, urban environmental justice and political ecology, and the delivery of affordable housing and human services.
Jennifer shares with me her experiences in academia and as Dean, and we get into an in depth discussion on the housing crisis and homelessness issue in Los Angeles and San Francisco.
Angeles Garcia is a Project Executive at McCarthy Building Companies. Originally from Ensenada, Mexico, Angeles has a Bachelor of Architecture degree from the Tijuana Institute of Technology.
Angeles started out at McCarthy over 20 years ago by answering a newspaper ad for a Project Admin position. Since then she has slowly worked her way up to an executive role, breaking down barriers all along the way. In this episode, Angeles shares some great advice on how to inspire teams to do great work, how organizations can address unconscious bias, and how we should all stop second guessing ourselves and just go for it.
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Anne Torney is a partner at Mithun | Solomon, and leads their San Francisco office. For more than 20 years, she has made affordable multi-family housing and transit-oriented urban infill the focus of her work. For Anne, architecture isn't just about the form or the icon, but the process of making and the narrative of a building, and sharing that with a community to help them envision change. She believes that the two biggest challenges of our time are income inequality and climate change, but design has the power to address both.
In this episode, Anne tells the story of her first community planning meeting, how Mithun has been able to successfully get affordable housing projects built in San Francisco, and shares why you should bring your values to your firm and push for change.
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Mary Wurst is a lighting designer and electrical engineer DLR Group. Her design philosophy revolves around seeing light, whether natural and artificial, as the soul of any space. A chance encounter with a cadaver arm ended up steering her toward getting an engineering degree, and she’s now a Senior Associate at DLR Group. We discuss the importance of exposing high school students to different careers, the challenges that mid-level professionals face, how she balances her work life with her home life, and why firms should be less focused on the rigidity of the 9-5.
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Nishita Lakhani is a Senior Project Engineer at McCarthy Building Companies. Although she is relatively new to the profession, I loved hearing how passionate and positive she is about the construction industry. We talked about the differences between construction in India versus the U.S., how you don’t realize it when you’re in school but communication is the key to successful projects, and whether or not mentorship and diversity initiatives are actually effective.
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Sandra Biddulph is a structural engineer, and a Principal at the firm engineers.com/">DCI Engineers. Before settling down in Irvine, Sandra worked in both LA and Seattle, and has had a really interesting career journey. She’s worked at small firms, co-founded her own practice, and worked on the general contractor side before becoming Principal at DCI. She appreciates the art of structural design; watching a project come together, with a tangible finished product that becomes a part of our built environment.
In this episode, we talk about what it was like transitioning from Project Engineer to Project Manager to Principal, why engineers should get out and promote their profession, and how she was able to balance her work life with her home life.
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Irina Schneid is an architect, educator, and principal of the interdisciplinary design lab SCH+ARC Studio LLC. Aside from running her design practice, she currently teaches undergraduate design and theory courses at Pratt Institute.
In this episode, Irina shares with me how she got her foot in the door in the ultra competitive world of academia, how she balances teaching and running her own practice, and how motherhood has changed her notion of what constitutes a successful career.
Laura Guzman is the National Director of Marketing and Business Development at the global engineering firm WSP. Prior to that, she was the Chief Operating Officer at Microdesk, a design technology consultancy, so she really has her finger on the pulse of the AEC industries.
In this episode, she shares her career journey, and I ask her for all sorts of advice on how to be an advocate for yourself, how to work with difficult people, and on applying for roles you don't feel ready for yet. (We also talk digital agriculture!)
In this episode, I speak with Rose McClure, a structural engineer at Simpson Gumpertz & Heger. Rose is a co-founder of the Structural Engineering Engagement and Equity Committee (SE3), which was established in 2015 with the mission to study and work to improve engagement and equity in the structural engineering profession. We discuss all things SE3, and how work-life balance, flexibility in the workplace, and equity aren't just "women's issues".
In this inaugural episode of Design Voice Podcast, I speak with Jill Lerner, FAIA. Jill is an architect and Principal at Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates, a global architectural design and planning firm, where she leads their academic, healthcare, and research practices.
In this episode, Jill shares how she became an architect, what she loves most about the profession, and what role architects should play in civic issues.
The Design Voice Podcast seeks to elevate and amplify the voices of women in the architecture, engineering, and construction professions. Each episode features honest conversations with women who shape the built environment. By telling their stories, this podcast hopes to serve as a source of education, inspiration and empowerment.
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