{"Design Voice Podcast","Design Voice Podcast"}

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:

• How working for Philip Johnson early on in her career made Shalini realize she wanted to explore alternative avenues of architecture
• How a trip to India made Shalini want to design projects with people, not just for people
• What inspired Shalini decide to co-found the Pathways to Equity program
• How we can acknowledge our power and privilege as design professionals, and recognize that every time we step into a community we are a guest
• How architects should change their mindset when it comes to Community Engagement
• Holding ourselves and our profession responsible for spatial injustice, and what individuals can do about it
• The interdisciplinary courses that Shalini teaches at California College of the Arts, including her Radical Redesign course
• On questioning the status quo to think about where equity can live
• Taking an Equity Pause
• The ADPSR holding the AIA responsible for their code of ethics and wanting them to address the prison industrial complex.
• Holding space for and supporting women of color in design and architecture

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:

• Siboney’s experience in architecture school, and the problem with the curriculum
• How Siboney was raised to question what narratives are prioritized
• Siboney’s work with the AIA San Antonio Latinos in Architecture Committee
• The importance and power of being able to enter a space in which you feel welcomed
• The systems aren’t broken - they are working exactly how they were intended to
• Siboney’s experience so far at OppCo as a Rose Fellow
• On learning the right language to challenge real estate developers
• The responsibility that comes with creating space

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:

• Ways to improve your home office environment
• How Bethany and her team at COOKFOX are staying connected while WFH during the pandemic
• What is biophilia and examples of biophilic design strategies in architecture and interior design
• How COOKFOX is rethinking the future of office design in a post-covid world

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 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.