Episode 18: Breaking Down Siloes w/ Lori Ferriss

This week's episode features a conversation with Lori Ferriss of Goody Clancy. We discuss the need for existing and historic buildings to be part of the climate action conversation as well as numerous organizations that are working toward that goal. Lori and I are two of the four chairs for the ZNCC and we talk about a number of overlaps between all the organizations. This is a fun and informative one which will provide more information on the intersection of preservation and sustainability.

Links:

Building Highlight: Maggie Walker House in Richmond, VA

Bio:  Lori Ferriss, AIA, PE, LEED AP BD+C is a leader in sustainable stewardship for the built environment. As Goody Clancy’s Director of Sustainability and Climate Action, she leads research and project initiatives and advocates within the broader profession for policies and practices that advance climate action goals.  

Lori plays a leadership role on projects at educational institutions that are renewing heritage campuses while advancing climate action goals. She serves as project manager and forensic specialist on numerous Goody Clancy projects, and her sustainability leadership includes incorporating life cycle assessment as an integrated step of the design process.

Within the broader design community, Lori’s leadership is shaping our understanding of building reuse as a key measure towards meeting climate change mitigation goals. At the national level, she serves as a founding member and co-chair of the Zero Net Carbon Collaboration for Existing and Historic Buildings (ZNCC), a collaborative committed to achieving a zero net carbon built environment through responsible reuse of existing buildings that was formed by APTI, AIA, RAIC, ICOMOS, and Architecture 2030. Most recently, the City of Boston asked Lori to serve on its carbon mitigation policy Technical Advisory Group.

Sponsor: Smartsheet For Architects

Episode 17: Creating your Community w/ April Drake

This episode features a fun conversation between me and the amazing April Drake.   We talk about her architecture journey, the importance of networking, and creating a supportive community for your personal and professional growth.   

Links:

Building spotlight: Whitaker Memorial Hospital in Newport News, VA

Bio:
April Drake
April Drake is a Senior Project Architect with HDR in Arlington, VA focusing on complex government facilities. A native of Hampton Roads, Virginia, April received her B. Arch from Hampton University in 2004. With 15 years of education, government and commercial project experience, April leads multidisciplinary teams through all stages of design. She is a skilled facilitator and is well-known for her dedication to both collaboration and communication.

April is especially passionate about her mentorship role in promoting the growth of women and minorities in architecture and allied fields. As one of the first 400 African American licensed women in the country, April is aware of the leadership and encouragement that is necessary to guide women from graduation to licensure. To that end, she is an active member in the AIA and a committee volunteer for NCARB (National Council of Architecture Registration Board). After serving two years on the Board of Directors, she is now the 2021 Treasurer for the AIA Northern Virginia (NOVA) Chapter. Since 2014, she has volunteered with NCARB on a number of task forces developing the new ARE 5.0 Exam. She is also
Past Chair of the AIA NOVA Women in Architecture Committee, which champions the advancement of women in the profession throughout Northern Virginia, Washington, D.C., and Maryland.

April also dedicates her efforts to creating events geared toward introducing young girls to Architecture. In 2015, she started a STEM event for local Girl Scout troops. Through a series of both collaborative and individual hands-on activities, each girl is able to explore aspects of architecture while also earning a STEM patch for their vest. In November 2018, April was the Local Keynote speaker in Washington, DC for the AIA Leadership Institute. Speaking about the “Missing Middle”, she highlighted the challenges faced by mid-career professionals. Finally, in 2019 she was honored as one of the AIA VA Emerging Professional Award recipients.

Episode 16: Digital Documentation w/ Purvi Gandhi Irwin

This episode features a fun conversation between me and the super talented  Purvi Gandhi Irwin.  We talk about her preservation journey, travel, and different life experiences.  We also discuss the importance of documenting historic structures prior to them being demolished.

Links:

Bio:
Purvi Gandhi Irwin:
As the Practice Manager for Architecture at CADD Microsystems, Purvi supports professionals across all disciplines with BIM technologies, which includes teaching Revit, developing workflows and standards, troubleshooting issues, and finding creative solutions to both design and modeling problems. She has 17+ years of experience, most spent as a preservation project architect, where she specialized in using innovative technologies to facilitate the documentation and rehabilitation of institutional buildings, and 12+ years of Revit experience working with historic buildings, from conceptual design, through construction administration and project close-out. Purvi is a registered architect with degrees in both Architecture and Historic Preservation. She served on the Alexandria, VA Parker Gray Board of Architectural review from 2012 until its consolidation in 2019, as both a board member and as Board Chair. She currently serves on the Alexandria Board of Architectural Review. In the past, Purvi was also active with both the local and national chapters of the Association for Preservation Technology. She has recently become more involved in equity and diversity conversations as they relate to both the larger AEC industry and more specifically around historic preservation principles. She loves to learn and teach, with a strong belief that diversity in all ways creates stronger and more resilient communities. She has presented at many conferences over the years, including BILTna conferences, Autodesk University, DesignDC, AIA National Conference, ArchEX conference, the APTI Annual Conference, and local AIA chapter events.


Episode 15: The Conference Episode

 

This episode features a quick book review of The Black Butterfly by Dr. Lawrence T. Brown and a curated list of conferences I'm excited to participate in this fall (2021).

To learn more about Dr. Lawrence's work with The Black Butterfly:

Click here for a curated list of book recommendations and resources.

FALL 2021 CONFERENCES & EVENTS:

10/01/21 - 10/31/21

10/01/21 - 10/31/21

 
10/01/21

10/01/21

10/07/21

10/07/21

 
10/20/21 - 10/23/21

10/20/21 - 10/23/21

10/24/21

10/24/21

 
10/25/21 - 10/29/21 & 11/01/21

10/25/21 - 10/29/21 & 11/01/21

10/27/21 - 10/29/21

10/27/21 - 10/29/21

 
11/01/21 - 11/12/21

11/01/21 - 11/12/21

 
11/01/21 & 11/03/21 - 11/06/21

11/01/21 & 11/03/21 - 11/06/21

Episode 14: Determined by Design w/ Kia Weatherspoon

**EPISODE CONTAINS EXPLICIT LANGUAGE**

This episode features a candid conversation with Kia Weatherspoon.  We cover her journey to becoming an interior designer and the importance of equitable design for all.    

Quote:

"I refuse to accept despair as the final response to the ambiguities of history." - Martin Luther King, Jr.

 Links:

Bio:  Kia Weatherspoon

The design voice of impact and change. Kia Weatherspoon, NCIDQ, ASID, has spent the last 15 years defying every design stereotype. The most damaging: interior design is a luxury

reserved for a few. Her voice, advocacy for Design Equity™ , and design practice have shifted the narrative, making interior design a standard for all. As an advocate and educator in business

leadership, equity, and diversity, Kia has been recognized for her work and achievements by Interior Design Magazine, GlobeSt.com, CREW DC, BD+C Magazine, IIDA and ASID. Kia was recently conferred with an Honorary Doctorate from New York School of Interior Design.

**Some of the links above may be Amazon affiliate links, which means that if you choose to make a purchase, I will earn a commission. This commission comes at no additional cost to you.**

**This episode is sponsored by www.Smartsheet4architects.com, a better way to manage architecture projects.**

Episode 13: Heritage for the next generation w/ Monica Rhodes

In this episode, I talk with the amazing Monica Rhodes.  I learned so much from this episode and there are so many good shownotes for you to check out.  Our conversation meandered from the US Colored Troops to Fred Shuttlesworth to Contraband Camps & Negro baseball league stadiums,  to HOPE Crew & the Buffalo Soldiers.  Also, Monica previously worked at the  National Trust for Historic Preservation so there are a number of people she mentions in the episode that may be familiar to those of you who've worked with the Trust.   As you'll hear, we had a great time chatting and joking about how she got rid of all the HOPE Crew T-shirts she  inherited.   

Quote:
"To accept one's past - one's history - is not the same thing as drowning in it; it is learning how to use it.  An invented past can never be used; it cracks and crumbles under the pressures of life." - James Baldwin

Links:

Bio: Monica Rhodes
Monica Rhodes has been leading national efforts to connect local and regional communities with cultural heritage and historic sites for over a decade. She holds degrees from the University of Tulsa, Temple University, and the University of Pennsylvania, where she earned a Master's degree in historic preservation. Currently serving as the director of resource management at the National Park Foundation (NPF), the official nonprofit partner to the National Park Service, Rhodes oversees grantmaking for historic properties and develops strategies for preserving cultural heritage specifically representing communities of color. Concurrently, Rhodes also consults with the University of Pennsylvania's Weitzman School of Design at the Center for the Preservation of Civil Rights Sites, helping to establish partnerships to advance the Center’s work. 

Prior to her role at NPF, Rhodes was the founding director of the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s HOPE (Hands-On Preservation Experience) Crew, which was created to expand the preservation movement to younger, more diverse audiences. Under Rhodes' leadership, the program completed over 165 heritage construction projects, trained 750 young people and veterans, engaged 3700 volunteers in large-scale community events, more than 1 billion media impressions, and supported $18M of preservation work. Before joining the Trust, Rhodes worked as a consultant to preservation organizations around the country. 

Rhodes sits on the Commission for Historical and Architectural Preservation (CHAP), the Market Center Community Development Corporation board, and the Baltimore Regional Housing Partnerships in Baltimore City. She also is a member of the International Council of Monuments and Sites, Sustainable Development Goals Working Group. Previously, she served as an advisor for the DC LGBTQ Historic Context Study and a project reviewer for the Facilities and Buildings grant program for the Washington, D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities.

Rhodes' work has been featured in national outlets such as PBS NewsHour, Huffington Post, Washington Post, and U.S. News & World Report. She also appeared in a feature spread on Black women in the preservation movement in Essence Magazine’s Spring 2018 issue. Her work continues to be at the vanguard of the ever-evolving world of heritage, place, community, and action.

**Some of the links above may be Amazon affiliate links, which means that if you choose to make a purchase, I will earn a commission. This commission comes at no additional cost to you.**

 **This episode is sponsored by www.Smartsheet4architects.com, a better way to manage architecture projects.**

Episode 12: The love of building w/ Constance Lai

In this episode, I talk with Constance "Connie" Lai about being an architect and a woman working in the preservation trades and construction field.  We talk about professional differences she observed while completing her Richard Morris Hunt Fellowship in France and the importance of valuing the impact of tradespeople on the built environment.  It's a great conversation that explores the impact of builders on the built environment and different ways to problem solve people & construction problems.

Parable:
A man came upon a construction site where three people were working. He asked the first, “What are you doing?” and the man replied: “I am laying bricks.” He asked the second, “What are you doing?” and the man replied: “I am building a wall.” As he approached the third, he heard him humming a tune as he worked, and asked, “What are you doing?” The man stood, looked up at the sky, and smiled, “I am building a cathedral!” - Vision Parable

Links:

Bio:  Constance Lai, FAIA, NCARB, LEED AP BD+C, USACE-CQM
Constance Lai is the Historic Preservation Manager for Grunley Construction. She provides Historic Preservation and Conservation support to both the Pre-Construction and Operations Departments. Her expertise ranges from design-build to quality control to sustainability. She has over 18 years of experience in historic preservation and has worked on the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, the Washington Monument, and the U.S. Capitol. She has lectured on integrating conservation into the design and construction process, the Washington Monument Earthquake Repair project, and the contributions of Thomas Casey and Bernard Green to the Washington, DC, built environment.

She received her Bachelor of Architecture from Rice University and her Master of Science in Architectural Studies (History, Theory, and Criticism) from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She is an alumna of the AIADC Chapter’s Christopher Kelley Leadership Program.  In 2017, she was awarded the Richard Morris Hunt Prize Scholarship, which afforded her the opportunity to spend five weeks in France visiting preservation architecture firms and visiting construction sites.

Episode 11: Dismantling Preservation w/ Sarah Marsom

This episode features a conversation with Sarah Marsom.  We cover ways to make the preservation field more accessible, the impetus behind her Dismantle Preservation Conference and the importance of getting paid.

Quote:  "We all should know that diversity makes for a rich tapestry, and we must understand that all the threads of the tapestry are equal in value no matter what their color." - Dr. Maya Angelou

Links:

Not mentioned in the show but additional awesome organizations and Young Preservation groups for you:

Bio:  Sarah Marsom

With 10+ years of experience working in the cultural resources field, Sarah Marsom has a keen understanding of storytelling and connecting people to the past. Sarah works to improve the preservation movement’s accessibility by empowering the next generation of community advocates and increasing representation of lesser-known histories. In 2018, Sarah was recognized by the National Trust for Historic Preservation as the recipient of the American Express Aspire Award during the 2018 National Preservation Awards and as an honoree of the inaugural 40 Under 40: People Saving Place's list.  

Sarah's work has been featured in Curbed, Traditional Building Magazine, and the National Parks Service’s LGBTQ America Theme Study, amongst other publications and podcasts. 

Find her on  Instagram, Twitter,  LinkedIn or email her at  me@sarahmarsom.com.

**This episode is sponsored by www.Smartsheet4architects.com, a better way to manage architecture projects.*

Episode 10: Site control & Catalysts w/ Patricia Ofori

This episode features a conversation between me and Real Estate entrepreneur, Patricia Ofori.  We talk about her journey of getting started in real estate, repurposing buildings, and the importance of knowing the process of getting a deal off the ground.

Quote:

"You can't be what you can't see." - Marian Wright Edelman

Bio:  Patricia Ofori

Patricia Ofori is a real estate entrepreneur who uses physical spaces to foster community, creativity, and collaboration. Her boutique firm Ofori & Co. specializes in multi-unit development and single-family home renovations. As an agent, Patricia has sold over 200 houses—primarily in the Washington, D.C. metro area’s competitive market. She’s personally bought, rehabbed and sold over a dozen properties. Her design philosophy is to honor a neighborhood’s aesthetic and heritage while curating contemporary and functional spaces. The Baltimore, Md.-based investor uses her wealth of real estate knowledge to host events that encourage camaraderie, sustainability, and homeownership.

 Patricia Ofori is a real estate entrepreneur who uses physical spaces to foster community, creativity, and collaboration. Her boutique firm Ofori & Co. specializes in multi-unit development and single-family home renovations. As an agent, Patricia has sold over 200 houses—primarily in the Washington, D.C. metro area’s competitive market. She’s personally bought, rehabbed and sold over a dozen properties. Her design philosophy is to honor a neighborhood’s aesthetic and heritage while curating contemporary and functional spaces. The Baltimore, Md.-based investor uses her wealth of real estate knowledge to host events that encourage camaraderie, sustainability, and homeownership.

Links:

 **This episode is sponsored by www.Smartsheet4architects.com, a better way to manage architecture projects. |  Featured Music is selections from Sarah Gilberg's album Other People's Secrets"

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Episode 9: Some of my favorite things from 2020

**Some of the links above may be Amazon affiliate links, which means that if you choose to make a purchase, I will earn a commission. This commission comes at no additional cost to you.**

This episode features some of my favorite things from 2020. 

Quote:

 "One ever feels his twoness - an American, a Negro; two souls, two thoughts, two unreconciled strivings; two warring ideals in one dark body, whose dogged strength alone keeps it from being torn asunder."  - W.E.B. Du Bois

Links:

  **This episode is sponsored by www.Smartsheet4architects.com, a better way to manage architecture projects.**

Episode 8: A Sense of Place w/ Professor Amber Wiley

This episode features a conversation with Professor Amber Wiley.  She is an old friend who is an Assistant Professor in the Art History Department at Rutgers University and a scholar who has traveled the world studying culture.

Quote:

"The Civil Rights movement didn't begin in Montgomery and it didn't end in the 1960s.  It continues on to this very minute." - Julian Bond
 
Timestamps:
13:34 - Guatemala
17:36 - Africa (Ghana & Ethiopia)
20:20 - Being called a 'white person' in Africa
24:14 - India (Mumbai/Bombay, Goa, Delhi, Jaipur, Udaipur)
27:00 - Vietnam (Ho Chi Min City/Saigon)
32:00 - War Remnants Museum (Vietnam)
36:15 - Mexico (Tlatelolco)

Links:

Bio:
 Amber Wiley specializes in architecture, urbanism, and African American cultural studies. Her research interests are centered on the social aspects of design and how it affects urban communities - architecture as a literal and figurative structure of power. She focuses on the ways local and national bodies have made the claim for the dominating narrative and collective memory of cities and examines how preservation and public history contribute to the creation and maintenance of the identity and “sense of place” of a city.

Her teaching approach mirrors her dedication to critical thinking about the human condition in the built environment, and the creation, evolution, and maintenance of cities, neighborhoods, and communities. She strives to actively engage in discourses that are significant across academic fields. Her theoretical and analytic background was founded in art and architectural history methodology, as well as the interdisciplinary methods of American Studies. She combines analysis of aesthetics and socio-cultural influences on community building with questions about the meaning of culture, authority, and agency.

She is active in preservation policy as well as various professional organizations.  She has served on the National Park System Advisory Board Landmarks Committee, and on the boards of the Vernacular Architecture Forum, Latrobe Chapter of the Society of Architectural Historians, and the Yale Black Alumni Association.

Find Amber on LinkedIn, Instagram, and Twitter.

**Some of the links above may be Amazon affiliate links, which means that if you choose to make a purchase, I will earn a commission. This commission comes at no additional cost to you.**

**This episode is sponsored by www.Smartsheet4architects.com, a better way to manage architecture projects.**

Episode 7: Layers of Colonialism w/ Germaine Joseph

**EPISODE CONTAINS EXPLICIT LANGUAGE**

This episode features a conversation with Germaine Joseph with the Saint Lucia National Trust.  We talk about heritage and preservation, colonialism, colorism, climate change, tourism, and the importance of telling multiple narratives. 

 Quote:
“Break a vase, and the love that reassembles the fragments is stronger than that love which took its symmetry for granted when it was whole.” ― Sir Derek Walcott

Links:

Bio: 

Germaine Joseph holds A BSC degree in Architecture with 6 years’ work experience in conservation and preservation of Cultural Heritage. Specializing in Built Heritage and managing a register of 250 historic buildings for listing while developing draft legislation for the preservation and conservation of these historic buildings.

Recently certified in Museum Conservation Skills and Values Heritage Management at the University of the West Indies in conjunction with the OAS she also taken on a curatorial role at Walcott House Museum the birth museum of Walcott twins, Sir Derek and Roderick Walcott. Her current research interests include Cultural Heritage Management, Museum Heritage Management, Heritage Interpretation, Anthropology, Archaeology and the restoration of Built Heritage. Germaine was awarded a 2019 fellowship with the Museums Association of the Caribbean for her work at Walcott House.

Since her term with the Saint Lucia National Trust Ms. Joseph has married her passion for Architecture with her fervor for cultural heritage and preservation.


Episode 6: Taking up Space w/ Morgan C.B. Miles & Rasheda Tripp

This episode features a conversation with Architect, Rasheda Tripp, and Developer, Morgan C.B. Miles.  They were the only other two black women in my graduating architecture class at UVA and have been dear friends of mine for almost 20 years.  We talk about our careers, what brought us to architecture and how we navigate white, male spaces as black women.

Quote:
"The function, the very serious function of racism is distraction.  It keeps you from doing your work.  It keeps you explaining, over and over again, your reason for being." - Toni Morrison

Links:

Bios:
Rasheda Tripp
Rasheda Tripp received her BS in Architecture in 2006 from the University of Virginia. She earned her M. Architecture degree in 2012 from Washington University in St Louis.

Rasheda is currently a Project Architect for GuernseyTingle in Williamsburg Va. She’s been with the firm since 2013 and has continued to work remotely from Charlottesville since 2017. Her project types range from retail, multi-family residential and government facilities at all levels.

Rasheda is passionate about designing affordable and equitable housing. She frequently stops to admire the ceilings and doors of spaces. She’s mother to 2 boys and a wife to a husband who no longer judges her for stopping to look at random building details.

Morgan C.B. Miles 
Morgan C.B. Miles serves as the Senior Manager of Development for Strategic Property Partners (“SPP”) where she oversees entitlements, design, and construction of the $171 million, 388-unit luxury residential building as part of the first phase of the Water Street Tampa development. Integrating principles of walkability, sustainability, connectivity, design quality, and wellness, SPP will create, own, and operate the $3.5 billion, 9-million-square-foot mixed-use waterfront development in Tampa, Florida.

Morgan joined SPP from Hoffman & Associates and worked on The Wharf – a $2.5-billion world-class, mixed-use waterfront redevelopment in Washington, DC comprised of 3.2 million square feet of residential, hotel, office, restaurant, retail, marina, and public uses including waterfront parks, promenades, piers, and docks.  Morgan managed the development of North America's first Canopy by Hilton (a 175-key signature, lifestyle hotel) and DC’s first Hyatt House (a 237-key extended-stay hotel). As the Senior Development Manager, she was responsible for all aspects of this 9-time, award-winning $194 million hotel development including zoning, entitlements, design, permitting, hotel brand management, investor relations, financing, construction management, retail and master site coordination, furniture procurement and installation, LEED Gold certification, sales & marketing, concept creation and branding for the rooftop bar/lounge, pre-opening operations, and transition to asset management.  During her time on the Wharf project she also led the development of the $190 million, 96-unit ultra-luxury condominium building, designed by world-renowned Rafael Viñoly Architects P.C. with interiors by Thomas Juul-Hansen, LLC.

A LEED Accredited Professional, Morgan holds a B.S. in Architecture from the University of Virginia and an M.B.A. in Real Estate and Finance from The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. This past November, Morgan was selected as one of the 10 Florida Winners of Connect Media’s Third Annual Women in Real Estate Awards Program.

Episode 5: Exploring & Reminiscing w/ Melissa R. Daniel

**EPISODE CONTAINS EXPLICIT LANGUAGE**

Headshot photography credit: DFinney

This episode features a conversation I had with Melissa R. Daniel of the Archispolly podcast.  We cover a range of topics from safety in the built environment to the impacts on mentor had on her life.

Melissa R. Daniel is an architectural designer in Washington DC and the creator and host of the Architecture is Political podcast, a podcast where Black and Brown folks have a conversation about architecture.  She served as executive co-chair of the 2017 AIA Women's Leadership Summit, and was a recipient of the 2018 AIA Associates Award.

Quote of the week: "The only way to find your voice is to use it." - Austin Kleon

Links:

Some of the links above may be Amazon affiliate links, which means that if you choose to make a purchase, I will earn a commission. This commission comes at no additional cost to you.

This episode is sponsored by www.Smartsheet4architects.com, a better way to manage architecture projects.

Episode 4: Race & Preservation w/ Brent Leggs

11.jpg

This episode is a condensed version of the Race and Preservation conversation I had with Brent Leggs from the National Trust for Historic Preservation on the Quinn Evans Queries & Theories webcast.

Links:

Quote of the week: "History is no longer a spotlight. We are turning up the stage lights to show the entire cast." - David McCullough, Historian

Some of the links above may be Amazon affiliate links, which means that if you choose to make a purchase, I will earn a commission. This commission comes at no additional cost to you. 

Episode 2: Flesh-Colored Bandaids & Colored Restrooms

This episode explores the intentionality of design decisions.  From selecting the color of flesh-colored bandaides, to designing colored bathrooms or locating confederate statues, design is not neutral. 

Links:

Quote of the week:
“Preservation makes the gap between space and time disappear unlike any other form of history.  There is power in preservation”. - Brent Leggs, Nat’l Trust for Historic Preservation


This episode is sponsored by www.Smartsheet4architects.com, a better way to manage architecture projects.

Some of the links above are Amazon affiliate links, which means that if you choose to make a purchase, I will earn a commission. This commission comes at no additional cost to you. 

Episode 3: Education Connections & The Color of Law

This episode explores how the Color of Law expanded my knowledge of Levittown and things we didn't learn in architecture school, FHA discrimination and family connections.  

Links to a few resources mentioned in the show:

Quote of the week: 
"If you're going to clean the house, you have to see the dirt" - Louise Hay

Some of the links above are Amazon affiliate links, which means that if you choose to make a purchase, I will earn a commission. This commission comes at no additional cost to you.