Katie Johnson (Miller) is a Principal at AECOM focused on multidisciplinary collaborations in Michigan cities, including Detroit, Flint and Grand Rapids. Her early career experience in community development—working with northwest Detroit neighborhood residents and southwest Detroit small business owners—led to a lifelong passion for serving Detroit. As an architect and Detroit resident, Katie currently serves on the Detroit Historic District Commission and the Facilities Committee for Downtown Boxing Gym Youth Program, an afterschool program on Detroit’s eastside. Katie excels at harvesting diverse viewpoints to foster creative thinking and fuel innovative strategies. Her leadership approach draws on her expertise in both design and business to translate bold ideas into tangible results.

Katie’s AIA involvement includes participation in the Practice Innovation Lab, hosted by the Young Architect’s Forum in Washington, D.C. in 2017. At the Practice Innovation Lab, Katie pitched a new practice model for collaboration among architecture firms in professional and community service projects, garnering the event’s “People’s Choice” award and a subsequent Architecture Business Plan Competition award presented at A’18 in New York. Prior to Katie’s involvement with the Practice Innovation Lab, Katie served on AIA Detroit’s Urban Priorities Committee where she led a collaborative effort between AIAD, Detroit Public Schools, and the Michigan Association of Planning to host a workshop on the adaptive reuse of vacant school buildings.