Hosted by the AIA Detroit Women in Architecture committee on how to avoid burnout and manage it all!

Join the AIA Detroit Women in Architecture committee for an empowering conversation on navigating the challenges of work-life balance for women in the architecture and design industry.

Through candid discussions and shared experiences, our distinguished panel of women leaders will provide valuable insights on finding balance, setting boundaries, and fostering supportive environments in the workplace and beyond.

Continuing education provided by AIA Detroit

REGISTER HERE

AGENDA:
5:30 PM – 6:00 PM | Check-In & Social
6:00 PM – 8:00 PM | Panel Discussion: Work Life Balance for Women
8:00 PM – 8:30 PM | Social

MEET THE PANEL:

Najahyia Chinchilla, AIA, LEED AP BD+C, works closely with her clients and project teams to deliver high-performing sustainable design solutions. Najahyia’s first solar house was for the University of Maryland Solar Decathlon in 2007, launching her into a dedication to sustainable building. She now leads projects across Gensler’s Certification, Analytics and Strategy service areas, with a focus on supporting clients in translating their corporate ESG goals to KPI-driven portfolio-wide design and construction standards. Her extensive experience as a practicing architect and design manager (over 17 years), leading teams in multiple scale projects, from interiors, to historic buildings and existing building repositioning, gives her a depth of knowledge to help facilitate multi-disciplined coordination and collaboration. She has an appreciation to how well-being and the environment are impacted at multiple scales, from materials to systems.

Najahyia currently serves on the United States Green Building Council, Michigan’s, Market Leadership Advisory Board, and she is an AIA Detroit, Past President 2021.

An architect determined to make the world a better place, Kimberly Dowdell is based in Chicago as a principal with global design firm, HOK. She served as the 100th President of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) in 2024.

She also previously served on the board of directors of the Architects Foundation, the philanthropic partner of the AIA. Dowdell is on the board of the Chicago Central Area Committee (CCAC), which works to shape the city’s growth, equity and quality of place. She is also a board member of the Chicago Architecture Biennial (CAB), and Ingenuity Chicago, which increases access to quality arts education for all Chicago Public School students.

Dowdell was the 33rd president of the National Organization of Minority Architects (NOMA) in 2019 and 2020. She is also a member of the National Organization of Minority Architects Council (NOMAC).

Dowdell co-founded Social Economic Environmental Design (SEED), an organization that promotes sustainable development in 2005. She has been honored as a “40 Under 40” in Crain’s Detroit Business (2018) and Crain’s Chicago Business (2020). She was elected by her fellow alumni to serve on the board of trustees at Cornell University in 2022.

Megan Martin-Campbell, AIA, is a senior project architect at INFORM Studio. She believes it is critical that architects play an active role in their communities. That is her “WHY.” By applying the problem seeking and solving tools of her design training she believes that architects offer a unique perspective within the public realm and of the built environment. Megan seeks to be an active part of that conversation at multiple scales within her community; architectural practice, civic involvement, academia, professional affiliations, mentorship, public engagement, and philanthropy. Megan served as the 2022 AIA Detroit President and recently recognized as a 2024 AIA National Young Architect recipient.

Lisa Sauvé is a co-founder of Synecdoche, an award-winning architecture and design studio, and founder of Do Good Work, a 501c3 non-profit with a mission to support creatives and the community by turning radical ideas into positive change in the built environment. She is a licensed architect in the State of Michigan and an assistant professor of practice at the University of Michigan Taubman College. Lisa serves on the board of the Michigan League for Public Policy and previously held an appointment as Planning Commissioner for the City of Ann Arbor, working on the comprehensive plan and ordinance revision committees. She holds Masters degrees in Architecture and Science in Conservation from Taubman College at the University of Michigan and a B.S. in Architecture from Lawrence Technological. Her work and expertise have been recognized by; Crain’s Detroit as a Notable Women in Design, UM Taubman College Outstanding Recent Graduate, along with the Forbes Next 1000 list and AIA Michigan Young Architect Award. Rather than focusing on growing a sole enterprise, her career showcases how broadly architectural expertise can reach from policy to philanthropy, academics, fabrication, investment, development, partnership, and design.

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