last detail: architectural leader
INTERVIEW HIGHLIGHTS
The Story of Architectette, A Unique Podcast for Women
Brady interviews Shepley Bulfinch ceo and president Angela Watson, faia, and Practice of Architecture host Evelyn Lee, faia.
Caitlyn Brady, aia, leed ap, project architect and associate with Ayers Saint Gross and host of the Architectette podcast. Brady won a 2023 AIA|DC Emerging Architect Award.
2023 AIA|DC Emerging Architect Award Winner Caitlin Brady helps empower women and mentors future architects After working for a mid-sized firm in San Francisco, Caitlin Brady, AP, LEED AP, moved to another firm to have the opportunity to work remotely and try out a number of communities by spending a month living in each city. While she very much enjoyed these experiences, she missed the community, camaraderie and mentorship of working in one place. To compensate, she decided to set up virtual coffee dates with as many of her Ayers Saint Gross colleagues as possible. Not only did she enjoy these human interactions and better connect to the firm and its culture, she also realized that her conversations could be of benefit to a broader audience. In particular, she started noticing patterns in challenges that women face in the industry. “I thought it might be an incredible opportunity to build community in a virtual environment. That’s when the idea for the Architectette podcast was sparked!” she recalls. In featuring women’s journeys in the AEC industry, she’s also hoping to encourage women to stay in the industry and reach their professional potential.
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marketers, anthropologists, planners, CEOs, CFOs, founders, non-profit leaders, advocates and more. Brady engages her interviewees with a wide range of topics including mentorship, work/life balance and leadership. “I try to make sure that my interview is unique from any other that I have heard. I don’t want a series of boilerplate responses, but a conversation about meaningful moments in their career and life,” she explains. For example, Brady recently interviewed Angela Watson, CEO and president of Shepley Bulfinch, about the challenges and opportunities that come with leadership. They also spoke about hybrid work, AI and curating mentor/mentee relationships.
“I thought it might be an incredible opportunity to build community in a virtual environment. That’s when the idea for the Architectette podcast was sparked!” —Caitlin Brady, AP, LEED AP
While the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB) reports that woman are graduating at equal rates to men, women comprise just 21% of the leadership at large architectural firms, according to 2022 Dezeen research. This figure increased by 11% since Dezeen last polled the industry in 2017. Brady sees much room for improvement.
She also interviewed Cynthia Kracauer about working in leadership positions for AIA New York and the Beverly Willis Architecture Foundation and advocating for women in architecture. Her podcast with Evelyn Lee covers Lee’s experience achieving FAIA recognition, negotiating a maternity and a return-to-work plan with a firm where she was the first to have a baby, and her experiences working for Slack.
Architectette hit the podcast airwaves last year with 27 episodes featuring 39 women including architects, designers, engineers, consultants, landscape architects, business developers,
Brady is also passionate about mentoring. She volunteers for the ACE Mentor program inspiring high school students to pursue careers in design and construction.
ARCHITECTURAL PRODUCTS
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“Volunteering with ACE is incredibly rewarding,” she says. “Each chapter is different, but typically focuses the semester around a design project, each week layering on more information from different disciplines.” Volunteering with ACE has helped me be a more effective mentor,” she continues. “I have learned better ways to communicate, encourage engagement and foster an environment where curiosity and creativity flourish.” Brady was recently recognized with a 2023 AIA|DC Emerging Architect Award. While she has been very active in the industry, taking on leadership roles and mentoring opportunities, she speculates that Architectette made her stand out. Well into recording for her second season, she will be releasing podcasts on topics including interior design, NCARB, education spaces, construction and the metaverse. “I recently recorded an episode with American architect and planner Denise Scott Brown, a dream come true, so I am very much looking forward to sharing that episode in the spring!” she exclaims. —Barbara Horwitz-Bennett, contributing writer
03-04 . 2024
4/4/24 11:06 AM
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