Meet the 2019 Mentors
Big thanks to these firms, schools and individuals who are shared their knowledge, experience and advice as Mentors at ABX19.
She is not only passionate about her design work, but believes Diversity and Inclusion play a major part in how we shape and design our spaces today and for the future.
All are welcome to participate at the Boston Architectural College, both teachers and learners. Then it becomes a question of if the education/education environment meets your professional goals.
I would like to help with the understanding of what/how architects can contribute.
I wish to inspire young designers to think of themselves as designers AND entrepreneurs. We offer a wealth of knowledge and skill, but it is too easy to fall into traditional roles. I will share my experience charting an atypical career pathway that enhances my contributions and my firm's output.
I would like the students to walk away with the following understanding: Mentorship is valuable throughout their career as both a mentor and mentee. Newly gained management knowledge will enable them to be an asset at their current or future firm.
I want students to understand there are many aspects of architecture that go beyond studio work, drawings, and pinups. Our goal as designers is to lead the construction team to provide a client with a built environment; timeless architecture.
Meeting and speaking with practicing architects was key to my decision to become an architect many years ago. Now that I'm able to return the favor, as it were, I enjoy having the chance to reach out to young and aspiring architects to provide insight and encouragement.
Olga Mesa
Assistant Architecture Professor, Roger Williams University
Research Associate, Harvard MaP + S Group
I would like to share my experiences working both as a practitioner and researcher in Architectural Design. I would like to learn from the students' questions and experiences and share with them my trajectory as an architectural designer. I hope this will be inspirational to them.
The transition from school to workplace, for many students seems overwhelming and my goal is to help ease that transition. As a mid-career professional, I am able to relate and engage with students based on more recent experiences, successes and failures. This profession was built on the idea of apprenticeship and therefore it's essential to provide forums where students and emerging professionals can engage with more experienced professionals to ask questions, gain insight and explore ideas.
I would like them to learn to lead with the perspective that brings value to any situation no matter where they are in their career. We all have work to do--gifts to bring to the table--embrace yourself, roll up your sleeves, and get to work!
I've been teaching architecture and design at the college level for the past 20 years. In recent years I've also been involved in teaching elementary and high school students who've expressed an interest in studying architecture and/or design as part of their college experience. Mentoring at ABX19 will allow me to meet and communicate with an audience that I don't encounter very often as part of my teaching and administrative activities at MIT.
I would like to discuss how we see our role as designers of the built environment evolving due to climate change, sea level rise, and changes in how energy is delivered to our buildings. I'd also like to talk about non-traditional ways of building a career and skillset.
As an architect and educator, I believe it is important to assist and mentor the next generation of designers and architects.
I feel it's important to give back to the design community, especially for younger professionals who are in the field.
I believe I can offer a unique perspective to students as I have worked and continue to operate in many facets of the AEC industry including: tradesman, owner's representative, registered
architect, business owner, and now educator.
For more information on joining this valuable group, email Jennifer Holden.