Emerging Leaders

Launched in 2017, the BWAF Emerging Leaders program is a selective professional development opportunity for early- and mid-career women. Within a small group format, participants engage with significant senior women in architecture, design, engineering, construction, real estate, law, and financial services to advance their own career goals and connect with a cohort of ambitious colleagues across at similar professional levels. Participants share common experiences and trade personal strategies for advancing their field. Over 200 women have participated in past cohorts, building a timeless network of allies and support for each other.

Detours, Diligence, Dreams

Detours, Diligence, and Dreams was held December 5th, 2023, and January 9th and February 13th, 2024. Participants heard from speakers Kristina Newman-Scott, Executive Director of The Greene Space; Allison Robin, LEED AP Owner & Co-Founder of Envoie Projects LLC; Adrienne Hepler ,Owner & Co-Founder of Envoie Projects LLC; and Mimi Raygorodetsky, an environmental practice leader in Langan’s New York City and Denver offices.

Anna Kuchera
Associate, RAMSA
Danielle Rose Aspitz
Architectural Designer, KPF
Jade Ferrara
Senior Staff Engineer, Langan
Jennifer Li
Design Associate, Associate AIA, Alloy
Josephine Stoddard
Senior Facade Engineer, Thornton Tomasetti
Katherine O‘Shea
Senior Project Engineer, Plumbing & Fire Protection, Jaros, Baum & Bolles
Laura Sciarrino
Senior Architect, SOM
Maedeh Tavakoli
Senior Staff Engineer, Langan Engineering
Maria Kefalas
Associate Attorney, Zetlin & De Chiara, LLP
Megan Friedman
Architect, Grimshaw Architects
Miryam Varona Rogel
BIM Manager, Gilsanz Murray Steficek LLP
Morgan Miller
Associate, Severud Associates
Stephania Ponce
Economic Inclusion Manager, Gilbane Building Company
Yafei Zhang
Associate Principal/ Adjunct Professor, KPF/ Kean University
Zheng Wu
Senior Associate Principal, KPF
Zhurong Qian
Architect, KPF

DREAMS

Speaker
Kristina Newman-Scott
Executive Director, The Greene Space

Kristina Newman-Scott is an award-winning, purpose-driven executive with over 20 years of experience in arts and culture, the creative economy, community development and entertainment and media. She most recently served as President of BRIC, a leading arts and media institution anchored in Downtown Brooklyn whose work spans contemporary visual and performing arts, media, and civic action. She was the first immigrant and first woman of color to serve as BRIC’s President and one of the very few women of color to lead a major New York cultural institution. Under her tenure, BRIC embarked on an ambitious, human-centered process in pursuit of clarity of purpose in the form of a new four-year Strategic Plan. That process led to a re-articulated mission informed by the institution’s impact and legacy, and a new vision statement guided by aspirational goals, centered on artists and the communities served by BRIC. Additionally, she led a renewed commitment to equity, diversity, and inclusivity in every aspect of the organization. Newman-Scott’s awards and recognitions include being named one of the City and State New York’s, 2021 Telecommunications Power 50 (individuals shaping New York’s digital future), an Observer’s NYC 2020 Arts Power 50, a National Arts Strategies Creative Community Fellow, A Hive Global Leadership Selectee, and a Next City Urban Vanguard. In June 2018, Americans for the Arts presented Kristina with the Selina Roberts Ottum Award, which recognizes an individual working in arts management who exemplifies extraordinary leadership qualities. Previously, Newman-Scott served as the Director of Culture and State Historic Preservation Officer for the State of Connecticut; Director of Marketing, Events and Cultural Affairs for the City of Hartford; Director of Programs at the Boston Center for the Arts; and Director of Visual Arts at Hartford’s Real Art Ways. Kristina was appointed to the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs Advisory Commission in 2020 and currently serves on the Boards of National Arts Strategies, New Yorkers for Culture and Arts, the Brooklyn Arts Council and the NYC Arts and Education Roundtable. Kristina was born and raised in Kingston, Jamaica and worked as a practicing artist and TV/radio host in her home country before moving to the US in 2005. She currently lives in Brooklyn with her husband and two children.

Time and location

Tuesday, December 5, 2023, 6:30-8PM

DETOURS

Speaker
Allison Robin, LEED AP
Owner & Co-Founder, Envoie Projects LLC

Allison thrives on leading collaborative teams and organizing systems. She has led the development of the firm’s standards of practice and brings detail-driven and systems-focused leadership to every project. Prior to co-founding Envoie Projects, Allison spent 11 years at Levien and Company, where she rose to the position of Chief Financial Officer and oversaw the firm’s financial management. During those years, she successfully completed a wide range of project types – from ground up construction to historic preservation – and developed a passion for negotiating contracts and claims and resolving disputes. Before joining Levien, Allison worked as a project manager for Richter + Ratner Contracting where she developed a strong technical background while managing interior renovations and base building construction projects, including the 45,000 sf Center for Global Conservation at the Bronx Zoo. Allison has served as President of Commercial Real Estate Women (CREW) New York, and is an adjunct professor at NYU's Schack Institute of Real Estate, a member of the Owner’s Representative Project Manager Alliance and Professional Women in Construction New York. Allison was also a Beverly Willis Foundation Emerging Leader. She is a LEED Accredited Professional, and received her Master’s Degree in Construction Management from the Schack Institute of Real Estate at New York University, and her Bachelor of Science from Cornell University.

Time and location

Tuesday, February 13th, 2024, 6:30-8PM

DETOURS

Speaker
Adrienne Hepler
Owner & Co-Founder, Envoie Projects LLC

Adrienne excels at strategic oversight and planning for complex capital projects, with a particular passion for and expertise in projects for cultural, mission-driven and not-for-profit clients. She builds and directs large teams and is adept at navigating capital projects of all types and sizes through regulatory review and approvals processes to completion on time and on budget. Prior to co-founding Envoie Projects, Adrienne was the Chief Operating Officer for Levien and Company, where she managed staff assignments and client relations, improved operating systems, and directed firm strategy. Before joining Levien, Adrienne worked on the owner’s side, where she served as Director of Capital Projects and Government Relations for The Public Theater in New York City, managing a $42 million renovation to a landmark building, which remained operational during four years of construction. During her tenure at the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, where she oversaw the implementation of over $200M in Post-9/11 federal grants, she was able to help small nonprofits receive and utilize grant money to make the most impact to their organizations. Adrienne is a member of both WX New York Women Executives in Real Estate and the Owner’s Representative Project Manager Alliance, serves on the Ambassador Council for Nontraditional Employment for Women (NEW), and was a Beverly Willis Foundation Emerging Leader. She received a Master’s Degree from the Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Affairs at New York University, and her Bachelor of Arts from Tulane University.

Time and location

Tuesday, February 13th, 2024, 6:30-8PM

DILIGENCE

Speaker
Mimi Raygorodetsky
Principal, Langan

Mimi Raygorodetsky is an environmental practice leader in Langan’s New York City and Denver offices with more than 21 years of experience in environmental consulting and brownfields remediation. She sources and directs large, complex environmental remediation and redevelopment projects from the earliest stages of pre-development diligence, through the remediation/construction phase, to long-term operation and monitoring of remedial systems and engineering controls. She has a comprehensive understanding of federal, state, and local regulatory programs and uses this expertise to guide her clients through a preliminary cost benefit analysis to select the right program(s) given the clients’ legal obligations, development desires, and risk tolerance. She is particularly strong at integrating the requirements of selected programs and client needs to develop and design targeted and streamlined diligence programs and remediation strategies. Raygorodetsky is a founding member and current chair of Women@Langan and is also a founding member of Langan’s Diversity & Inclusion Committee. She is also a member of numerous professional organizations including New York Women Executives in Real Estate (WX), the New York City Brownfield Partnership, and the NY Building Congress Council of Industry Women. She also guest lectures at Columbia University on the topic of brownfields redevelopment in New York City. In 2017, she was awarded the CREW NY Career Advancement for Women Impact Award.

Time and location

Tuesday, January 9th, 6:30-8PM

View previous sessions from recent years:
2023: Energy, Environment, Engagement→
2022: Agility, Ambition, Authenticity→
2021: Imagination, Integrity, Influence→
2021: Perseverance, Politics, Power→
2020: Priorities, Personhood, Profit→
2020: Determination, Design, Disruption→
2019: Confidence, Compensation, Competition→
2018: Finance, Fulfillment, Family→
2018: Networking, Negotiation, Nice→
2017: Risk, Rain-Making, Resilience→

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Beverly Willis Architecture Foundation

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