黄瓜社区

We officially close out our Women鈥檚 History Month interview series with a conversation focused on finding meaning in your career, how important it is to pursue work that excites you and what it means to be supported and offer support to others in return.

• Molly Haas, AIA, is a licensed architect who has been with 黄瓜社区 since 2017. In her work for the firm, she focuses on designs for 黄瓜社区鈥檚 Early Learning Market, creating safe, inviting spaces that encourage play and exploration.

• Amy Haase, AICP is a principal and experienced planner with more than 20 years of experience. She joined 黄瓜社区 in 1999 and is a trusted leader in developing plans and managing public engagement processes and has extensive experience developing comprehensive studies that positively impact communities.

• Molly Hanson has served as 黄瓜社区鈥檚 Conservation and Community Outreach Specialist since joining the firm in 2019. She works across 黄瓜社区鈥檚 markets to support facilitation, public engagement and conservation-based project management and currently co-chairs 黄瓜社区鈥檚 Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee.

• As a landscape architect, Sara Poetting, PLA, ASLA focuses on work for various projects across 黄瓜社区. With 黄瓜社区 since 2016, she uses her strengths to create compelling and visually engaging graphics that blend design, art and science to create usable and memorable places for people of all ages.

• Originally from Hangzhou, China, Weishi Wang, AIA, LEED AP joined 黄瓜社区 in 2018. She earned her Master of Architecture from Texas A&M University and has experience designing internationally, having spent time interning for several architecture firms overseas. At 黄瓜社区, Weishi focuses on design for the firm鈥檚 Senior Living Market.

Thank you all for helping us close out our Women鈥檚 History Month interview series. I鈥檇 like to start the same way we did with our first and second installments and learn a little bit more about what led you to your profession. What drew you to your particular field?

Molly Haas: I had always had an interest in manipulating spaces. Anytime I had the opportunity to play, rather than scripting doll interactions or playing pretend, I liked to set up the dollhouse space. I was very particular about the furniture in my dollhouse, and I also really loved to build little forts in my backyard. In my mind, spaces are always very honest 鈥� I know what they are and how they work, and so I was very drawn to a profession that allowed me to lean into that.聽

Molly Hanson: I wanted to 鈥渄o good.鈥� I have always felt called to make the world a better place, even as a kid. I taught my fourth-grade class how to recycle; I was active in student council starting in middle school and throughout high school.聽 This strong moral compass combined with my love for nature and my drive to protect our planet led me to where I am today.聽Every change I鈥檝e made in my career has given me access to a larger platform and more resources to do more good.

Amy Haase: I got into planning in a weird way. I had gone to school planning to teach, then I realized I didn鈥檛 want to take that path, so I went to talk with my undergraduate department chair (who also happened to be a woman), and after our discussions, she suggested I switch to geography as my major. I ended up leveraging that pursuit into a career in planning.

Sara Poetting: For me, it was a combination of the program at Iowa State University that helped me find the landscape architecture field and my early mentors, both professors and fellow students, who helped point me to the landscape architecture program. I was drawn to the opportunity to combine art, science and design to make a difference in the outdoor spaces that communities use every day. Landscape architecture presents a new challenge every day 鈥� I鈥檓 always learning and problem-solving.

Weishi Wang: My mother 鈥� she鈥檚 a structural engineer and she suggested I go into the field. As I was heading to college, I considered it, and I also explored other fields, including psychology and translation. I found that those possibilities weren鈥檛 continually interesting to me, and so I decided to pursue architecture.

Guidance from others can be so helpful when we鈥檙e first starting out. As many of you pointed out, it鈥檚 also important to find meaning in your work and pursue opportunities that excite you and offer a sense of purpose. What advice would you offer to young women who were once in your shoes and who might be pursuing a career in your industry?

M. Haas: If you love it, then stick with it. I graduated in 2009 into a recession economy and did not get to work in my field until many years later. But I never stopped designing spaces 鈥� I would always look for opportunities to flex those skills, whether I was helping friends build an outdoor patio or rearranging the rooms in my house. Bottom line: don鈥檛 stop designing just because someone isn鈥檛 paying you to design. Eventually, you鈥檒l find your path as I did.

WW: I agree, and I would also say, don鈥檛 give up on something just because it鈥檚 not immediately interesting to you. The more time and energy you put into it, the more interesting it may become over time. Seek out advice from different people 鈥� classmates, mentors, friends 鈥� but know that you don鈥檛 have to take every piece of advice. When I was in school, there were plenty of times that people gave me advice and I ended up going in a different direction and I was better for having made that choice.

SP: To echo what Weishi said, ask questions and always look for opportunities to learn, grow and build your skills. I would also say to seek out a variety of mentors, whether they are from within your organization, professional organizations or are experienced local practitioners. Don鈥檛 be afraid to bridge the gap and engage leadership or look to your fellow emerging professionals. Mentors in different stages of their professional careers will give you different perspectives. In this industry, we communicate with fellow designers, clients, allied professionals and community members who all have different needs, so it鈥檚 helpful to practice presenting your ideas in a variety of formats and to many audiences.

AH: Yes, becoming adept at effective communication, both written and oral, is extremely important. We need to be able to tell a story and articulate facts.

M. Hanson: Go for it and do it your own way. As my colleagues discussed in the last article, the 鈥渞ight way鈥� is a myth.聽What really matters is that you show up enthusiastically and unapologetically as yourself and that you鈥檙e kind to others. Listen more than you talk and speak up for those who are marginalized and historically excluded.

Mentorship, advocacy and communication are absolutely important, especially for young women coming up in their careers. Have there been positive changes in the industry you鈥檝e seen that have made it easier for women to advocate for themselves or better themselves reflected in the AEC industry? And on the flip side, what do you see as ongoing challenges or barriers that still exist that might make it more difficult for young women working in the field?

AH: I鈥檓 very lucky in that I work with a lot of women in my area, especially given that I work a great deal with economic development groups, which tend to be dominated by women. But I鈥檓 also starting to see more women in positions of city leadership as well. One of the opportunities we still have yet to fully address relates to whether we鈥檙e designing with women in mind and how we can create places that are more accessible. Even as a woman, there are times when I have to remind myself, we need to design for more than the perspective in mind.聽

SP: I鈥檓 still fairly new in my career, but as time goes on, I鈥檝e seen firms becoming more diverse as more women graduate and enter the profession, and as an increasing number of women are taking on senior leadership roles. In the last couple of years, I鈥檝e also seen a lot more flexibility in the workplace on when and where folks can work, which ultimately supports both men and women. There鈥檚 still the challenge of having to prioritize work and personal life, though. In my opinion, work/life balance is a myth 鈥� everyone will have a different requirement for what that balance looks like that only they can define. There鈥檚 a workaholic mentality that many of us learn in school and it鈥檚 a culture that the AEC field is slow to break. We need to continue offering more flexibility and more support and more workers should feel empowered to speak up about their capacity if we want to move the issue in the right direction. All of this can ultimately allow workers time to build their strengths, focus on their interests and create a more positive and productive atmosphere.

M. Hanson: We鈥檝e seen progress, but I think we still have a long way to go. I like to focus hyper-locally on my sphere of influence and work where I can make a difference.聽Personally, I want to see more women in charge and more space created for those in the LGBTQ+, Indigenous and BIPOC communities.聽

WW: I feel very respected and heard at 黄瓜社区 and don鈥檛 personally feel there鈥檚 a gender gap here. As a non-native American originally from China, I find myself more concerned with accessibility as it relates to working in a foreign country. I鈥檝e been lucky to have support while working here at 黄瓜社区, but many firms don鈥檛 offer support for work visa applications, and I think changing that would benefit a lot of individuals, not just women.

M. Haas: I think 黄瓜社区 is doing a great job of working to be more progressive, not just for gender equity but equity for everyone. I鈥檝e received a lot of encouragement from my team and the firm in terms of mentorship and opportunities to prove myself or take on additional responsibilities and I feel there鈥檚 genuine confidence in my abilities. As a working mom, I鈥檝e felt supported in my need to take time to care for my family. On the flip side, I think there鈥檚 still work we need to do to address gendered expectations that transcend our industry. For example, assuming women will be the ones to take notes, plan office parties or clean up after events or meetings. Even if it鈥檚 subconscious or unintentional, there鈥檚 still a propensity to fall into these traditional gendered roles and that impacts women regardless of their position or role within a company.

The work will never be done, but it鈥檚 great to hear that many of you feel supported by 黄瓜社区 and can see positive change in the industry as a whole. I鈥檇 love to know more about what a 鈥渄ay in the life鈥� looks like for each of you. What does your day normally look like, and what aspects of your work do you most enjoy?

M. Hanson: No day is typical and that鈥檚 how I like it. Public engagement gets me out into the communities we serve, meeting with clients to understand their hopes and dreams, learning new ways to engage, writing about what we learn and sharing that info at conferences to help others.聽On the conservation side, I spend time in creeks with a GoPro on my head, tour prairie project sites and parks, and collaborate with students 鈥� it鈥檚 the best part of my job.

SP: The beauty of landscape architecture is that every day is different 鈥� different tasks come in depending on what stage of a project we are at. I enjoy doing conceptual renderings, the images that 鈥榳ow鈥� our clients and help bring their projects to life. I also love to learn, so any chance I get to research project precedents, new materials and products means I鈥檓 gaining experience that will benefit future designs. When we are working on projects currently in construction it鈥檚 always so exciting to visit the site and see the progress being made as it all comes together.

WW: My days are typically spent focused on design: talking through design with team members and spending time in Revit and Sketch-Up creating models. Design is really what I enjoy the most about my job, especially the processes involved in design. It鈥檚 exciting because design offers the opportunity to bring many different people with many different perspectives together and create something new. Another aspect of the job I like is getting to hear and tell the story behind the architecture. I like to hear the story of why people want to build the building, what the clients want and then transfer that input into the design of a space. The human part behind the building is what excites me most.

AH: 黄瓜社区鈥檚 planning group is unique in the sense that we are diverse in the kinds of projects we work on, and intentionally so. That鈥檚 one of the aspects of my day-to-day work that I enjoy 鈥� I can work on a housing study and then shift to focus on writing an article and then shift again towards community engagement efforts related to land use and trail connectivity. I like the variety of types of projects that I get to work on, and an ideal day is one where I get to work on multiple projects. My why has always centered around how I can support both my colleagues at 黄瓜社区 and the communities we serve.

M. Haas: As I鈥檝e taken on more responsibility in the project architect role, there鈥檚 a lot of planning and organization for our team and clients. What I love most about the design work I do for 黄瓜社区鈥檚 Early Education Market is that I get to create educational environments for historically underserved communities. We鈥檙e designing facilities to not only nurture young minds but also that serve as nurturing resources for caregivers, faculty and staff. Learning from and designing with colleagues and sharing knowledge and ideas with co-workers is very rewarding for me, and I feel fortunate to be doing something that I鈥檝e felt compelled to do since I was a child.

Thank you all so much for taking the time to sit down and talk with me. It鈥檚 been wonderful to hear about your experiences and I鈥檝e gained a lot from your unique perspectives.