launched on international woman’s day 2024

Kimberly Nicole Dowdell, AIA

Woman

FROM

A TEENS

POINT OF VIEW

By Miya Schaffner

kimberly dowdell, aia

Kimberly Dowdell is March’s woman of the month, whom I had the pleasure of speaking with. She is the elected 2024 president of the AIA (American Institute of Architects). Kimberly was raised in Detroit, where she was inspired to become an architect and help develop her city. She’s lived in seven different cities including: Detroit, Ithaca, Rome, Washington DC, New York City, Cambridge, and Chicago. While every city played a role in Kimberly’s career, Detroit was the most influential, being her origin city. This year Kimberly has put a great deal of effort and energy into being AIA’s president, along with her fulltime position as principal at HOK.

Roles

Kimberly is on the diversity advisory council for her firm, where she helps to make sure that HOK is a place where “everyone who works there feels like they can belong and contribute.”
“What do you enjoy most about being a female architect?”

Kimberly - “The coolest thing about being an architect is being able to see and create the future. I think it’s important that the people, who are authors of the future, reflect the community that we serve. Women are a pretty significant portion of the population so it’s important to have woman architects. And you know, the same for all the different identities I have as a person of color, and as a person from Detroit.”
"Advice for younger female generations?"

Kimberly - “Yes, the best advice I can give is to find mentors and pursue your dreams relentlessly. If there is something that you want to do, then figure out the pathway to do it and call on mentors. I like to have, what I call, an advisory board of mentors. At least four or five people that I can talk to about what I’m trying to accomplish and ask for their advice on how to get that done.”

What are some hobbies you have?

Kimberly- “I enjoy going out with friends and family. I have to say one thing I’d like to get better at is having fun, so today I did just that. I went to a poetry reading, and yesterday I went to a museum. So, I’m trying to be more intentional about have fun when I’m not working.”
Where are some of your favorite places you have or want to travel to?

“I studied abroad in Italy, specifically Rome, and I really enjoyed that experience. I actually went back to visit a few years ago and it was a lot of fun. One place that I’ve been trying to go to for many years now, and I haven’t been successful in getting there, is Greece. I want to go visit Athens, some of the islands, and have a whole adventure. So that’s my to-do list.”