Rising While Designing Community: A Leadership Journey in Inclusive Architecture
Speaker: Graciela Carrillo, FAIA, NOMA, NCARB, LEED AP
1 AIA LU|Elective
Session Description:
This keynote traces the personal and professional journey of Graciela Carrillo, FAIA, an immigrant architect from Bogotá, Colombia who navigated the U.S. licensure system, broke barriers as the first Latina President of AIA Long Island, and went on to serve on the AIA National Board and earn elevation to the AIA College of Fellows. Drawing from her experience as co-founder of the Immigrant Architects Coalition, co-founder of the AIA LI Women in Architecture Committee, and mentor in Arquitina, Carrillo examines the systemic challenges facing women and immigrant professionals in architecture and presents a practical framework for mentorship, sponsorship, and advocacy. She connects that leadership journey to her work in educational and community-serving facilities, showing how the same commitment to representation and inclusion shapes her approach to design: engaging users, educators, facilities professionals, and diverse stakeholders to reveal critical health, safety, accessibility, and operational needs. Participants will leave with a deeper understanding of how representation must translate into both structural change within the profession and adaptable, inclusive, resilient environments in the built world, along with concrete actions they can take to lift others as they rise.
Originally from Colombia, Graciela Carrillo, AIA, immigrated to the United States in 2003. She worked as an Architect for Cashin Associates, P.C where she led all scales of urban design, planning, and architectural projects. Recently, she joined Nassau BOCES Facilities Services as a Senior Manager where she is in charge of coordinating school’s related projects.
Graciela has committed almost a decade of volunteer leadership service to the American Institute of Architects (AIA). She has been involved with the AIA at the local, state, and national level, currently serving as the President 2020-2021 as well as the Chapter’s Women In Architecture Founder and Co-Chair. On a National and State level, Graciela was the past 2017-2018 NY Regional Director (YARD) for the Young Architects Forum (YAF). Graciela is also the Co-Founder of the Immigrant Architects Coalition, a group committed to helping and providing resources for immigrant architects to achieve a prosperous career in the In 2019, Graciela was the recipient of the AIA NYS Young Architect Award. Through her volunteering at the AIA, Graciela has had an abundance of career enrichment and professional development. Of particular interest is providing a voice for immigrant professionals established in the U.S., and encouraging and supporting them in their path towards licensure and professional development, since she experienced, firsthand, the challenges of being educated in a foreign country while ultimately acquiring a professional license in NYS.
Last year, Graciela founded the Powerful Speeches platform in an effort to champion women architects, to promote, advance, and elevate women in our profession.