Women’s Leadership Panel Advises Architects What it Takes to Get Ahead
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - Local female leaders talked about how they found success in male dominated professions during a “Women in Leadership” panel discussion, held at Riverside House. The event was sponsored by the AIA Jacksonville Chapter's Women in Architecture Committee. Sherry Magill, former president of Jessie Ball duPont Fund, moderated a conversation that covered everything from commanding respect to finding mentors to navigating their career as a minority. They advised a largely female audience to speak up for equal pay and promotions, form a network of peers when mentors are scarce, and to be oneself. “Remember, expressing femininity does not make you weak,” one of the panelists said. The five panelists represented widely diverse careers, and included Michelle Tappouni, property development director for Ability Housing; Commander Kim DaCosta-Azar, U.S. Navy pilot; Jennifer Shoaf Richardson, lawyer for Jackson Lewis P.C.; Jennifer Suharmadji, senior architect at Ha...