Women’s History Month seeks to not only advance the knowledge of women’s contributions throughout American history but also celebrate the bold, creative, and resilient women making an impact today. Those who are instrumental in cultivating a more equitable society and a more sustainable world.

To celebrate WHM this year, RATIO’s women in leadership across different aspects of the design business are telling their stories—who inspired them, what their career journey has been like, and about boldly following their passions.

Lisa Esterrich, PLA, ASLA

Principal and Raleigh Landscape Architecture Leader

What has your career journey been like?

It was by happy accident that I discovered landscape architecture. Being so transient growing up as an army brat, I was exposed to broader global cultures, places and experiences from a young age but found myself being drawn to the natural world. Plants are a passion, but botany didn’t sound like a job. The mention of landscape architecture in a college catalogue sparked my interest. I blindly landed in the much broader world of landscape architecture that ideally balances my logical skills in engineering with the creativity it awakened in creating experiences that connect people to each other, their community and their environment.

What/who were your early influences?

My mom has been my role model for resiliency and stoked in me a call to civic action through her endless efforts to serve others as a military spouse. One of our neighbors in the small New England seaside town we would visit every summer, would bring me into her culinary garden and not only fueled my love of horticulture but opened my eyes to how we should cultivate with an intention to minimize our impact on the land.

My first professional roles were at organizations founded by strong woman figureheads who were pioneers in our field. Sarah Bradford in Providence, RI was my first mentor who introduced me to the realities of the design process, creating fundamental communications drawings and running a small woman-owned business. After graduation, I spent 11 years at a firm founded by Carol R. Johnson, who was a pioneer in our field both by creating a woman-owned practice in the late ‘50s and crafting quality environments with an emphasis on their natural and cultural contexts and history. While at CRJA, Jennifer Jones and Kathleen Lynch not only taught me the technical and personal skills to develop exceptional spaces, but they created a safe, trusted space through their continued mentorship that allowed me to grow.

I am thankful for the examples of strength, talent and resiliency of each of these women who have inspired me and drives me to have an impact in continuing to mentor and lift up others.

Lisa Esterrich PLA, ASLA
Principal and Raleigh Landscape Architecture Leader

What are you working on that excites you?

I believe that a designer needs to evoke emotion, place and story in crafting memorable places. I’m driven to cultivate an understanding of the history, context and culture of each space or community we touch in order to craft authentic, legacy environments that promote healthy, robust and equitable communities. This drives my excitement to achieve design excellence. That passion gets stoked further when there’s a component that touches some aspect of my own history.

I feel deeply connected when working on projects with a component of military heritage to them, a reflection of my family’s history and respect for the honors and traditions unique to members of the armed forces, such as the NC Veterans Park or Shelby County Honors Plaza. I’m also an admitted space and aviation geek so have appreciated the opportunity to lead the design efforts for various projects for Republic Airways. I get excited about exploring ways to reflect the aviation industry in key moments within a site experience.

Kitty Yuen, AIA, NCIDQ, LEED AP

Principal, Architect, Interior Designer, and Denver Studio Leader

What has your career journey been like?

I have been extremely fortunate to have incredible mentors in my career. I appreciate their time and their quiet encouragement for growth. Incredible leaders allow you to try. It is astonishing when you do not hear the word “no,” which gives you the freedom to innovate and imagine. The ladies who led with grace and modeled professionalism in my life were Laurie Jessen, Linda Nelson, Amy Burkett, and Gillian Johnson. They remind me to be open and unafraid of change.

Also, approaching this journey with curiosity and resilience helps. Curiosity leads us to be open to new concepts and looking at pre-conceived notions in another light.

Kitty Yuen AIA, NCIDQ, LEED AP
Principal, Architect, Interior Designer, and Denver Studio Leader

I started my architecture career designing, coloring, and rendering mostly other people’s designs. Becoming an architect was not easy, I learned to own my skills, develop my voice, and stand up for myself. There were tough days when you think of alternate careers. I learned the term resilience – each setback gives you better tools to learn and move on. That is the joy in the process of design – creating, collaborating, modeling, and exploring. It is ever evolving and there is always another opportunity on the horizon to try again.

Who/who were your early influences?

I remember seeing early work of Frank Gehry at the Walker Art Museum in Minneapolis in 1984. They sold a T-Shirt with a Gehry quote “Being Accepted Isn’t Everything.” It was so rebellious, and I thought it was fun. The Walker Art Center was a place to see contemporary art in a casual environment. Then they had an exhibition called “Architecture Tomorrow” series featuring Steven Holl, Diller + Scofidio, Tod Williams/Billie Tsien, Frank Israel, Stanley Saitowitz, and Morphosis in 1988. It was such an experience to see the design, sketches, and models for their projects. It was in the museum, but accessible – they made architecture accessible to anyone. Each firm presented an exhibit of their work, which was a peek into the process and minds of their young firms. It was inspiring to see each of the series unfold over time. Fast Forward to 2024, each firm is now World-Renowned Award winners that created iconic architecture all over the world.

What impact do you want to make?

Early in my career, I attended an industry event where the speaker asked how many of us had children and to raise our hands. Then the follow up question, how many would encourage their children to go into the field of architecture? I was shocked to see just a few hands stay up. The discussion impacted my thoughts on the profession. What changes can I make to encourage my children to engage and share this large part of my life?

The impact I would make is shifting the profession to be more inclusive. We need to make the profession more accessible. As we collaborate through lived experiences, the more perspectives will yield better design.

Kitty Yuen AIA, NCIDQ, LEED AP
Principal, Architect, Interior Designer, and Denver Studio Leader

This effort takes an active approach to finding candidates with different lived experiences than you. Volunteering for the CAL program, speaking at public events, participating in aligned organizations and being a mentor are ways to connect with others. I am hopeful that my passion for architecture encourages them to consider our profession.

Rebecca Hinz, RID, IIDA

Principal, Interior Designer, and Milwaukee Studio Leader

What are you passionate about in your field or community?

My passion lies in the collaboration between our team and our clients as we are crafting something truly unique together that has never been created before. I love working on a team. The experience of building a vision together with our clients early on in the design process may be my favorite phase, the ideation of what could be is incredibly inspiring.

It’s important to me we bring all of our team members to the table early in the design phase as we are honing our concept, elevating voices and ensuring we are hearing from everyone involved from multiple disciplines, experience levels, backgrounds and expertise to influence the trajectory of the project. During this time we are also setting the stage long term for the experience of everyone involved on the project, the project culture. I care greatly about our client’s and our project team’s experience. The intentional and collective creation of a project team’s culture sets up our clients to achieve their highest potential project and maximizes the opportunity for a positive and rewarding experience for all involved.

Performing Arts Center, Ball State University

What are you working on that excites you?

Ball State University Performing Arts Center and Hotel is a unique project bringing teaching, entertainment and hospitality to the Village all on one block as the catalyst in creating a new arts district. The PAC will showcase cutting edge innovations in performing arts created by students, staff and faculty. The Hotel will provide the community with an opportunity to immerse themselves into PAC events for an evening overnight, bring new cuisine and nightlife to the area and provide additional jobs for students and the community. This combined PAC & Hotel will influence change in the Village by creating a rich experiential destination, increasing traffic to the adjacent businesses and Muncie community in general, and supporting the University in a new and inspiring way.

What impact do you want to make?

Every project is a fresh opportunity to create something transformational for our clients and the communities we serve. Along with my passion for creating valuable and rewarding experiences through design exploration, is my desire to create thoughtfully customized spaces that breathe new life and vibrancy into our communities and not only enhance our client’s mission but provide flexibility, evolution, and inspiration as the world around us changes.

Get in Touch

Lisa Esterrich PLA, ASLA

Principal / Raleigh Landscape Arch. Leader

Kitty Yuen AIA, NCIDQ, LEED AP

Principal / Denver Studio Leader

Rebecca Hinz RID, IIDA

Principal / Interior Design