Bio:
The great designer, Shalini Agrawal is trained as an architect and brings over 25 years of experience in community-engaged practice. She is founder of Public Design for Equity, an equity-driven practice for equity-driven outcomes, and co-director of Pathways to Equity, a leadership experience that brings public interest design and self-reflective practice together to support responsible social impact design practice. Shalini is Associate Professor in Diversity Studies at California College of the Arts.

How did you first learn about architecture and when did you decide that built environment profession was an area of interest for you?
My father’s friend was an architect, who happened to be visiting our family during a time of transition in undergraduate. I switched majors the next semester.

What do you do?
I teach community-based design and practice at an art and design school.

What excites you in the work you do?
Bringing practices of equity into the field of design and architecture.

Who or what inspires you professionally?
I find endless inspiration in the communities and collaborators I work with.

What is your proudest professional accomplishment or achievement?
Mentoring women of color in architecture and bearing witness to their success and leadership!

Featured Project Name: 
Leading with Diversity and Equity in Design
 
Featured Project Location: 
Bay Area, California 
 
Featured Project Completion Date: 
2017

Role in Featured Project: 
Facilitator 
 
Featured Project Description:
When discussing issues of diversity, equity and inclusion, conversations tend to bias dominant cultures in the United States. These implicit biases influence the conversation, and often the lived experiences of women of color are unacknowledged or overlooked. This session will engage women of color in story sharing and community building, holding space as a powerful step towards liberating the next generation of a diverse design leadership.

Photography Credit:
James Rojas