Cultivating an Empowering Professional Environment

Director, Sr. Practice Lead, Architecture, Lisa D’Abbondanza , has broken boundaries for women in STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Mathematics) for over two decades. Her ability to understand and implement rigorous design, management and construction standards has refined her skills as both a design architect and project manager.

Lisa’s expertise has also given her the opportunity to manage a team of transit architects in our Toronto office comprised of over 50% women. Although the number of women in STEAM continues to grow, it is still common for them to be underrepresented in the project teams they’re a part of.?Cultivating a team that breaks this mold will contribute to a larger shift within the industry.

As our third spotlight of #WomenofIBI in honour of International Women’s Day and Women’s History Month, Lisa shares how her experiences navigating her career as a woman has shaped how she manages her female-dominant team, as well as advice for professionals just getting started in their careers.

“When I decided to become an architect, I was told, ‘you can't be an architect. No one will listen to you because you are a girl’. I was young and didn’t understand what I was being told but it sounded preposterous to me. Years later, I realized they were trying to protect me from the hardship of what they thought my life would be.

Fortunately, throughout my professional career, I’ve had many mentors who saw my talent and my drive, irrespective of my gender, and trusted me enough to share their wisdom. Not just as designers but as team leaders. From Beverly Horii?at my first job after university, to the whole team at MJMA where I thrived for a decade, to the great Richard Steven, who inspired my love for transit architecture.?

From them I was able to learn and excel. Now that I lead my own projects and project teams, I approach both with the same lens. My mentors shared their knowledge with me because they saw my talent and passion. At IBI, my colleagues and I have built a balanced studio of architects we see as talented and passionate.

Of course, as women and girls, we are socially conditioned to be silent - don’t rock the boat, don’t draw attention to yourself, don’t brag, don’t be disagreeable. And I certainly struggled against that mold and the negative perception of women who DO speak up. Therefore, my advice to young women and girls entering the workforce is the same advice I’ve told myself throughout my 25-year career:

the world is neither perfect nor straightforward. Focus on perfecting your craft and confidently share your knowledge so we can build a profession where someday gender will be irrelevant.”

Lisa is one of many dynamic mentors we’re proud to have at IBI Group, who are continuously shaping our industry for the better.?