“An amazing journey to celebrate the names, faces and lives of the Black Woman Architects in America. The First 500 team has done the research and developed the single greatest collection of the determined black women from all across the United States to become licensed architects. I can’t wait to see this list grow as it will encourage the careers of so many young woman to also get licensed ”

“Being a black woman in this profession I have been through many ups and downs over the years from racism, sexism, and ageism. But what has continued to motivate me to keep going is the fact that there is still such a huge need for licensed black women in this profession. Being that I have a focus on healthcare and community in Ohio there is no representation for that specific architecture sector that I can recall. Because of this so many opportunities are missed and there are requirements that are not being filled. This has motivated me to keep going as I am currently testing for exams. By becoming licensed hopefully this can inspire more black women to do the same and next we will be talking about the first 1,000.”