#52 Building a Career With Heart with Qeturah Williams, AIA, Senior Architect at DLR Group

Design Voice Podcast

Qeturah Williams is a Senior Architect based out of DLR Group’s Houston office. As a Project Manager and Senior Architect with 16+ years of design and construction experience, her expertise lies in the management of all phases of the architectural design process - from direct collaboration with new and existing clients to visioning, programming, design, and construction administration. She loves the technical aspect of architecture and finds that there's nothing more satisfying than seeing a well-drawn detail implemented by a skilled tradesperson. Qeturah’s broad range of work includes diverse commercial projects across multiple market sectors - institutional, industrial, Laboratories, Healthcare, High Education, and K-12 Education.

Qeturah is especially passionate about education projects, and their immediate, positive impact to the client, community, educators, and learners. She believes that through design, architects are the stewards of the future, entrusted by the clients as partners to meet and exceed their goals. Qeturah is the 11th Licensed Female African-American Architect in Texas and 7th in Houston.

In this episode we talk about:

• Qeturah’s 10 year plan to become an architect, and her experience in architecture school at University of Houston
• Qeturah’s licensure journey, and why it was never an option to not get her license
• Becoming a mentor, and stepping forward as an example of what success in the field can look like
• Moving into a Project Management role, and Qeturah’s advice for new PMs
• What Qeturah loves about K-12 projects, and the challenge and joy of being entrusted by clients to make a positive mark on society
• How architecture is a very visceral profession, and what Qeturah finds most rewarding about being an architect
• Qeturah’s advice for emerging professionals and her advice specifically for Black female professionals