Sandra Madison, AIA

{"version":"0.3.0","atoms":[],"cards":[],"markups":[["i"],["em"]],"sections":[[1,"p",[[0,[0],1,"Sandra Madison is CEO and chairperson of Robert P.\nMadison International Inc., a Cleveland-based company that was the first Black-owned\narchitectural firm in the Midwest. Madison chaired the Cleveland chapter of\nAIA\u2019s Women in Architecture and is part of the National Organization of\nMinority Architects. She sits on the Greater Cleveland Partnership\u2019s Equity and\nInclusion program board, the Shaker Heights Architectural Board of Review, the\nShaker Heights Public Art Task Force, the Cleveland Euclid Corridor Design\nReview Committee, and the board of the Assembly for the Arts, a new nonprofit\nthat focuses on advocacy, cultural policy, racial equity initiatives, research,\nand marketing to elevate the arts in and around Cleveland. Madison received her\nundergraduate degree from the University of Maryland, College Park and is a\ngraduate of the Harvard University Graduate School of Design \u2013 Urban Design\nSummer Program. "]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"________________________________________"]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"Why is it important to be a citizen architect? According to\nSandra Madison, AIA, it\u2019s because architects make a lasting impact wherever they go.\n\u201cThe buildings we design and the spaces we create are here for decades and\nimpact the lives of those who live and work in the community,\u201d said Madison."]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"The buildings Madison and her colleagues design can also reshape\na community\u2019s spirit."]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"Robert P. Madison International Inc., where Madison is CEO\nand chairperson, regularly works with the Cleveland Metropolitan School\nDistrict to improve schools. Community engagement is part of this work. \u201cWe\ndon\u2019t just design a school,\u201d explained Madison. \u201cWe sit down with the\nprincipal, the parents, the teachers, and learners and ask them what they are\nmissing. We want to make the school their own. We want to design a place that the\nuser will feel proud of.\u201d "]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"However, community members do not always believe architects will\nlisten to them or hear what they\u2019re saying. \u201cThis has occurred so often that\nmany members in the community have given up on attending meetings that involve\ndevelopment because their voices were traditionally dismissed,\u201d Madison said.\n\u201cArchitects can help make sure all people are heard.\u201d "]]],[1,"blockquote",[[0,[],0," \u201cThis has occurred so often that\nmany members in the community have given up on attending meetings that involve\ndevelopment because their voices were traditionally dismissed ... Architects can help make sure all people are heard.\u201d - Sandra Madison, AIA"]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"Madison currently serves on the Cleveland Euclid Corridor\nDesign Review Committee and the Shaker Heights Architectural Board of Review. She\nalso volunteers on a committee to redesign a stretch of road between Cleveland\nand Cleveland Heights to make it more pedestrian-friendly, as well as improve\naccess to the small businesses along the street. \u201cI was always taught that you should\nleave a place better than you found it,\u201d said Madison. \u201cIf we don\u2019t improve our\ncommunity or elevate the people around us, we have failed.\u201d"]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"Improving community safety is also part of Madison\u2019s\nadvocacy work. Architects who want to reduce violence in their neighborhoods\ncan start by understanding local zoning laws and how they can be used to improve\nsafety, she explained. Zoning can also be a resource in providing amenities\nequitably in every neighborhood. "]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"Madison believes children need spaces to congregate and play\naway from busy thoroughfares. She is working with community partners to create a\nsafe haven for children in Cleveland with the renovation of a building for the\nTamir Rice Foundation\u0027s Afrocentric Cultural Center. Tamir Rice was a 12-year-old\nBlack boy who was fatally shot by a white police officer in Cleveland in 2014.\nMadison is helping the foundation design a cultural center where local youth\ncan learn music, art, and Black history, in addition to dance and acting."]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"Madison\u2019s advocacy efforts also include mentoring younger\narchitects and students. When she became CEO of Robert P. Madison International\nInc., Madison revised the firm\u2019s mission statement to include mentorship and\nservice to community."]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"Madison said this statement was important because she had\nmentors whose personal advocacy changed her life. Her first mentor was Stan\nBritt, FAIA, of Sulton Campbell Britt \u0026 Associates. Britt, who was president\nof the National Organization of Minority Architects\u2019 Baltimore chapter at that\ntime, introduced her to advocating for minority-owned businesses through the\nwork of the organization. "]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"Another mentor was Mark Beck, the founder of Beck, Powell and\nParsons in Towson, Md., who allowed Madison to work flexible hours as a young\nmother. Beck also introduced Madison to volunteer work with the Boys and Girls\nClubs of Metropolitan Baltimore. Together, Beck and Madison taught students how\nthe design of a personal space could improve an individual\u2019s well-being. These\nconversations helped children understand the power they have to shape their\ncommunities and therefore their lives. Madison later served on the board of the\nACE Mentor Program of Cleveland, which partners with Cleveland high schools to\nintroduce students to careers in architecture, construction, and engineering. "]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"Advocating for women and people of color is yet another hallmark\nof Madison\u2019s service to her community and industry. Early in her career,\nMadison was frustrated with the lack of women and women of color in the architecture\nprofession. She was the only Black woman in her class at the University of\nMaryland and one of the first 25 Black female licensed architects in the entire\nUnited States."]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"Her uncle, Robert P. Madison, encouraged Madison to do\nsomething about those numbers. She listened and joined AIA Cleveland, soon\nbecoming the chair of the chapter\u2019s Women in Architecture. Madison also works\nto place young architects of color in internships and have them volunteer at\ncareer day events at elementary schools in Cleveland. \u201cWe need to ensure that\npeople of color and women can see a future for themselves in this industry,\u201d she\nsaid. "]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"Ultimately, citizen architects do not have to work at the\nnational or state level to make an impact, Madison said. \u201cStart with your own\nspace, your neighborhood, your community,\u201d she advised. \u201cIf you make your space\nbetter and you help someone else make their space better and so on, underserved\nspaces and places will become non-existent.\u201d"]]],[1,"p",[[0,[1],1,"- As told to Kerrie Rushton"],[0,[],0," "]]]]}