Dear OWA DP Members and Friends!
We are very excited to have 3 top sector leaders of the architectural industry in the Bay Area to our Panel Talk Series!
On November 18th, Shiva Mendez of HOK, Leslie Moldow of Perkins Eastman, and Juhee Cho of The Smith Group will be sharing their insights on their path to sector leadership. Each one of them leads in very different sectors — healthcare, senior living, and commercial/civic work — yet all three touch deeply on how people experience space. We will ask be hearing from them what does “designing for people” mean in their practice area today.
Please register and join us either in person or on Zoom for this unique opportunity!
For those joining on Zoom, here's the Zoom info:
Join Zoom Meeting
https://zoom.us/j/3938376203?pwd=YWlaQ25HTUpqVVQ1eHIxMnRFeG1Hdz09
Meeting ID: 393 837 6203
Passcode: xM8S35
Below are the bios of these 3 accomplished panelists:
Juhee Cho
The Smith Group - Vice President, Corporate, Commercial & Civic Studio
As leader of the San Francisco Corporate, Commercial & Civic studio, Juhee and her team design headquarters and regional offices for a wide array of professional service companies including financial, insurance, real estate and law firms. She has particular expertise in commercial interiors; her portfolio includes award-winning lobby transformations. Juhee enjoys acting as her client's trusted advisor, guiding each project from initial concept through completion. "It is very fulfilling to see a project being built-out and witness the design come alive," she remarks. Juhee was born in Korea and lived in Brazil for much of her youth before settling in California's Bay Area. Her global roots cultivated a passion for travel, which she continues to enjoy with her family, from the beaches in Kauai to snow-covered villages in the Alps.
leslie moldow
Perkins Eastman - Principal
Leslie began her career 40 years ago with a strong focus on social change. She wanted the architecture she designed to help people, and she gravitated toward special needs housing. Designing for quadriplegics, homeless people living with AIDS, and battered deaf women were among the challenges she met. While working on a psychiatric hospital, Leslie witnessed firsthand how well-designed architecture could enhance other therapies in healing. When she found senior living, she found her niche, since that encompasses special needs environments including housing, care, hospitality, and wellness. Leslie has expanded her repertoire to include the full continuum of care facilities, from active adult to senior centers, independent living, assisted living, Alzheimer’s care, skilled nursing environments, and Life Plan communities. Leslie is particularly passionate about creating healthy living environments that support people and the world we live in.
shiva mendez
HOK - Principal
Shiva is a principal and practice leader based in HOK’s San Francisco studio. She provides medical planning and programming for healthcare and behavioral health projects in community and correctional settings. Over her 30-year career, Shiva has demonstrated an ability to strategically balance user experience, operational efficiency, financial feasibility and design excellence to create award-winning care facilities within the private and public sectors.
Shiva is passionate about designing behavioral health environments that are dignified, humane, and patient-centric while also meeting the safety and security needs of staff, patients and the community. As a Certified Correctional Healthcare Professional, she leverages best practices from the community setting to provide normalized care environments for patients, clinicians and allied providers. Her empathy for all users makes her a trusted advisor to caregivers and security staff and an advocate for improved patient experience and outcomes.
Shiva is committed to applying relevant research and benchmark data to guide programming and planning solutions. As a recognized expert in healthcare and behavioral health design, she has presented at Healthcare Design Conference and NCCHC Mental Health conference.
A strong voice for addressing justice, equity and inclusion in the design profession, Shiva serves as co-chair of HOK’s firmwide Diversity Advisory Council (DAC) and founded the mentoring program in HOK’s San Francisco studio. She also is a member of HOK’s global board of directors.
Looking forward to seeing you at the event!
Amy Chang
OWA Steering Committee / Program Coordinator
