Perkins&Will and Harvard GSD Announce Mentorship Program to Build Pipeline of Black Design Talent
The pilot Black in Design Mentorship Program will connect students from the Harvard GSD and Boston-area high schools with Perkins&Will professionals.
Perkins&Will and the Harvard Graduate School of Design (Harvard GSD) today announce the launch of the Black in Design Mentorship Program pilot, an initiative that aims to promote greater representation of Black talent in the design industry. Originally conceived by students and Perkins&Will professionals at the 2019 Black in Design Conference, the mentorship program will fill a critical educational and career gap in the design profession by fostering meaningful and lasting relationships starting as early as high school.
“Design firms have a responsibility to be champions of justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion in the profession,” says Brooke Trivas, a Harvard GSD graduate and principal at Perkins&Will. Trivas serves on the firm’s diversity council and has been a part of the mentorship initiative since its inception. “Our vision for this program is to empower both high school and graduate students to understand what is possible, pursue their interests, and develop their strengths.”
“I really believe in the importance of exposing Black youth to the planning and design fields so they know these fields exist, that planning and design careers are accessible to them, and that they have the power to shape the built environment of their communities,” says Whytne Stevens, a Harvard GSD student and organizing member of the mentorship program.
The program forms three-person teams composed of one Perkins&Will professional, one Harvard GSD student, and one high school student. This arrangement enables Harvard GSD students to learn from Perkins&Will professionals and, simultaneously, hone their mentorship skills with their matched high school student. All participants will complete a 10-week curriculum with discussion topics ranging from design thinking to networking to Black design legacy.
“We have been intentional in developing this program to lay a solid foundation for future relationships to flourish,” says Laura Snowdon, dean of students and assistant dean for enrollment services at Harvard GSD. “We have paid careful attention to the development of the curriculum, and we look forward to incorporating thoughtful feedback from our pilot group to inform the future program.”
Seven individuals from each group—21 participants in total—will complete the program over the course of the year. To form the inaugural cohort of high school mentees, program organizers extended invitations to select Boston-area schools. Student volunteers from the Harvard GSD African American Student Union (AASU) and AfricaGSD comprise the graduate school leg of the program, and volunteers from Perkins&Will’s Boston studio make up the third leg. Once the pilot concludes, organizers will integrate feedback from all participants, refine the program structure and content as needed, and expand outreach through a broadened application process. Participation will be offered on an annual basis in the future.
“Our firm is committed to diversifying the design profession,” says Gabrielle Bullock, who has served as director of global diversity at Perkins&Will since 2013. “We actively and continuously seek new opportunities to be stewards of social equity in our projects, in the industry, and in the world around us.”
The Black in Design Mentorship Program is the latest expression of Perkins&Will’s and Harvard GSD’s long-standing collaboration. Ongoing initiatives in support of diversifying the design profession include the Phil Freelon Fellowship and the Nagle-Johnson Family Fellowship, which was most recently awarded to Jonathan Boyce.
In an inspirational email message last week to the program participants, Harvard GSD Dean Sarah M. Whiting encouraged students to “be bold in asking the questions that are on (their) mind, be uninhibited in expressing (their) creativity, and be open to learning new and unfamiliar perspectives.”
The students and professionals responsible for developing the Black in Design Mentorship Program include:
 Executive Board:
- Brooke Trivas, Principal, Perkins&Will
- Rania Karamallah, Designer, Perkins&Will
- Laura Snowdon, Dean of Students; Assistant Dean for Enrollment Services, Harvard GSD
- Sebastian Schmidt Dalzon, Administrative Director, Initiatives and Academic Projects, Harvard GSD
- Megan Panzano, Program Director, Undergraduate Architecture Studies, Assistant Professor of Architecture, Harvard GSD
 Organizing Team:
- Kelly Teixeira Wisnaskas, Assistant Director of Student Support and Services, Harvard GSD
- Kim Wong, HR Manager, Perkins&Will
- Rachael Dumas, Research Knowledge Manager, Perkins&Will
- Caleb Negash, Student, Harvard GSD (AASU)
- Whytne Stevens, Student, Harvard GSD (AfricaGSD)
About Perkins&Will
Perkins&Will, an interdisciplinary, research-based architecture and design firm, was founded in 1935 on the belief that design has the power to transform lives. Guided by its core values—design excellence, diversity and inclusion, research, resilience, social purpose, sustainability, and well-being—the firm is committed to designing a better, more beautiful world. Fast Company named Perkins&Will one of the World’s Most Innovative Companies in Architecture, and industry rankings consistently place Perkins&Will among the world’s top design practices. With an international team of more than 2,000 professionals, the firm has over 20 studios worldwide, providing services in architecture, interior design, branded environments, urban design, and landscape architecture. Partners include Danish architects Schmidt Hammer Lassen; retail strategy and design consultancy Portland; sustainable transportation planning consultancy Nelson\Nygaard; and luxury hospitality design firm Pierre-Yves Rochon (PYR). For more information, visit www.perkinswill.com.
About the Harvard Graduate School of Design
The Harvard Graduate School of Design is dedicated to the education and development of design professionals in architecture, landscape architecture, urban planning, and urban design. With a commitment to design excellence that demands the skillful manipulation of form and technology and draws inspiration from a broad range of social, environmental, and cultural issues, the Harvard Graduate School of Design provides leadership for shaping the built environment of the twenty-first century.
About the Harvard GSD African American Student Union (AASU)
The AASU is a group of African American, Black, Biracial, Multiracial, and Non-Black students that supports the advancements of African Americans in the areas of architecture, landscape architecture, design, real estate, urban design, and urban planning. The AASU cultivates a space of belonging at the Graduate School of Design, in a country that has historically denied African Americans such spaces. The group confronts systemic racial injustice, reimagining design for more equitable futures.
