Connecting AEC Firms and Professionals with growth, well-being, and equity-centered workplace cultures.
Photo: Ashley Powell Photography
Hi! I’m an Architect in the Nashville area.
I’m advocating for better work cultures, strategic firm management, and business prosperity across the country!
About Rachel
Photo: Ashley Powell Photography
Hi, I’m Rachel R. Gresham, AIA, MBA, WELL AP, CDT:
architect, advocate, and unapologetic champion for AEC businesses.
After a decade practicing architecture, Rachel shifted her focus from individual projects to industry transformation. Rachel now serves as Senior Director of Professional Practice Programs at AIA National, where she leads national efforts to build business acumen in architecture by developing tools, programs, and resources that help firms operate with purpose, clear value proposition, and financial confidence. Zweig Group recently recognized Rachel for this work by naming her a 2025 AEC Rising Star.
During her MBA studies at Belmont University, Rachel conducted independent research on the relationship between firm structure and organizational culture in architecture. That work continues to shape how she speaks and challenges firm performance, team dynamics, and the hidden mechanics that drive (or stall) progress. If you're looking for someone to break down these ideas in a room full of leaders or emerging professionals… Rachel has the expertise and presence to equip them with new concepts and mindset.
Rachel’s passion lies in helping architects feel confident not just in design, but in business decisions, advocating for business or personal value, and cultural leadership. She’s created mentorship programs, co-designed emerging leader curricula, and served on the AIA Middle Tennessee Board, where she co-founded the Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Committee. Rachel believes firm culture can be a powerful recruitment and retention tool; and that joy at work is a strategic advantage.
If you’re looking for a speaker or collaborator on practice prosperity or organizational culture, reach out!
Learn more about Rachel’s Work and what it can do for you:
How can I help you?
The way we build is changing.
So are the places we make it happen…
You’re an emerging professional:
You’re not just chasing a title. You’re looking for a workplace that reflects your values, supports your growth, and doesn’t treat burnout like a badge of honor. But how do you find that... and ask for it with confidence? In Rachel’s talks, she breaks down what no one teaches you in school: how firm culture, structure, and compensation actually work, and how to use that knowledge to advocate for yourself from day one. She gets into real talk; utilization rates, billable hours, and how to make a case for mentorship or flexibility without sweating through your blazer.
You’re a leader in an AEC firm:
You’re working hard to build a workplace people want to grow in—not just pass through. But culture doesn’t happen by accident. It’s shaped by structure, strategy, and leadership alignment. Rachel’s sessions are designed to help your team connect those dots—so you're not just building culture, you're building it on purpose. Rachel translates big ideas into frameworks your staff can actually use—and maybe even get excited about.
You plan programs that help others thrive:
Whether you're curating a conference, developing a leadership track, or hosting an internal speaker series, Rachel brings energy, insight, and just the right amount of humor. With a background in theater, she’s almost more comfortable in front of a crowd than she is on lazy Sunday afternoons, bingeing the latest new docu-series from the couch. She speaks on business acumen, negotiation basics and advocacy, firm structure, and career sustainability in a way that leaves people thinking and taking action.
Rachel is on a mission to change the places where we spend 40+ hours a week—starting with the systems and cultures we design around the work we love. Let’s make them strategic, joyful, and built to last.
So what’s next?!
Explore live sessions and podcast appearances. You’ll find content that resonates and hear about Rachel’s story, perspective, and passions.
Learn at your own pace about recognized org structures Rachel has researched (so you don’t have to!) and how they impact your firm’s culture on the blog catalog.
Engagements
Photo: Timothy Niou (IG: @niou.photo, tniou.com | Young Architect (IG: @youngarchitectpdx, youngarchitect.com)
UPCOMING LIVE SESSIONS
AIA Central Virginia
Negotiation and Diplomacy Workshop
Lecture + Workshop | 90 minutes
This interactive session makes negotiation approachable and relevant for design professionals at any stage. From contracts and scope changes to salary talks and project dynamics, architects negotiate constantly… often without realizing it.
Break down common myths (like “whoever speaks first loses”) and explore real-world techniques from Getting to Yes by Bill Fisher and Robert Ury to help shift from positional bargaining to interest-based conversations. The focus: preserve relationships and assert your value with clarity.
Through a hands-on, AEC-specific role play, participants practice practical strategies they can use immediately in meetings, negotiations, and everyday conversations.
Zweig Group ElevateAEC Conference
Organizational Alchemy: The Chemistry between Org Structure and Culture
Lecture + Workshop | 90 minutes
In this session, learn how organizational culture and firm structure shape daily practice and how to influence them strategically. Using frameworks like Trompenaars’ culture types and Kotter’s Change Model, decode firm dynamics and explore practical tools for change.
Attendees take a diagnostic quiz, learn essential negotiation and advocacy techniques, and build a roadmap to shift culture in ways aligned with their firm’s structure and goals.
Whether you're mentoring emerging professionals or planning for firm evolution, this session can be tailored to fit your audience.
Rachel speaking to participants of AIA Triangle’s Leadership Forum. Photo: Shawna Mabie
PAST LIVE SESSIONS
AIA25 Conference on Architecture and Design | NextGen Lounge
The Business IS you business: 5 things you need to know before starting your first job or internship
15 minute Lecture + Q&A
Given as part of her role as Senior Director, Professional Practice Programs at AIA, this session breaks down how architecture firms actually run—from billable hours and utilization rates to overhead, profit, and how your work contributes to the bottom line. Perfect for students, interns, and new hires looking to understand the business side of practice early in their careers.
AIA Triangle Leadership Forum
Workshop
Part I: The Chemistry between Org Structure and Org Culture
Part II: Understanding What’s Possible and How to Advocate
AIA Winston-Salem
Presentation Topic: “Leveraging Culture to Attract Emerging Professionals”
Young Architect Winter Series
Workshop Topic: “From Toxic to Totally Healthy: How To Make a Successful Workplace Transition”
AIA ASPIRE Conference
Panel Topic: Equity, Diversity and Inclusion
Young Architect Conference
Keynote Speaker: ”Knowing Your Boundaries, Finding the Right Fit”
Workshop Topic: ”So You’re Licensed, Now What?”
PODCAST APPEARANCES
ACE Groundbreaking Growth
by StambaughNess
Architecture Beyond Podcast
A Blueprint for Stronger Architectural Practice
Re:Form Tennessee Podcast
Season 2 Premier: Workplace Culture
Tangents Podcast by Out of Architecture
Highlight Guest Topic (52:45): Transitioning from Architectural Practice to Serving the Profession
Context and Clarity Podcast
Panel Topic: “How to be in an office”
Young Architect Podcast
5 Aspects of Workplace Culture
What people are saying:
“Rachel’s amazing Keynote had valuable and useful information. I mean the stuff you can put into use today in the workplace.”
“Rachel’s Keynote helped me to realize that there are firms out there, even in my small town, that have the culture and employee value that I wanted.”
Photo: Timothy Niou (IG: @niou.photo, tniou.com | Young Architect (IG: @youngarchitectpdx, youngarchitect.com)
“I feel like I’m living a story very similar to Rachel’s right now and will be putting her worksheets to good use in my job search.”
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