About Rachel
Photo: Ashley Powell Photography
Hi! I’m Rachel R Gresham, AIA, MBA, WELL AP, CDT. I’m a Registered Architect based in Nashville, TN responsible for designing and managing projects with a positive impact on the community. I’m a recent graduate of Belmont University where I earned my Master’s of Business Administration. During my studies, I completed independent research on the relationships between organizational structure and culture in the architecture industry. Keep scrolling to read the results!
My story has made me passionate about workplace cultures, life balance, practice management, and justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion imperatives. I love helping Emerging Professionals define their needs and wants in a place to work as well as helping firms understand that their structure and culture can be a strategic recruitment and retention tool. This passion led me to create a mentorship/advocacy program and consult for an Emerging Leaders curriculum at my last firm. We spend 40+ hours in our workplaces, therefore, it is important that the environment add joy and value to our well-being.
In the past, I sat on the Board of Directors for the American Institute of Architects Middle Tennessee Chapter where I co-chaired/co-founded the Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (formerly Women in Architecture) Committee, working to provide resources for the advancement of its members and the profession. The committee is still working to challenge firms to make Middle Tennessee the most diverse and inclusive area to practice architecture in the country.
After a decade of practicing architecture and managing $40million+ construction projects, I’ve joined The American Institute of Architects National Component where I’m focused on providing business acumen programming and benchmarking resources for firms and individuals reaching for practice excellence. I’m excited to discover more ways I can further my advocacy efforts for firms and professionals looking to cultivate a life balance, optimize their professional practice, and folks identifying with underrepresented groups in the AEC industry.