In celebration of Women’s History Month, HD is taking the opportunity to shine a spotlight on the many inspiring women who elevate the hospitality industry and beyond with their talent, drive, and ability to defy convention. Here, we highlight a group of women who share advice, words of wisdom, and lessons learned along the way.
Malene Barnett
Photo by Alaric Campbell Photography
Based in Brooklyn, New York, Malene Barnett is an artist, entrepreneur, and the founder of the Black Artists + Designers Guild (BADG). She has made it her mission to champion Black artists, makers, and designers. “The art and design field is an obstacle in itself for people of color,” Barnett told HD. “This profession has not served Black people or our culture, and in turn, validates whiteness. This was a hard obstacle for me to overcome, and it is a phenomena that I have and will continue to fight against.”
Pat Bosch
Born in Cuba to immigrant parents, Perkins & Will principal and design director Pat Bosch draws from a deep well of cultural references that not only shape her own identity but inform her work. She describes her diverse background as a superpower—something that has taught her that societies are best understood from within. “I always had bottomless curiosity and a desire to truly understand those I met or those who surrounded me,” she told HD. “I believe in immersing oneself into a place, with all senses, in order to be able to create, resolve, and deliver, successful, thoughtful, and meaningful design.”
Gabrielle Bullock
In our 2020 People Issue, Los Angeles-based Gabrielle Bullock, principal and global head of diversity at Perkins & Will, offered advice that helped her excel in an industry often dominated by white voices. Alia Akkam writes: As Bullock climbed the ranks of her company and profession, she made it a point to leave her personal life outside of the workplace as a protective mechanism. Though it has been hard, and exhausting at times, she says she learned early on to let her work speak for itself. “If you are the only one in the room, take advantage of that and shine. All eyes are on you anyway,” she says. “But it’s not going to be an easy road.”
Beth Campbell
Architect and designer Beth Campbell, who recently ventured out on her own with the launch of Campbell House, shared how she approaches leadership and offered sound advice on a May 2020 episode of HD’s What I’ve Learned podcast. “The most prominent lesson I’ve learned is that you are not alone,” she says. “No matter what comes against you or what obstacles may appear, you’re not alone on this journey. There are people you can count on, people that have been here before—find those people, and cherish them.”
Angela Clarke
We profiled Angela Clarke, vice president of global design procurement for select brands at Marriott International, in our 2020 People Issue. Clarke, who has been with the hotel company for more than two decades. She shared how her secrets to career success and longevity. “Throughout my life, I’ve learned that you have to have a good perspective,” she explains. “I wanted to be really good at what I did, and I couldn’t learn without understanding. That’s how I work best—by being hands-on.”
Alexandria Dauley + Sophie Ashby
Last summer, London-based designers Alexandria Dauley of Dauley Design and Sophie Ashby of Studio Ashby joined forces to debut United in Design, an initiative aimed at addressing and improving the lack of diversity within the interior design community in the UK and beyond. “As a Black interior designer, I am very aware that the industry is not diverse,” says Dauley. “I was inspired by my own positive personal experiences of outreach programs and mentoring, and I knew that incorporating those initiatives, amongst others, could make a difference.”
Kimberly Dowdell
“My greatest lesson to learn along the way has been about finding your voice and being resilient,” HOK principal and former National Organization of Minority Architects (NOMA) president Kimberly Dowdell told HD editor in chief Stacy Shoemaker Rauen in a recent episode of our What I’ve Learned podcast. The Detroit-born, Chicago-based architect explained that she saw how the built environment can improve the quality of urban life, which led her to pursue degrees in both public policy and architecture.
Anouska Hempel
Actress-turned-designer and hotelier, Anouska Hempel, who was inducted into HD’s Platinum Circle in 2019, attributes her success and icon status to “doing what I thought was right, and having a little bit of flair and a fantastic team.” Hempel’s reach is truly global, having designed London hotel such as Blakes, the Hempel, the Franklin, as well as Six Senses Duxton in Singapore, as well as properties in Beirut, Santiago, and Amsterdam.
Ashley Longshore
Having drawn comparisons to Andy Warhol, New Orleans-based artist Ashley Longshore‘s paintings reflect her larger-than-life personality. Longshore, who now has more than 300,000 Instagram followers, told HD that social media has helped her sell nearly 40 percent of her vibrant work. “You have to be true to yourself, and you can’t give up,” she says. “My job is to make art and stay away from mean bitches as much as possible.”
Anjali Mangalgiri
Not satisfied with the direction many projects were taking, architect Anjali Mangalgiri took matters into her own hands, and eventually founded Goa- and Singapore-based architectural practice Grounded in 2010. “When I was working [at HOK] in New York, I found that our pitches for sustainability weren’t often implemented because of policy or budget constraints, so I decided to complete a master’s in real estate development at Columbia to have a seat at the decision-making table,” she reflects. “Don’t get me wrong, there are a lot of great architects and thought leadership, but there seemed to be a gap in talking the talk and implementation.”
Lauren Rottet
In 2008, Lauren Rottet launched Rottet Studio, which now boasts offices in Houston, Los Angeles, and New York, and has since designed high-profile residential and hospitality projects across the globe. No matter the scope of the project, however, Rottet says her goal is always the same. “I try to make the guest feel that they slipped into another place,” Rottet says, comparing her work to an immersive movie set design. “Every one of our spaces tells a story.”
Venus Williams
Photo by Kevin Sturman
Tennis legend and V-Starr founder Venus Williams let her design expertise and vision to HD’s November 2020 issue as guest editor. Williams shared a glimpse into her personal and professional life, and how the two collide. “I take countless lessons from tennis [for business],” she says. “Sport is life and life is sport, so it’s all one and the same. There are wins or losses and you have to understand how to handle things emotionally. When people look at an athlete, they see this great person who’s achieved something, but there is also the stereotypical thought that it’s all they can do. There is an assumption that they’re not thinkers or very cerebral, so how could they possibly be a good designer or good in business. I like proving those people wrong.”
Li Xiang
Since launching Shanghai-based practice X+Living in 2011, Li Xiang has continued to push the bounds of beautiful, fantastical design. The 2021 Wave of the Future honoree delved into her design philosophy and how she has continued to nurture her inspiration throughout the year in our July 2020 issue. “I once came across the art installation Memory by Anish Kapoor during a study tour in Germany, and I was awed by its power and the tension it brought to the whole space,” says Xiang. “I realized what I truly want to express and display through design: I want to create something that brings vitality and inspiration to people and the world, which is a complicated and challenging task, but has a natural appeal to me.”
Rashana Zaklit
Wave of the Future honoree Rashana Zaklit leads the hospitality studio for Gensler’s San Francisco office. For our July 2020 issue, she shared what drew her to the hospitality world. “At school, it was always about my point of view, but in my career, I quickly learned that it was about the end user and how they will experience what we create as a team,” Zaklit says. “I learned to say yes to everything, especially in those early years. Coming out of school, I naively thought putting my stamp on the design world was just showing what I can do. I learned that [teamwork] is key and collaboration is golden.”
Click here for more Women’s History Month coverage from HD.
