MAY MEMBER OF THE MONTH | JENNIFER GOODE

 

Where do you work and what is your current role?  Assistant Director, Store Architecture at Hy-Vee

Why did you choose the design/construction field?  Growing up, my mom was an art teacher, and my dad was a CFO, so I always had a good balance of right brain/left brain influences!  My first interest in architecture was residential.  I loved the turn of the century farmhouse my mom grew up in, and loved hearing about how it was remodeled when she was a child.  When I entered the field, I joined a global, retail design firm and found that I really enjoy project and program management.  I love working with clients and the design and construction team members to successfully complete a project.

What motivates you to further progress in your career? I’ve always been very motivated by learning something new: new clients, new processes, new projects, working in new countries....

What is the best advice you have received?  You don’t always get to choose what happens to you, but you can always choose how you respond.

How has Iowa Women in Architecture influenced you?  I moved (back) to Iowa in January 2015, after spending almost 19 years in Seattle.  As a co-chair of my previous firm’s Women in Leadership initiative, co-founder of AIA Seattle Women in Design, and co-chair of AIA National’s Women’s Leadership Summit, I had followed Iowa Women in Architecture and was impressed with the group’s efforts to document and share their Best Practices Recommendations for Design Firms.  Now that I’m here, Iowa Women in Architecture has been a great way to meet women in the local architecture and engineering community.