Quinn Evans Now a Majority Women-Owned Business Enterprise

Firm is Now Among the Largest Women-Owned Design Practices in the Nation

Alyson Steele, FAIA, LEED AP, president and CEO of Quinn Evans, has announced that the firm is now a majority women-owned business enterprise (WBE). According to Steele, the transition reflects a long-held commitment to developing a diverse leadership team, a critical step toward equity representation within the 200-person, nationwide design practice. Quinn Evans provides architecture, planning, historic preservation, interior design, and landscape architecture services from six offices in the Midwest and mid-Atlantic.

Quinn Evans is now among the largest women-owned design practices in the nation. In the home regions of its main offices—Baltimore-Washington; southeast Michigan where the firm has offices in Detroit and Ann Arbor; and Richmond, Virginia—the firm is the largest women-owned practice.

Under Steele’s leadership, along with her predecessor Larry Barr, FAIA, Quinn Evans has more than tripled in size over the past five years. During that time, the firm has significantly increased the representation of women and minorities on its staff and in company ownership. Currently, women hold a 51.5% majority of company stock, and more than half of the senior management positions (principal, senior associate, and associate). Notably, the firm’s president/CEO, chief financial officer, chief marketing officer, director of sustainability, director of diversity and inclusion, and three regional directors are women. With at least 51% owned by and operated by women in the majority on a daily basis, Quinn Evans now qualifies as a WBE.

“We are dedicated foremost to providing opportunities to those who can advance our profession and lead teams to do their best collaborative work. We are fortunate to have many spectacular women collaborators. Additionally, our women-owned status will expand our ability to connect and partner with a broader range of firms in the AEC community,” says Steele. “We look forward to additional opportunities to team on challenging projects in the government, academic, and cultural realms. Our diverse professional team is ready to contribute expertise on significant preservation and new placemaking projects.”

Major clients for the firm, which was established in 1984, include the Smithsonian Institution, the National Park Service, the Architect of the Capitol, the U.S. General Services Administration, Amtrak, and numerous schools and universities. Approximately 64% of Quinn Evans’ work supports public-sector clients, at all levels of government.

The majority women-owned status represents the culmination in a series of milestone announcements for the firm, part of a long-planned leadership transition and strategic initiatives planned to enhance operations and workplace culture. Alyson Steele was elected president and CEO in February, followed by the promotion of Susan Pryor to co-director of the Richmond office in March, and the promotion of Thomas Jester, FAIA, FAPT, LEED AP as chief operating officer in early April. Most recently, Quinn Evans announced the expansion of its board of directors and the establishment of a new research fellowship that will focus on practices in the built environment that advance sustainable stewardship and inclusive design.

Quinn Evans is a Gold-level sponsor of the Women’s Leadership Summit (WLS) 2022, hosted by the American Institute of Architects from September 28 through October 1 in San Jose, California.  The WLS is the largest event for women architects and designers in the country.  The firm is also a member of the President’s Circle of the National Association for Minority Architects (NOMA) at the Corporate Champion level.

About Quinn Evans

Quinn Evans provides services in architecture, interior design, planning, landscape architecture, urban revitalization, and historic preservation, including sustainable preservation and stewardship. The firm has employs more than 200 professionals in six office locations in Washington, D.C.; Ann Arbor and Detroit, Michigan; Madison, Wisconsin; Baltimore, Maryland; and Richmond, Virginia. Nationally ranked in its sustainability practice, Quinn Evans is a charter signatory of the AIA 2030 Challenge and a member of the Center for the Built Environment.

Established in 1984, Quinn Evans specializes in cultural, institutional, commercial, and educational projects, including museums, historic parks, theaters, mixed-use buildings, government buildings, schools and campus facilities, libraries, and major civic landmarks and infrastructure. Current projects for the firm include the modernization of the National Air and Space Museum and the renovation of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.; renovation of the Old City Hall and Virginia Commonwealth University’s new STEM building in Richmond, Va.; and the redevelopment of Baltimore’s Penn Station.

Additional projects underway include the design of security improvements to support ferry transit operations to Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty and the restoration of the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse in North Carolina, both for the National Park Service. For Ford, Quinn Evans is currently designing the restoration and adaptive use of the landmark Michigan Central Station in Detroit. Other Michigan projects include the adaptive use of the Walter French High School into housing in Lansing and the Farmer’s Market at the Henry Ford Greenfield Village. For more information, visit www.quinnevans.com.