Taruna Gupta is a Senior Associate at HGA Milwaukee where she works on projects that champion holistic design, equity, and sustainability. She is President of Wisco NOMA and is a board member of Women in Design Milwaukee.

Taruna is also Co-Founder and President of Defining Humanity where she leads global initiatives such as 3D-printed schools and housing solutions that redefine architecture’s role in addressing equity and access in communities around the world.

We talk about:

- Lessons Taruna has learned from practicing architecture in India, Italy, France, and the United States. We talk about the ways in which these roles have expanded her cultural fluency and strengthened her adaptability in terms of the design process, construction techniques, labor models, and metric vs imperial systems.

- The origin of Defining Humanity and how she has helped to build a volunteer network of professionals that collaborate to significantly impact underserved communities worldwide through architectural interventions.

- 3D printing schools in Madagascar and the importance of listening to and engaging communities, ensuring people feel truly heard.

- Taruna's advice for authentic networking, leaning into your passions during conversation, and using the “buddy system” to make professional events less intimidating.

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Connect with Taruna:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tarunagupta/

Defining Humanity Website: https://www.defininghumanity.org/

Defining Humanity Instagram: @defininghumanity

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- LinkedIn:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ The Architectette Podcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Page and/or⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Caitlin Brady⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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Music by⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ AlexGrohl⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ from ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Pixabay⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

On today’s episode we are chatting with Emily Alexander. Emily was raised in Boston and moved to DC to attend The George Washington University where she studied Civil and Structural Engineering. She completed internships with both engineering firms and general contractors and joined Turner Construction Company post-graduation.

Today she is a Development Manager at Jair Lynch Real Estate Partners, plays soccer 2-3 times a week with District Soccer, and was recognized with the 2025 DMV Women Leading Real Estate Rising Star Award.

We talk about:

- We define the role of development manager and Emily explains her responsibilities across entitlements, design, construction, financing, and client advisory services.

- Next, we dive into DC’s entitlement process and Emily explains how re-envisioning a site can dramatically increase its value.

- Then, we get into architecture and Emily shares what qualities developers look for when hiring architects- things like contextual insight, low-ego teamwork, and clear construction documentation.

- We also explore Emily’s pivot to development from engineering and construction, how dyslexia shaped her strengths, and her mid-career perspective on mentorship within small teams.

- Finally, we take a deep dive into Emily’s most recent project, the Reservoir District. We talk about grocery tenants, community engagement, post-pandemic retail trends, and why long-term affordability remains a core priority for equitable development.

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Connect with Emily:

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/emily-alexander-91275320

Reservoir District

Real Estate Consultant Washington DC - Jair Lynch

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- Newsletter:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ www.architectette.com/newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (Behind the Scenes Content)

- LinkedIn:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ The Architectette Podcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Page and/or⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Caitlin Brady⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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Nakita Reed is an award-winning architect with experience in the rehabilitation and sustainable reuse of historic buildings. She is an Associate Principal at Quinn Evans, a LEED-Accredited Professional, and a certified Passive House Consultant.

She serves on the board of the Baltimore Architecture Foundation, the Zero Net Carbon Collaboration for Existing and Heritage Buildings (ZNCC), Built Buildings Lab, and is host of the Tangible Remnants podcast - a podcast that demystifies the building reuse process for building owners and developers.

We talk about:

- Nakita’s childhood curiosity for abandoned buildings and how that led her to a career focused on efforts to restore them to serve their communities again.

- We review the challenges and successes of some of Nakita’s most memorable projects and how her team worked to challenge misconceptions that historic buildings can’t be sustainable, energy-efficient, or adaptable.

- Nakita shares technical insights on documenting and restoring heritage structures using exploratory demolition, laser scanning, dew point testing, and WUFI analysis.

- Finally, Nakita reflects on launching her podcast, Tangible Remnants, as a way to contextualize architecture within race, history, and culture and tell fuller, more inclusive stories about the ways we live and work.

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Connect with Nakita:

https://www.nakitareed.com/

Guide to building reuse for climate action | AIA

Zero Net Carbon Collaboration for Existing and Historic Buildings

What is WUFI®? | WUFI (en)

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Connect with Architectette:

- Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ www.architectette.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (Learn more)

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- LinkedIn:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ The Architectette Podcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Page and/or⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Caitlin Brady⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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Music by⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ AlexGrohl⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ from ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Pixabay⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.