400 Forward: Tiffany Brown on Perseverance, Redesigning a System, and her Seven Pillars of Mentorship

QB3_4478 for Madame Architect_APPLY GREY BACKGROUND.jpg

A pioneer for diversity and inclusion in the profession of architecture, Tiffany is a sought-after expert frequently speaking at national events including South by Southwest and the AIA Conference on Architecture, and is also featured in ESSENCE Magazine, AIA+Architect Magazine and Architectural Record.

Tiffany has spearheaded raising awareness on how representation in design makes a significant social impact on firm practice, culture, and education. Her expertise stems from first-hand experiences of addressing environmental injustices and social issues. She has appeared in “Design for All” currently streaming on HULU, and is an expert contributor to the book “Mismatch: How Inclusion Shapes Design.” In her interview, Tiffany describes how her career has evolved, laying out seven pillars of mentorship based on the lessons she herself has learned.

JG: How did your interest in architecture first develop? What did you learn about both the field and about yourself in studying it?

TB: My interest in architecture developed through my love of art. My mom and dad can draw really well. When I was little, I'd watch my mom draw self-portraits shadowed to perfection, and my dad make a cartoon flip book of a man doing a back flip in a book he was reading. He was always doodling. I've always loved every aspect of art, creative writing, even my wood shop class, not realizing they would all be the vehicle to a career I never knew about.

When asked what I wanted to be when I grew up, I am told my answer was, "I want to be somebody. I know I can." That's why the Nas song "I can" has always resonated with me. I once thought about becoming an animator at Disney, but as I grew older I also became more interested in the spaces around me where I lived and learned, and how they affected me. And then in my senior year, a recruiter from Lawrence Tech, my alma mater, came to my high school to talk about their college of architecture. I started there the following fall.

I would soon learn the field of architecture would be the vehicle to many full-circle events in my life. I was just a girl from the west side of Detroit, considered "disadvantaged youth," and I never imagined I'd be studying architecture in Paris and standing in front of the Louvre. I never thought the paintings I so eagerly read about, five inches tall in books I'd read, would soon be physically before me in the many museums we visited while there. I remember becoming overwhelmed with emotion as I grabbed a moment by myself in front of Monet's water lilies on a private tour with my at Musee de l'Orangerie. They were over 20-feet wide. I learned to always look back at how far I've come and understand the parallels that architecture introduced me to.

Tiffany and a classmate at the Villa Savoye.

Tiffany with classmates at the Musée de l’Orangerie

How did you get your start in the field?

I was lucky enough to get my start in the field as a sophomore in college. I was introduced to the first black architect I had ever seen or met, Rainy Hamilton of Hamilton Anderson Associates in Detroit. Someone I previously worked with was on a neighborhood association with him and he took a meeting with me. With zero experience, he and his HR director Sybil Griffin saw passion and potential in me that they wanted to nurture. Coming in with zero experience, I worked there for eleven years full-time through three college degrees. I was able to gain experience in all project types and phases of work. I was eventually leading my own projects and working in business development on behalf of the company.

I always tell students two things: it's all about who you know in this field, and you have to be willing to get your foot in the door to get where you want to be. I started at the front desk answering the phones, because there was an opening in administration and I had experience there. I knew that was my opportunity. I worked with people who cared about my professional development and made sure I transitioned to architecture when the opportunity and the time was right.

“I always tell students two things: it’s all about who you know in this field, and you have to be willing to get your foot in the door to get where you want to be.”

Walk me through how you got to where you are today.

Coming from very humble beginnings, I didn’t grow up around business professionals. I am a first generation college graduate and I wasn’t prepared when I got there, let alone study something like architecture. I wasn’t exposed to architecture until the 12th grade. I got where I am today by constantly telling myself it had to be done. There were discouraging times, when I thought I couldn’t do it. There were discouraging people along the way and sometimes I still encounter those situations. Through all the adversities, I eventually realized my calling is to help others succeed in the field. That’s when I co-founded Urban Arts Collective, a nonprofit that exposes inner city youth to architecture. Through my initiative, 400 Forward, I am privileged to uplift girls by giving them the tools they need to address social issues created by the unjust built environments of our inner-city communities, using my own experience as a tool of empowerment.

Where are you in your career today? What’s most on your mind?

I've had to adjust to a new way of life with the devastation of COVID-19. Working from home has had its work cut out for me as a single mom who has also suddenly become a teacher, janitor, principal, lunch lady, all within business hours as the schools have closed and stay at home orders was issued. Detroit is one of the cities most impacted by this pandemic. While figuring that out along the way, I was thrown into an emotional roller coaster in the midst of the racial injustices and police brutality we are currently facing. Both these occurrences have been emotionally and physically draining, and both have triggered my exploration of where my values and beliefs are today.

What is most on my mind during this time is doing my part in the redesign of a system that was designed to oppress. As a professional, I care most about how the built environment forms our experiences in society. As a mentor, I’ve found my calling in empowering the leaders of the next generation to reverse this view on oppressed people. We have to take the time to learn from those of us who have experienced a high degree of discrimination, unequal systems, and exclusion. We have to face how we got here.

I credit my efforts in community services to things like meeting Michelle Obama at the AIA Convention in Orlando. In a conversation with then-AIA president Thomas Vonier, she discussed the lack of representation in many professional fields and asked, "How do you aspire to be something you can’t see?" Today I ask myself, ‘How can we visualize the future we need - the future America needs - and find our way to liberty and justice for all, once and for all?” What's most on my mind is creating ways to strategize, organize, and mobilize. Use my energy to come up with solutions that lead to justice and change.

I want to work with our profession on imagining the future we need, and doing the work to making it happen. The time is now for us to use our platforms to speak up and end systemic injustices. My career has turned in the direction of revisiting in technology and infrastructure, holistic polices on sustainability and resilience. Structures around justice, equity, inclusive design, place-making and people.

What have been some challenges throughout your career?

I have often found myself on project teams and at construction sites where no one looked like me. Yet this was taking place in a city where everyone looked liked me. I realized the people who are actually the users of these spaces are not at the table. There were teams of people designing and building in neighborhoods where they wouldn't live or send their children to school. I have switched sides of that table as a user of those spaces who now works in architecture and design. I've been mistaken for the cleaning lady when I stepped foot on a construction site, and I’ve been asked what happens "when" I fail after I was promoted.

Being constantly reminded that you don’t belong could deter you from following a dream that was meant for you. Those instances surface in my career at times because I entered a field of study that I wasn’t' properly prepared for. I know the challenges I have faced were meant for me to use as teaching points for others.

“I have often found myself on project teams and at construction sites where no one looked like me. Yet this was taking place in a city where everyone looked liked me. I realized the people who are actually the users of these spaces are not at the table.”

What have you been most proud of?

Having the opportunity to work on public schools, our city hall, and housing developments in Detroit have been quite rewarding for me. Particularly, taking part in the new construction of the housing development I grew up in after it sat vacant for ten years. I had gone off to college within that time, and it was the first project I was able to lead.

I am most proud of my nine-year-old daughter Brynne, who embodies all the things I wished to be when I was her age. Working full time and being a mom of a competitive gymnast has certainly had its challenges. Many who know me may not believe this, but I was very quiet, shy, and withdrawn growing up, especially as a child. She is strong, confident, brave, and determined. She shines bright in ways that surprise me to no end, the person who knows her best. I didn’t have much access to recreation as a child. She has been training in gymnastics since she was 3, but when she began to compete, I noticed all those things presented themselves the mute she stepped onto the floor at her meets. With what seemed to come out of nowhere, she won several first place all-around gymnastics championships back to back, which led to her being first in the state. I feel as if I'm learning from her how to display those properties within myself.

Tiffany with Stuart Coppage and Michelle Obama.

Who are you admiring right now, in the field and at large?

I try to surround myself with people who are where I aspire to be. In this moment I have spent a lot of time talking to my mentor Gabrielle Bullock who has guided me on pushing through recent situations that have affected me in ways I didn’t expect. I've had very emotional conversations with my good friend Kimberly Dowdell, and together we are creating solutions to change the world. I have the support of Dina Griffin and Jane Frederick, and they are helping me to see good in people as we fight for better systems and structures in design. Also Kat Holmes, a pioneer for inclusive design who has helped me dig deep and address things I’ve subconsciously suppress. I've gone from feeling hopeless to feeling optimistic. I admire these women because of their incomparable strength. They have reminded me that a reckoning is on the horizon.

“What is most on my mind during this time is doing my part in the redesign of a system that was designed to oppress.”

Finally, what advice do you have for those just starting their careers?

The lessons I've learned throughout my career have become the seven pillars that frame my approach to mentorship. The first is to know yourself. To know thyself is the beginning of wisdom. Learn to understand your identity. You'll feel stronger and wont fold into what someone else things you should be doing. Acting on self-knowledge will drive you and lead you to your calling. Then, know your field. Do the proper research and understand what it takes to get there. I didn’t know about the licensing exams for architecture until my third year studying architecture. Keep learning.

Be confident. This is important beyond the workplace and can take some time and practice to get there. Overcoming self-doubt will take you places you couldn’t ever imagine. Be professional. Always. Especially when faced with adverse situations. Integrity and self-control display a high degree of emotional intelligence. Be present and active. Sit at the table. Physically and figuratively. Take part in the discussion. You won't make it to the top by being in the shadows.

Never back down. There will always be someone who challenges you or questions your abilities. Be sure to stay focused and stay calm. Remember what you're capable of. Finally, show them it cannot be done without you. Make yourself a valuable team member. This also applies within.