Episode 114: The Architecture of Motherhood

What lessons can you learn from an immigrant architect about starting a firm in the US while becoming a mother?

In celebration of Mother's Day this weekend, we welcome back Gloria Kloter, the founder and CEO of Glow Architects and a best-selling author. Less than a year ago, she released her book, "The Architecture of Motherhood," which shares her journey to building a business while becoming a new mom. In this episode, we revisit Kloter's story and book to see what additional lessons she has learned since its publication. Now a mom of two little ones, Kloter shares how motherhood has continued to shape her perspective on architecture and design.

Through "The Architecture of Motherhood," Kloter offers a unique perspective on both motherhood and architecture. Her book is a testament to the power of personal experience and how it can shape one's professional life. Join us as we dive deeper into Kloter's story and learn more about her journey as an immigrant architect, business owner, and mother.

Guest:

Gloria Kloter, AIA, NCARB, CODIA, is an award-winning architect, founder and CEO of Glow Architects, a keynote speaker, and a bestselling author. Gloria has been a practicing architect both in her home country (Dominican Republic) and in the United States since 2004. She is an advocate for immigrant architects, women in architecture, and motherhood.

In her book, The Architecture of Motherhood, she shares her incredible journey to becoming a worldwide renowned architect and business owner while being a new mom. Through this book, the reader can learn how women in any industry can find a balance between their professional life and motherhood without having to compromise either role. Gloria is also a co-author of the bestselling book “City Shapers: Stories of Immigrant Designers”, a compilation of the journey of 24 successful professionals from all over the world who are making a positive impact and paving the way in the USA as architects and leaders in our industry.

Kloter has dedicated a huge chunk of her career to helping other young architects grow. As a leader in the architecture community, she is the founder of the Foreign Architects, a private online community where she mentors young and aspiring immigrant architects on how to obtain their architect license in the United States.​​

As a testament to her influence and impact, Gloria Kloter currently serves as the Architect Licensing Advisor of the State of Florida through AIA Florida. She is a part of the Board of Directors of the AIA Tampa Bay where she is the founder and chairperson of the Women in Architecture (WIA) committee.

Among her awards and recognitions, Gloria is a recipient of the Outstanding Leadership Award 2022 by Realty 2.0 and the AIA Tampa Bay 2020 Kelley Emerging Professional Award, She was also honored with the 2019 Sho-Ping Ching Women’s Leadership Summit Scholarship, a recognition to mid-career women architects who are advancing toward leadership roles and are making a positive impact within their communities. ​

Gloria has been a keynote speaker and panelist on several occasions at the Young Architect conference, YASS, YAWS, NCARB's Architect Licensing Advisor Summit, AIA National Conference on Architecture, Women Architects Festival, World Creativity and Innovation Conference, AIA Western Mountain Region Vision 2020, and Realty 2.0, among other events.

Gloria Kloter and Glow Architects have been featured by major architectural and global publications like Architizer, Young Architect Podcast, Context & Clarity Podcast, Practice Disrupted Podcast, EntreArchitect, Arquitexto, NCARB, YAF Connection,  South Tampa Magazine, Thrive Global, Tech Times, Influencive, and others, regarding her experience in the field of Architecture, Interior Design and her journey as a foreign architect in the USA. 

📍 Show Links:  

Immigrant Architects

📚 Continue Learning:

The Architecture of Motherhood 

City Shapers: Stories of Immigrant Designers

💻 Learn about our podcast partner:

👉 This episode is sponsored by Autodesk.

Autodesk has been part of the design conversation since 1982, providing the tools that help architects around the globe imagine and create beautifully designed, memorable buildings that people love and admire.

Autodesk is honored to support the work of Practice Disrupted, bringing the architecture community together, sparking curiosity, and leading vibrant and necessary conversations with the industry’s visionaries and thought leaders.

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