Elsa was born in Santiago, Chile. Her mother was a teacher, and her father was an engineer. She has a younger brother, who is a doctor. Since Elsa was a kid was inspired by her dad. In the 80’s, he opened an architectural office and she used to play with models, stencils, and drawing pens. She dreamed with cool houses design from magazines and loved listening her dad’s stories and knowledge. She studied architecture at University of Santiago of Chile and obtained her architect degree in 2004. She worked for 7 years for two municipalities as plan reviewer and as project manager of the city’s new projects. In 2011, she joined one the biggest shopping center developers in South America and worked at the permits and project regulations compliance. In Patagonia in 2015, she unexpectedly met her husband Joshua Garcia, an American marathon runner, and took the tough decision of moving to the United States in 2016. For 8 months, she studied English professional proficiency and in May 2017 she got a job offer at Travois. Elsa is a project manager and loves working on housing and economic development for American Indian, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian communities. She is currently pursuing NCARB certification and soon will obtain her architectural license in the US, so she can call herself an architect again.
Kuleya Bruce is a professional facilitator with a background in business, design, and construction. Academically trained as an architect, currently working in the role of Assistant Project Manager at Oke-Thomas + Associates. Kuleya has served as an Architectural Project Lead, Executive Director for Rebuilding Together Southwest Illinois, and Executive Assistant for the Hazelwood School District.
Kuleya’s passions lie with people and the community. It gives her purpose to contribute to a collective, whose goal is working towards the betterment of place and experience. Through synergizing with local municipalities, corporate sponsors, volunteers, and nonprofit organizations she has aided in the construction of 7 community spaces and renovation of 200+ residences in the St. Louis Metro Area. She has the privilege to work with Institutions of higher education, historic preservation, government housing, and community members to improve conditions for everyone.
Kuleya serves on the Springfield MO Planning and Zoning Commission, The Milly Project Board, AIA Springfield Board, Missouri SAVE Coalition, and is also a Missouri Children’s Division Resource Provider. Kuleya is an AmeriCorps Alumni and AIA Next to Lead Visionary.
Kuleya holds a master’s degree in Business Administration from Kaplan University and baccalaureate degrees from Drury University in Architecture and Art History.
I was born in Mexico, Missouri which is located in between Kansas City and Saint Louis. I completed my Bachelors of Architecture degree in 2014 from Prairie View A&M and graduated with my Masters of Architecture from University of Michigan in 2016. I’m an architectural designer with six years of experience in residential, commercial, financial, and K-12 education projects. I have strong organizational skills, the ability to work on multiple projects at the same time, and problem solve both individually or as part of a larger project team. I’m highly organized, independent, and effectively coordinate tasks to accomplish projects with timeliness and creativity. Two interesting facts about me: I had the opportunity to see Barack Obama get sworn into office for his second term and travel to China to study the language and culture.
I am Gabriele Randall and I will be starting my studies for my bachelors degree architecture in the fall of 2020. At Pratt Institute I will be involved in a 5 year program, where I hope to learn from my professors and the atmosphere around me. I have recently graduated from John Burroughs School in St. Louis Missouri, where my interest in architecture started. Being in Brooklyn will be a completely new experience for me and I am incredibly happy to have the opportunity to attend school in such an unfamiliar place. While I am unsure of what to expect, I am excited to study architecture at Pratt.