Her Story
About Monica
Monica Retzke is an architect with 30 years of experience. She earned a bachelor's degree in architecture from a program in Brazil after receiving a government grant, followed by an MBA in environment management. After moving to the United States, she became a LEED accredited professional and is currently completing a postgraduate program at the University of Texas online on implementing AI for business. She has worked in the profession for eight years at a company before being laid off and recently started her own company with her son. Retzke is a member of the American Institute of Architects and serves on the AIA National Equity and Future of Architecture Committee, where she contributed inclusion language to the AIA Recovery Disaster Pledge. She previously served as Director of Communication for the DC NOMA chapter and volunteered as a mentor in the ACE mentor program for two years, as well as with the NOMA summer program. As a first-generation college graduate and Brazilian immigrant, she is passionate about equity and inclusion in architecture and advocates for underrepresented groups in the profession.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Monica
01What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
I told her my story, that my parents, like my mom was a stay-at-home mom, my dad was a truck driver. None of them attended college, and people told me when I was a teenager that going into college was impossible for me. And here I am, working as an architect in the United States. So, I told her that there is, I taught her about, scholarships and, And help her to kind of develop a project that she presented, during the summer camp
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