This event is a collaboration among BEAT, the Daniels Faculty Committee on Diversity and Equity and the Graduate Architecture Landscape and Design Student Union (GALDSU). It is open to Daniels Faculty students and registration is not required.

The speakers will address the following questions:

What in your career so far has surprised you?
What do you hope to do that you haven't done yet?
What have been the greatest career challenges you have experienced?

Featuring:

Kyra Clarkson is the Principal of Kyra Clarkson Architect Inc. and co-President of MODERNest Inc.

Kyra has been practicing architecture since 1995.  She founded her eponymous architecture practice in 2007.  Her firm specializes in house projects both renovation and new construction.  The work of the office is characterized by a clean modernism with a commitment to warmth, the importance of daylight and connections to the outdoors. 

In 2011, Kyra and her husband launched MODERNest Inc., a development venture building architect-designed homes in downtown Toronto.  In reaction to the typical neo-traditional homes being built in the city, they saw the need for high-quality, honest, and inspiring homes that express a modern spirit.

MODERNest Inc. has built six houses to date, and has been recognized in several publications, including Canadian Architect, The Globe and Mail, Monocle Magazine and Dwell.

Kyra holds an undergraduate degree from the University of Toronto (B.A., 1991) and a graduate degree (M. Arch., 1995) from Yale University.  She worked for ten years in New York with Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects, and joined Shim-Sutcliffe Architects when she moved back to Toronto in 2005.

Leslie Jen holds degrees in English Literature and Law from the University of Saskatchewan, and a Bachelor of Architecture from the University of British Columbia. For nearly 12 years, she was the Associate Editor of Canadian Architect magazine, during which time she contributed significantly to the discourse of architecture and urbanism in Canada.

In her present role as Marketing Director at Toronto-based architecture firm superkül, Leslie works to develop the distinctive brand of the studio through focused research, strategic communication initiatives and promotional opportunities. She is concurrently authoring a book on Canadian architectural practices and their work that is scheduled for release by Figure 1 Publishing.

Additionally, Leslie maintains a consultancy practice, undertaking writing, editing and curatorial projects for several design magazines, award-winning architectural firms and arts organizations. She has been an invited jury member for exhibitions and awards programs, and her commitment to and advocacy for architecture and design manifests in her active role on the Board of Directors of the DesignTO Festival. Leslie was named a Fellow of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada (FRAIC) in 2016.

Kate Nelischer is the Assistant Dean, Academic and Outreach Programs at the John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design. She is also a PhD Candidate in Planning at the University of Toronto, where she studies the governance and public-private partnership structures associated with the Google/Sidewalk Labs plan for Toronto's Quayside neighbourhood. Kate previously worked in urban planning and community consultation for the City of Toronto, the City of Brampton, and local firm The Planning Partnership. Kate regularly writes for a number of urban-focused publications, including Spacing, SITE, and Ground Magazine. Since 2013 she has been a Director of the National Board of YWCA Canada, the country’s oldest multi-service women’s organization.