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Call to Action:
Abstract: Discover how to use the Empathy-Define-Ideate workshop to gain vital insights often overlooked in facility planning. Based on Design Thinking, a well-known human-centered approach, this workshop facilitates a collaborative endeavor: designing with, rather than for, end users. This tool captures qualitative input from stakeholders and transforms it into tangible solutions. Learn how we applied the Empathy-Define-Ideate workshop at the Uruguayan American School to uncover unexpected insights that drove the design for their school-wide renovation.
Learning Objectives:
Educational Visioning
Facilitating the translation of educational goals/vision into school design requirements.
Emily is dedicated to equity-driven design for nonprofit and community-based clients in education, arts, and social services. A Project Architect at Wheeler Kearns Architects since 2017, her award-winning work includes Broadway Youth Center, Great Lakes Academy Expansion, and the Bernard Zell Anshe Emet Day School Expansion. As a founding member of AIA Chicago’s LGBTQIA+ Alliance, she mentors and advances inclusivity in architecture. AIA Chicago honored her with the 2024 Dubin Family Young Architect Award.
Originally from Lima, Peru, Fabiola is a civic leader dedicated to supporting underrepresented communities in architecture. An Architect at Wheeler Kearns Architects since 2019, she has led award-winning educational projects, including Great Lakes Academy Expansion, Uruguayan American School Master Plan, and Elgin Math & Science Academy. She mentors through Big Brothers Big Sisters, Arquitinas, and ACE. Her leadership earned her the 2023 Driehaus Design Impact Award and 2024 GOLD Award from Ball State University.
Matt has directed the Uruguayan American School since 2015. Prior to UAS, he was the Middle School Principal at Nido de Aguilas in Santiago, Chile for ten years. Matt earned his B.A. summa cum laude in English Language and Literature from the State University of New York at Stony Brook, an M.A. in English Language and Literature from the University of Michigan, and a Masters in Educational Leadership from Lehigh University.