Career Conversations with: Antonia Medina Abell ‘20 MSAUD, Amy Shell '15 MSAUD and Sushmita Shekar ‘20 MSAUD

Antonia Medina Abell ‘20 MSAUD, Amy Shell ‘15 MSAUD, and Sushmita Shekar ‘20 MSAUD will facilitate a virtual discussion about their careers as urban designers in NYC. They will also discuss their career paths after graduating from GSAPP, the projects/firms they work for, and provide career advice. A brief Q & A session will be held at the end.

Antonia Medina Abell is an Urban Designer at Gamble Associates. She received a Professional Degree and a Bachelor’s Degree in Architecture from Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile and a Master of Science in Architecture and Urban Design from Columbia University. She was awarded the ‘Honor” 2020 AIANY + ASLANY Transportation + Infrastructure Design Excellence Awards in the Student Projects category for her team’s proposal for a carbon-zero river port and food processing facilities in Newburgh, New York. Antonia brings over four years of architectural experience in a wide range of scales and geographies; from industrial architecture projects in Santiago de Chile, commercial and city projects in the Midwest and interior design in Boston. She is a licensed architect in Chile and is interested in building resiliency through infrastructure.

Amy Shell ’15 MSAUD is an architect, urban designer, and strategist whose multi-scalar approach to social, environmental, and economic contexts helps identify unique design opportunities. As a Senior Proposal Coordinator with Snøhetta’s New Business Team, she focuses on expanding the firm’s transdisciplinary practice and building strategic partnerships across North America. Amy is also co-founder of Common Projects Newburgh, a design initiative that evolved from her studies at GSAPP, where she works with residents and community-based organizations to launch installations in the City of Newburgh.

Amy holds a Bachelor of Architecture from the University of Oklahoma and a Master of Science in Architecture and Urban Design from Columbia University where she was awarded the Lucille Smyser Lowenfish Memorial Prize and the William Kinne Fellows Prize. She is a registered architect in the State of New York and a Fellow at the Urban Design Forum.

Sushmita Shekar ‘20 MSAUD. is an Urban Designer at Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill (SOM). Sushmita is nominated as a 2022 Fellow of United Nations SDSN, her work will generate a framework for regional SDG achievement in the Bay Area region. She is also actively involved in academic juries at UC Berkeley College of Environmental Design and California College of Arts (CCA).

The conversation will be moderated by Cesar Delgado Rodriguez, MSAUD ‘22

This event is hosted by GSAPP Career Services for the GSAPP Class of 2022. Limited space is also available for currently enrolled GSAPP students.

This event is being hosted virtually on Zoom. Please register in advance for this meeting