| Tell us about your company: |
| Architecture + Advocacy equips everyday people to have a say in the design of their homes, businesses and neighborhoods. We hope that by doing so, residents can drive development that improves their quality of life, without displacement. |
| What inspired you to start your business? |
| I grew up in inner city schools and went on to become a community organizer in public housing. I witnessed firsthand how the neighborhood we grow up in determines the outcomes of our lives. The residents I worked with also had incredible ideas to improve their neighborhoods but often lacked access or power to make those improvements a reality– a dynamic that was by design. At USC I met my co-founders, who were also motivated to change this unjust system, so that the zip code a child is born in does not determine their opportunities in life. |
| What are your proudest achievements so far? |
| Earning the 2025 Los Angeles Conservancy Conservation Award for our work documenting previously undocumented Black histories in Sugar Hill. |
| What advice do you have for aspiring entrepreneurs: |
| Devote at least 50% of your time to building up the people around you– your board, advisors, co-founders, employees, volunteers, clients, etc. There is only so much work that one person can accomplish alone. And if you’re an entrepreneur with big dreams, there will be a lot of work to do. Your job is not just to do the work but inspire others to join you. |
| Please share a memory or thought about your alma mater: |
| I met my co-founders at USC. Architecture + Advocacy wouldn’t be where it is today without the passion and dedication of this amazing group of people! And each year, we have more volunteers excited to join our work at the USC Chapter. |
Alumni Emporium 