Shannon Gathings, AIA, Honored with 2023 Young Architects Award

Shannon Gathings, AIA, an associate at Duvall Decker, was recently awarded the 2023 AIA Young Architects Award! Shannon is a leader in and out of the studio. She is a skilled project manager and designer and has an unwavering passion for architecture’s role in making communities healthier.

Click here to see Shannon’s portfolio of accomplishments: Shannon Gathings Portfolio

 

 

She has led some of the firm’s most important community reinvestment work in Mississippi including 47 affordable housing units for an at-risk neighborhood in Jackson; a 42-unit affordable housing project scaled for non-traditional families in Greenville known as the Reserves at Ed Gray; the legal aid offices of the Mississippi Center for Justice in the Delta community of Indianola; and the renovation of Operation Shoestring’s Ellen Harris Center, an after school and outreach nonprofit serving inner-city Jackson students and their families.

 

Shannon’s service to the community and profession is exemplary. She has been a leader in the state, serving as an AIA Mississippi board member and ultimately becoming the first black woman and associate to serve as AIA Mississippi Chapter President. She has contributed to AIA national leadership, first as the Associates Representative to the AIA Strategic Council and then as the Associate Director on the AIA National Board in 2021. In each position, Shannon worked to improve the profession for emerging professionals and create opportunities for women and people of color. She is a tireless advocate for improving equity, diversity, and inclusion of underrepresented voices in the profession and frequently shares her voice with students and professionals in juries, lectures, and seminars.

 

Shannon joined Duvall Decker after graduating from Mississippi State University School of Architecture in 2010. Shannon’s decision to stay in Mississippi and employ her professional skills and leadership to help others, to work to make a difference where the challenges are toughest, reveals her dedication to serving the community and bringing to center those in the margins. Through this commitment, she has honed the effective skills she uses to lead the profession on the national level.