Yolanda Cole-Architectural Leader (#62)

Yolanda Cole & John Coe Bio Yolanda Cole, FAIA, is a Senior Principal and Owner of Hickok Cole, a forward-focused commercial architecture and design practice located in Washington, DC. With over three decades of experience in base building and interior design, Yolanda has worked on projects ranging from large-scale, mixed-use developments to commercial and retail interiors. She is widely recognized for spearheading innovation in the profession through the cultivation of a collaborative, research-based practice. Yolanda is a frequent speaker at conferences on topics ranging from transforming the practice of architecture through exploration, to ground-breaking technologies for urban Net Zero renovations. Her personal passion is to influence housing policy and create new prototypes to maintain young families in our cities. Yolanda is a Past Chair of the Washington District Council of the Urban Land Institute (ULI) and Past Chair of the Governance Committee. She is a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects and Past President of the local AIA|DC chapter, where she served on its Board of Directors for many years. In 2013, Yolanda was named one of the Washington Business Journal’s Women Who Mean Business. In 2017 she was honored as a Women of Influence in Commercial Real Estate at Bisnow’s Power Series and was named one of the Washington Business Journal’s Power 100. In addition to her leadership in the real estate profession, Yolanda is a founding board member of the DC Concert Orchestra and serves as the orchestra’s Chair of Development and Principal Flutist. Show Notes Current role- “Senior Principal”- Collaborative role with Mike Hickok, her co-partner (5:30)Prevents territorial divisions (6:30)Mike and she work things out in a way to be aligned Mike is more the people person while she is the tougher person on tasks (7:20)Partnership advantages- Need a buddy to get perspective (8:00)More difficult with more than one partner- triangulation becomes a problem (8:30)COVID 19 impacts- Completely different effects (9:15)More emphasis on wellness (9:30)Hybrid work- Minimum of 3 days a week in office (10:00)Must be in the room with people to be creative in her opinion (10:40)Totally mobile (11:45) Origins Grew up in Waverly, Ohio (rural town between Columbus and Cincinnati) (12:15)Father an accountant and attorney (12:45)Mother was a home economics teacher and was subsequently recruited to become the State of Ohio Vocational (13:00)Mother was creative and stimulated her interest in creativity (13:50)Father was a partner in a music store and her babysitter was a piccolo player and her Dad gave her a flute when she was a child (14:20)She became very interested in flute playing (15:10)More of a “cerebral” person who enjoyed being alone more (15:45)Music and writing were more fun for her than athletics (16:00)Yet, she enjoyed playing in groups or bands (16:20)Learned music in band and with private lessons (16:50)Always making things- macrame, embroidery, and sculptures (17:40)Jewelry and decoupage (18:00) Music and Architecture Education Went to Ohio State University and majored in music (19:00) “...