Lisa Allen completed her Master’s Degree in Architecture from a nationally ranked design program at Kansas State University. Holding several roles in leadership she acquired the skills necessary to work across a broad spectrum of cultures, industries and with diverse stakeholders in different environments. From those experiences, she developed the ability to negotiate and merge varying perspectives into a shared vision.
During her time at university Ms. Allen led a team in an international competition to design, build and operate a solar-powered house that was showcased on the National Mall in Washington D.C. She also accepted a role for project manager and lead designer on a collaborative project with a television series after a tornado devastated a neighboring community in Kansas.
Ms. Allen’s background through the years has expanded.
Working at a healthcare architecture firm collaborating with architects on all stages of the design and construction phases, Ms. Allen gained valuable project insights. Designated as point person to create a new business plan, she used targeted methodologies to successfully set the firm apart from the competition. Strategically positioned the firm for short and long term economic changes. It was during this role she was approached by her professional mentor regarding an opportunity to work with a team on a sewage disposal project in Ethiopia. The choice she made to pursue that offer became pivotal in shaping the years to follow.
Upon completion of the project, she remained in Ethiopia studying and observing the multifaceted layers of aid and humanitarian efforts in developing countries. She later became a project leader in Uganda with an education focused organization who recommended taking an in-depth course on Project Management at a university in Kampala. She often comments the course was instrumental in understanding how circumstances and requirements of leaders vary considerably around the world.
Living in diverse cultures and frequently changing the hats she wore, opportunities were endless. As Albert Einstein mused, “the mind that opens to a new idea never returns to its original size,” has certainly been the experience of Ms. Allen. It has challenged her to think differently at every turn, embrace ambiguity and adds to the fearlessness demonstrated in her work and life.
Driven by curiosity, her journey has been far from linear. As a systems thinker she leverages her architecture and design training to quickly absorb contextual and conceptual information while analyzing individual aspects and how they function, relate to one another and exist within larger systems.
Throughout the past decade working on projects in aerospace, architecture, healthcare, marketing, retail, technology and travel; she faced no shortage of challenges or the solutions needed to overcome them. Design is simply a creative problem solving activity. Experiment with different approaches, fail fast and constantly reflect on past experiences to seek future improvement is a method she has found useful.
In summary, while not an expert in any particular position, she has learned enough to ask the right questions and navigate complexity to get results.