Quinn Evans has been certified as a Women’s Business Enterprise (WBE) by the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC).
The WBENC certification affirms Quinn Evans’ announcement in June 2022 that the practice had become majority women-owned. President and CEO Alyson Steele, FAIA, LEED AP, is one of 36 women who collectively own 56% of the firm.
At a time when less than a quarter of registered architects are women, Quinn Evans is leading the way in elevating women and individuals from other underrepresented groups into leadership roles and supporting them as they pursue licensure—a reflection of the firm’s long-held commitment to equity.
With over 200 team members, Quinn Evans is one of the largest women-owned and woman-led design firms in the nation. In addition to Steele, the firm’s chief financial officer, chief marketing officer, director of sustainability, director of diversity and inclusion, and three regional directors are women.
The WBE certification comes at a pivotal time for the firm, which has seen dramatic growth and a series of high-profile project openings in recent years—notably the revitalized National Air and Space Museum and redeveloped Michigan Central Station. In 2024 Quinn Evans was presented with the American Institute of Architects’ Architecture Firm Award and saw two woman principals inducted into the organization’s College of Fellows.
“It’s already been a banner year for Quinn Evans, and WBE certification is the cherry on top,” says Steele. “I’m proud to see the culmination of so many long-term efforts happening all at once. I thank my predecessor Larry Barr, FAIA, for working to grow diverse leaders at Quinn Evans, which led us to organically become a majority women-owned firm. I’m excited to leverage the insights and innovation of this exceptional team to advance our profession while doing the work we love: reinventing existing places to become ever more sustainable, equitable, and resilient.”
ABOUT QUINN EVANS
Quinn Evans, the AIA Architecture Firm Award winner for 2024, provides services in architecture, interior design, planning, landscape architecture, urban revitalization, and historic preservation, including sustainable preservation and stewardship. A certified Women’s Business Enterprise, the firm employs more than 200 professionals in six office locations in Ann Arbor and Detroit, Michigan; Baltimore, Maryland; Madison, Wisconsin; Richmond, Virginia; and Washington, DC.
Established in 1984, Quinn Evans specializes in cultural, institutional, commercial, and educational projects, including museums, historic parks, theaters, mixed-use buildings, government buildings, schools and campus facilities, libraries, and major civic landmarks and infrastructure. Long committed to sustainable design, Quinn Evans is a charter signatory of the AIA 2030 Commitment and a member of the Center for the Built Environment.
Quinn Evans is nationally known for large-scale renovation, historic preservation, and adaptive use projects. The firm is currently completing the modernization of the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC, the largest renovation project in the Smithsonian Institution’s history, and the redevelopment of Michigan Central Station as the centerpiece of a new technology campus for the Ford Motor Company.
Additional building reuse projects include Baltimore Penn Station and Richmond’s Old City Hall. The firm also designs award-winning new structures such as Varina Library and the Heritage Hall expansion at the Michigan State Capitol.
