WOMEN IN ARCHITECTURE COMMITTEE 2025
COMMITTEE CHAIR BIOS
Co-Chair
Sara Pijuan, AIA
KAA Design
Sara spent most of her childhood growing up in the Chicagoland area. She completed her Bachelors of Science in Architectural Studies at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign, in 2005. While attending U of I, Sara had the opportunity to spend an academic year in Versailles, France, where she was able to study and experience European architecture, lifestyle, and travel. Sara Pijuan ventured to the West Coast to complete her Master of Architecture at University of Southern California in 2007. She was drawn to the indoor-outdoor lifestyle that affords a wide range of architectural styles and opportunities.
Sara Pijuan joined KAA Design in 2007. She is a licensed architect in the state of California and certified by the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB), practicing as a Project Architect at KAA. While she has designed and managed a variety of projects, from modern to traditional, Sara Pijuan has expanded her knowledge in classical architecture during her contributions on projects at Evens Architects. In 2017, Sara broadened her understanding of Classical architecture by completing the ICAA’s Regional Intensive at Greystone Mansion, Beverly Hills. Sara is a Senior Associate at KAA Design, contributing to the leadership and evolution of the firm.
Being USC Alumni has enabled Sara to mentor future architects, from events with the USC Architectural Guild, USC Firm Fairs, and being involved in intern programs at KAA with USC students.
Sara is the American Institute of Architects (AIA) Co-Chair for the Women in Architecture in Los Angeles, helping to promote awareness and positive change for women in the profession.
Co-Chair
Kristi Paulson, AIA
PAULSON POEI PROJECTS
Kristi Paulson is an impactful leader, Principal, and founder of the Los Angeles studio of PAULSON POEI PROJECTS. She designs buildings that deal with today’s most urgent challenges: addressing climate change, fostering human connection, promoting wellness, and championing equity.
Her expertise is honed by two decades of experience delivering exceptional structures that maximize their impact by seamlessly integrating visionary design and advanced sustainability strategies. She balances building performance, ecological responsibility, and design excellence to create enduring spaces that are inviting and accessible for everyone.
Kristi’s design leadership coupled with her imaginative and insightful ideas have led to a variety of award-winning projects at the forefront of design and innovation including SC Workplace, Google Spruce Goose in Playa Vista, Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center which will proudly exhibit a vertically stacked Space Shuttle Endeavour, UC Berkeley’s Maximino Martinez Commons and Santa Monica’s Parking Structure 6, among others.
Vice Chair
Kim Patten, AIA
Steinberg Hart
Kim Patten is a passionate academic planner, process and sustainable strategy education leader in the Los Angeles office.
As Partner and Steinberg Hart’s Higher Education Practice Leader, Kim helps clients navigate complex problems with strategic research, skillful design and planning solutions to achieve direction and clarity. Working with academic institutions across the country, her partnership approach creates an environment to collaborate, plan and discover paths unique to that client.
She is a recognized leader for the Society for College and University Planning (SCUP) where she served as the Pacific Region Chair, as a member of the Finance and Audit and Facilities Planning Academy committees. She also serves on the planning committee for the AIA|LA Women in Architecture annual Powerful conference, and was recognized as one of the Los Angeles Business Journal’s 2022 Women of Influence in Construction, Engineering, and Architecture. Kim holds a Bachelors in Architecture from the University of Southern California.
Vice Chair
Abby Katcher, AIA
Berliner Architects
Abby is a California-licensed architect with a passion for the arts and community building. She has experience in several innovative Los Angeles firms, including Berliner Architects, where she is currently a Project Architect with a focus on K-12 schools and entertainment facilities. Previously, she worked at Frederick Fisher and Partners, where she was the Project Architect on the renovation of warehouse storage and conservation facilities for a major museum. Abby worked for most of her career at Sander Architects on residential projects, including the development of a 10-lot subdivision in Sun Valley, Idaho, and a new guest residence for a high-profile client in Malibu. After receiving her BA in Art from Yale University, Abby moved to New York City, where she worked as a fund-raiser for international museums. She was dedicated to creating her own artwork at this time and exhibited projects at Socrates Sculpture Park and the Bronx Museum of the Arts. Seeking to combine her diverse interests into her career, Abby returned to school for architecture at UCLA, where she received her M.Arch I degree. She loves that her profession has opened her eyes to new areas of interest, including sustainability, accessibility, and mentorship. Abby has always been a champion of women in art, architecture, and design and is also an active member of AWA+D.
Past Co-Chair
Alexandria Hoevel, AIA
A life-long resident of Los Angeles, Alexandria has been practicing Architecture and Urban Design for almost 20 years. With a deeper focus on a project’s relationship to its urban context and the neighborhood surrounding it, she’s worked extensively on multi-family and mixed used developments both regionally and in other parts of the US. Since graduating from Cal Poly Pomona, Alexandria has had the opportunity to be a part of a handful of well-respected and eclectic firms in the region, and has recently joined Lowney Architecture as their Director of Los Angeles. Outside of the office, Alexandria devotes her free time to her community, mentorship, and to supporting equality within the field of Architecture. She’s also an active member of ULI and AWA+D.
Past Co-Chair
Sarah Jacobson, AIA
As a founding member of the Lamar Johnson Collaborative (LJC), Sarah was integral in growing the architectural design firm from a start-up of six people to almost forty in a year and a half. When LJC was acquired by Clayco in 2019, she served as a core member of the transition team leading the merger between LJC and Clayco’s existing design-build practice, Bates Forum. LJC is now a full-service architecture, interiors, landscape, planning and engineering firm of nearly 300 professionals in five cities.
In 2021, she relocated to Los Angeles in order to establish and lead LJC’s west coast office in Culver City. Recognizing her past success, in 2022 Sarah was named the first female President of LJC and one of the leaders of the Clayco California office. As part of an integrated design-build firm, Sarah works closely with her Clayco colleagues, leveraging the knowledge and capabilities of her development and construction partners for the benefits of her clients.
With a background in both construction management and design, Sarah has distinguished herself as a strong, capable leader on a wide range of developments including office buildings, hotels, high-rises, mixed-use, civic and institutional facilities. A licensed project architect in multiple states, she has been involved in all aspects of project delivery from conceptual design through construction administration. She has been named an ENR Top 40 under 40 and her projects have won numerous design awards such as ULI Global Award for Excellence and AIA Merit Awards. In her role as President, she will continue to provide exceptional service to clients as she also takes on the responsibility for the overall leadership of the firm, including staff development, revenue growth, and profitability.
Sarah also leverages her leadership position to help increase the diversity of the architectural practice, at multiple levels – introducing high school students of color to the profession through mentorship and internships, looking for ways to partner with MBE and WBE firms in the community for skill sharing and skill growing opportunities, and working with industry women’s leadership initiatives to increase the number of female leaders at the table. She is passionate about making sure that the field of architecture better reflects the community it serves.
