Women-Built NYC | Three Decades of Public Design

Cynthia Kracauer, AIA, Executive Director of the Beverly Willis Architecture Foundation, will join Butler in presenting the “Built by Women (BxW) 2018 Manhattan Map” and will talk about its social and educational initiative, recognizing women’s contribution in the architectural fabric of Manhattan.

Founded in 2015, the Mayor’s Commission on Gender Equity (CGE) works to create a deep and lasting institutional commitment to tearing down equity barriers across New York City. Jacqueline Ebanks, the Executive Director of CGE, will talk about how CGE addresses issues of inequity and discrimination facing girls, women, and transgender and gender non-conforming persons regardless of ability, age, ethnicity/race, faith, gender expression, immigrant status, sexual orientation, and socioeconomic status. Focusing across the areas of economic mobility and opportunity, health and reproductive justice, and safety CGE ensures that the City leads in the development and implementation of best practices in gender equitable policies and programs for its workforce and its residents.

Speakers:
Keri Butler, Deputy Director, NYC Public Design Commission
Rebecca Macklis, Design & Special Projects Manager, NYC Public Design Commission
Cynthia Kracauer, AIA, Executive Director, Beverly Willis Architecture Foundation
Jacqueline Ebanks, Executive Director, New York City Commission on Gender Equity

Keri Butler is the Deputy Director of the Public Design Commission. She holds a Masters’ in Arts Administration from the Art Institute of Chicago and has more than 20 years of experience in her field. At the Public Design Commission, Butler oversees the daily operations of the agency and guides policies and initiatives that support design excellence in the public realm. She advises PDC on the review of complex and high-priority capital projects and works collaboratively with City agencies on proposal development. Butler represents the agency on panels and competitions, including for citywide prototypes and public art commissions, and has cultivated strategic public-private partnerships to preserve the City’s art collection. She also manages the Commission’s special projects and events, including publications, tours, and the Annual Awards for Excellence in Design.

Rebecca Macklis is an urban designer and the Design & Special Projects Manager at the Public Design Commission. At PDC, her work is concentrated on design policy and regulatory design review of architecture and urban design projects, with a focus on affordable housing and mixed-use developments. She manages the Designing New York: Quality Affordable Housing initiative and also works on PDC's special projects, including the Annual Awards for Excellence in Design. Her prior experience spans architecture, urban design, and ethnographic research, where she has continually explored the intersection of planning, policy, and the design of the built environment. Macklis holds a MArch in Urban Design from the Bartlett School of Architecture, University College London and a BA in Architecture and Anthropology, with a minor in American Culture Studies, from Washington University in St. Louis. She has been a guest lecturer and critic at Syracuse University and Columbia University’s Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation.

Cynthia Kracauer, AIA, currently serves as the Executive Director for the Beverly Willis Architecture Foundation (BWAF). She joins the foundation following ten years as the Managing Director of the American Institute of Architects New York Chapter | Center for Architecture. Both an architect and a creative institutional administrator, Kracauer was responsible for the creation of Archtober, New York City's month-long festival of architecture and design. As one of the early pioneers of co-education in the 1970s, Kracauer graduated from Princeton University receiving both a BA magna cum laude and Master’s of Architecture. She worked for Phillip Johnson in the 1980s and taught at the University of Virginia, New Jersey Institute of Technology, and at her alma mater.

Jacqueline Ebanks is the Executive Director of the New York City Commission on Gender Equity. An innovative manager and policy maker with extensive experience in philanthropy and the non-profit sector, Ebanks has worked for over 30 years to promote economic and social justice for women, girls, and marginalized communities. From 2014 to 2017, Ebanks served as the Executive Director of the Women’s City Club of New York, where she guided the civic-engagement organization into its second century of activism. Previously, Ebanks served as the Vice President of Programs at the New York Women’s Foundation and worked at Citigroup as their Vice President & Director of U.S. Partnerships and Program Development for Global Community Relations Division and then as their Regional Community Relations Director for the Northeast and Puerto Rico. Prior to Citigroup, Ebanks served as the Vice President for Community Investment at the United Way of New York City. She holds a M.S. in Policy Analysis and Public Management from the State University of New York at Stony Brook.

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