As a part of our Black History Month #MOYAtalks series, we had the pleasure of hosting a talk with an extraordinary guest, Koube Ngaaje, Executive Director at the District Alliance for Safe Housing (DASH).   

Koube talked about her work, personal experiences and shared some advice for women in leadership. We would like to thank Koube once again for joining us and supporting our initiative!

As a part of our Women History Month #MOYAtalks series, we had a privilege of hosting a talk with Carmen Romero, the Executive Vice President at Arlington Partnership for Affordable Housing (APAH).  

Carmen talked about growing up as a second-generation Colombian immigrant in New York, and her parents’ efforts to offer her an Ivy League education. We talked about her early career in the hospitality industry and in commercial real estate management.  

More importantly, Carmen shared her story at the Arlington Partnership for Affordable Housing, joining first to test the waters and falling in love with the job and its challenges. She kindly elaborated in her duties and work as APAH Executive Vice President and APAH’s methods for acquisition and development of affordable housing, the partnerships they develop and the organization’s extensive community outreach.  

Carmen offered her insight on APAH’s approach to affordability and equitable development in the region, and talked about the deep inequities of the region’s housing market. It was a great conversation.  

All our gratitude Carmen!

As a part of our Women History Months #MOYAtalks, we were fortunate to have a conversation with Ivy Dench-Carter, Senior Vice President of Development of Pennrose. Ivy was a fantastic guest, and the fact that she battled through tornado-related difficulties to join the conversation was simply priceless. It was a great way to end our Women History Month Series.  

Ivy has shared with us her experience of working on affordable housing projects (in 30 years with Pennrose Ivy participated in the development of approximately 2,400 affordable housing units); the most challenging projects in her career; the challenges she foresees for affordable housing in a post-pandemic world; along with a leadership advice to young women in business. Finally, she even had some hot-takes on her beloved Philadelphia Eagles.  

Thank you, Ivy! It was a true pleasure to connect with you in such a way!

We wrapped up our #MOYATalks series on DMV Heritage and People with Architect and Urban Planner, Pablo Guiraldes as our guest speaker.  

Pablo talked about his time working for architecture firms and teaching in Maryland and DC. He shared his vision for pedestrian-oriented cities, where citizens are the center of the urban fabric. We had the chance to learn from his vast knowledge and the way he integrates data and references into the conversation. Pablo answered our staff's questions with intellectual honesty and a positive vision of the role of designers and architects in the transformation of urban spaces for the future.  

Thank you, Pablo, for sharing your knowledge with us!

As a part of our #MOYATalks series on DMV Heritage and People, we had a great conversation with Vinay Ganeshan, Moya Design Partners' Principal & Senior Project Manager. Vinay walked us through his decision to become an architect, his early years in the US, and his long experience in over two dozen projects in the Mid-Atlantic region.  

Vinay talked about his time as part of MOYA’s leadership. The company is building its success on a balanced approach between sound business strategy and equitable development. Finally, he shared his love for golf and for the multicultural culinary richness of the region. Thank you Vinay!

As a part of our Design and Sustainability #MOYAtalks series, we had a privilege to host a talk with Jonathan Moody AIA, NOMA, NCARB, LEED AP.  

Jonathan Moody is the AIA 2021 Young Architect Recipient and it is easy to understand why. Last year he became the CEO of Moody Nolan Design, the largest African American Architecture firm in the US. The conversation was great, Jonathan shared his current approach to architecture and Moody-Nolan's community work, his vision for sustainable design and the creation of more holistic spaces that provide opportunities.  

Thank you once again, Jonathan, it was a true pleasure and an unforgettable experience to connect with you!

#MOYA has wrapped up our Design and Sustainability #MOYAtalks series with a very special guest appearance: Ella Faulkner, the Deputy Director of the DC Department of Parks and Recreation. 

Ella talked about the sustainability criteria for all the new projects in #DC, how DC became the city with the best park system in the US. She shared some details on her personal and professional background and how she first ventured in urban planning and development.  

Thank you, Ella, for joining us and sharing your knowledge!

It was a pleasure to talk with Tessa Edison for our first #MOYATalks on DMV Heritage and People. It is always great to have the chance to learn from people like Tessa who know the District in and out and have had a hand in shaping the city through their work. Tessa shared her insights on the role that Black and Brown firms have in contributing to a more equitable development of the District that is respectful of its history and listens to its citizens.  

We discovered that Tessa once wanted to be a sports agent and that her desire to empower other people translates to her work at Asset Management Consulting. As always, our staff took part in the conversation and we discussed together how important role models are and how athletes have progressively become much more active agents of social change.  

In all, this was a great conversation with an amazing woman. Thank you, Tessa!

Continuing our Design and Sustainability #MOYAtalks series, we've had a pleasure to host a talk with David Baumann, Director of Data and Innovation at FARM-TRACE and Taking Root. We talked about Demand Driven energy modeling, carbon sequestration, and data-informed reforestation and foresting projects.  

David walked the audience through Taking Root’s approach to reforestation, which puts emphasis on improving the economic opportunities of small landowners and farmers. He also explained at length, the data collection process of Taking Root and FARM-TRACE and how that data helps reforestation efforts and improves strategies for carbon sequestration.    

David was a great communicator, and we want to show him our appreciation for his insights and knowledge. Please, if you are interested in learning about the excellent work that Taking Root and FARM-TRACE are doing, follow them. Their innovative approach is really worth a look.    

Thank you so much for joining us and sharing your knowledge, David!

As a part of our #MOYAtalks Design and Sustainability series, we’ve had a privilege to connect with Annie Ratanasim and Sandy Paik, from DC Green Bank. We have had many great conversations in our Moya Talk series, since we started back in February, and this one was superb.   

Annie and Sandy shared their work experiences at DC Green Bank, told us more about the projects that the organization is covering, as well as shared their thoughts on sustainable development and sustainable cities and food justice.  A history graduate, Sandy, had this absolute pearl “Policy making is about being a historian for the future”, when explaining how she first became interested in affordable housing and sustainability. And that reflection is on point, climate and food justice requires us to think about our societies as a never- ending design process where we can effect positive change.  

Thank you so much, Annie and Sandy, for such an insightful conversation! The energy was ecstatic.