EA176: Danei Cesario – The Entrepreneur Architect Series [Podcast]

The Entrepreneur Architect Series featuring Danei Cesario At EntreArchitect, you’re encouraged to share your knowledge. When we share with other architects, we all benefit. We are able to learn from one another and the profession will grow. One of the goals of EntreArchitect is to provide a platform for other entrepreneur architects to share their stories. We want to interview you! What’s your story? Do you want to share your knowledge or the story about how you were inspired to pursue this profession? How do you become an entrepreneur architect? Join us for our series called The Entrepreneur Architect, where each guest has the opportunity to share their story and answer some questions that will provide value to each of you. This week on EntreArchitect Podcast, The Entrepreneur Architect Series featuring Danei Cesario. Background Danei is the 333rd black female architect in history. Originally from Manchester, England, Danei was enamored with the architectural prestige of New York buildings from an early age. Her early career began with her scholarly pursuits at New York’s Bernard and Anne Spitzer School of Architecture served as treasurer for the City College chapter of the American Institute of Architecture Students (AIAS CCNY) and earned the J. Max Bond Jr. memorial scholarship while working on complex public sector projects. She’s currently the youngest architect at Francis Coffman architects, managing the execution of multifaceted healthcare projects. Danei’s Origin Story Danei moved to the US when she was about six, and spent most of her childhood moving back and forth between the US and England. She lived in various homes and cities over time, but the sense of home for her was wherever her family was. She saw the way a city was planned and observed her feelings moving through out it. The contrast of Manchester vs. New York City, post-industrial with deep history compared to newness and skyscrapers. She grew up sketching and drawing. Her dad was an engineer, and was well schooled in isometrics and technical drawing, so he and her mother fostered Danei’s eye for that. Danei always knew she wanted to be an architect. Danei has education from both sides of the pond, but she was always drawn to the energy in New York City. She wanted to stay close by for college, while her mother wanted her to return to England. She ended up at City College, where she found out the hard way all that architecture school entailed: long hours and hard work. She decided to move close by, and after the school built a closer building to where she lived, she was able to live and work there. That was a pivotal moment in her life and career, as it allowed her to establish what she wanted for herself as an architect and as a young woman. The Entrepreneur Architect Questions What is one big goal you’ve achieved in your career and how did you get there? Danei always knew she wanted to be an architect. She continually strives to achieve that warm, fullness of heart that she herself felt when she sees something that is well-executed, well-thought out and enjoyable. Her road to becoming an architect was a 20 year journey. Some of the other things she didn’t know were goals just sort of happened along that journey. She met her husband in school, and they got engaged at the end of their fourth year. Danei moved through life following what made her feel fulfilled: as a wife, as a mom, as an architect. Her goals evolved as she evolved. What struggles have you gone through? It’s...