WiA Motherhood Panel

Location: Zoom

2023 Motherhood Panel – Movement in the Workplace

Are you in the Right Place for your Right Now? Featuring Claire Walpole, AIA, of Habitat for Humanity; Jacqueline Dudley, AIA, of The Beck Group; Elena Cutshall of Gensler; Carina Coel, AIA, of Restructure Studio; and Jennifer Woods, AIA, of Page.

Panelist Bios

Claire Walpole, AIA
Claire Walpole is the Staff Architect at Austin Habitat for Humanity and has held that role since its inception in 2013. She graduated from LSU with a Bachelor of Architecture in 2001, and was licensed in Texas in 2006, 47 days before her first child was born. With 20+ years in the industry including architecture firms, A/E firms and design-build, her experience in non-profit affordable housing has been most fulfilling and the most flexible. Claire believes that meaningful design and sustainable practices is an integral part of solving the affordable housing crisis in Austin.

Claire has lived in South Austin with her husband for 18 years this month. They have four children, ages 16, 13, 11 and 8. They will be attending four different schools in the fall.

Jacqueline Dudley, AIA
Jacqueline Dudley is an Associate and Integrated Project Leader at The Beck Group. She manages projects from the start of design through construction completion and is currently working on Beck’s 600 West 5th commercial office project.

With her family background in construction, Jacqueline knew that she would have a career in the industry at a young age. During Jacqueline’s almost ten years at Beck, she has modeled strong leadership and project management skills. Her passion for design-build shows through her portfolio of projects, including Omni Barton Creek Resort and Spa, the Texas Bankers Association, and Duke University’s Wallace Wade Stadium renovation. Jacqueline is an active member of her community. She serves on the board and executive committee of the Real Estate Council of Austin. She is a Leadership Development Council mentor for RECA, former advisor to the Austin Transportation Partnership, and a member of the American Institute of Architects: Women in Architecture.

Jacqueline holds a Bachelor of Architecture from The University of Texas at Austin and serves on the Board of Visitors for the McDonald Observatory. She has lived in Austin for 15 years and enjoys being outside with her husband, four-year-old son, and German Shorthaired Pointer. In her spare time, she loves floral arranging and entertaining family and friends.

Elena Cutshall, IIDA, LEED AP
Elena M. Cutshall is a Director of the Workplace Interiors studio at Gensler.

Elena is a client advocate and relationship steward, project leader, and strategist. Her project experience includes workplace design for corporate headquarters, law firms, technology companies, as well as multifamily work. She weaves design thinking into a comprehensive framework of branded environments, change management, client relations, and workplace strategy. She is also a practice builder, leveraging her diverse project experience and business acumen to engage and partner with high profile clients. Elena has demonstrated strong leadership skills throughout her career and has a talent for building and motivating strong teams.

Elena has been a member of ULI since 2013 and has participated on various ULI programs. In addition to her involvement with ULI she has been an active participant in CREW Network since 2013 and in 2021 became CREW Austin President. Currently she serves in the CREW Network Global Board of Directors.

Elena received a Bachelor of Design in Interior Design from the University of Florida School of Architecture. She is a registered and licensed interior designer in Texas and Florida, as well as a LEED accredited professional. Elena resides in Austin,Texas, with her husband Brent and son Liam, and enjoys cooking, entertaining, and gardening.

Carina Coel, AIA
Carina Coel is the Founder and Principal Architect of Austin-based residential architecture firm Restructure Studio and sustainable home plan provider Arbor Plans. After graduating from Rice University with a Bachelor of Architecture degree, she has worked in the architectural field in Austin since 2003 and launched Restructure Studio in 2010. Ms. Coel is recognized in the community for her ability to create designs that are both sustainable and representative of the individual client. Restructure Studio’s work has been featured on two AIA Austin Homes Tours as well as in the pages of the Wall Street Journal, and exemplified in Austin Energy Green Building case studies. Restructure Studio has been consistently ranked among Austin’s Best Architects by Austin Home magazine.

Carina is also proud to serve Austin’s thriving design community as Chair for AIA Austin’s Women in Architecture (WiA) committee. In that role, she helped lead the creation of the Call to Action subcommittee, which just launched an annual scholarship fund for minority women students at the University of Texas School of Architecture. Carina happily resides in South Austin with her husband, two active children and Boston Terrier.

Jennifer Woods, AIA
Jennifer Woods is a Senior Associate at Page where she has worked for the last 8 years. She fulfills many roles on her project teams such as Project Architect, Project Manager, and Construction Administrator. Her primary market sector focus has been in technical sciences for higher education organizations and corporate/commercial clients.

She leads the Professional Development training for the Austin office and often serves in a mentor role for new Page hires early in their careers. In 2022 she started volunteering time with the WiA subcommittee serving as the Spotlight Series coordinator and Motherhood Panel coordinator.

When she is not working Jennifer enjoys spending time with her family – husband Ryan (lover of BBQ and sports), young daughter Olivia (lover of breakfast and being Mom’s mini), and goldendoodle Theo (lover of socks and long walks). Any given weekend she can be found exploring Austin’s parks (preferably one with a playground), checking out a local festival (Buda wiener dog festival perhaps), or cooking a meal to share with friends (drinks + game of cornhole included).