Built By Us 2021 FLUID and SHAPE Graduation Celebration
For the second year in a row the Built By Us celebration for the 2021 cohort of mentors and their mentees, who graduated from their respective Fluid and Shape mentoring programmes, took place online, in September. Twenty-six people from two continents took part in the event to celebrate their achievements and to hear from their fellow beneficiaries.
Danna Walker, Founder and CEO of Built By Us kicked off the evening by welcoming everyone and thanking them for their respective roles in making 2021 another successful year for the BBU mentoring programmes. She briefly outlined her own Built Environment career path, from electrician as a teenager, to chartered architect, followed by years of working with the BE professional associations, her founding of the Fluid Diversity Mentoring Programme in 2012, and becoming a social entrepreneur and founding Built By Us in 2016. Having faced plenty of challenges along the way, Danna knew that a more equitable and level playing field was needed for diverse talent to enter the construction industry.
Speakers during the event included an array of high achievers who described their experiences, their reasons for applying to mentor or be mentored, and the impact it has had on them.
Nilesh Patel was the first to speak. He is a Creative Director, Architect and Film-maker. He said of his experience “even though I have 25 years’ experience in the industry, I applied to join Shape as a mentee because I want to set up my own business. The 2-hour workshops are invaluable but you have to put in the work in between sessions to learn more on each of the 7 or 8 key elements covered. We also had to do exercises during the workshops, so it wasn’t about listening to a lecture, you had to get hands-on. It’s very interactive”.
Dr Teri Okoro is Director at TOCA and an Architect and Project Management Consultant. She is a Fellow of the RIBA, a member of CIC’s D&I Panel and she is on the ARB Board leading on D&I. Teri described being a mentor on the Fluid programme as having “a two way impact. I felt l was giving but also gaining. My mentee and I had a special area of interest in EDI and I learned from her. There are definitely benefits on both sides.”
Teri’s mentee, Krystal Frimpong, a National Account Manager with Wa tes who has worked in construction for 10 years, was equally positive about her experience. “When I heard that my application for Fluid was successful I was quite specific about the support I wanted, from a place of diversity and inclusion. I wanted strong representation from somebody of Black heritage and a woman. That, for me, was shaped and moulded by Teri. She was a great mentor. It was very important for me to hear her perspective on improving the representation of minority ethnicities among senior leadership in construction and it was also important for me to understand that I could have a family, get the promotion and pursue personal projects. Teri was a great example of this and like a superwoman with her cape on, she was saying ‘it can be done, it can be done!’ It requires a lot of work but that truth was important for me to hear and see. ”
Janani Rajaram, who lives in India is a BIM Engineer with a focus on enhancing project deliverables in the built environment through digital technology. Her introduction to Fluid came from following acclaimed structural engineer, Roma Agrawal, on Instagram. “Fluid arrived at just the right time for me, when I had many options and many questions and needed guidance to plan my career path.” Her mentor, Raynee De Zoysa, helped her “to grow in all spheres, make connections and channel my skills and strengths”.
Patrizia Abbruzzese started her journey into sustainability studying architecture in Italy, pursuing her interest in sustainable design and construction techniques. During that time, she improved her knowledge of urban planning and the EU Environmental Impact Assessment Directive. Over 20 years ago she moved into real estate and her current role is in Asset Management. She discovered Fluid through a previous mentee who talked about his experience at a new D&I committee, of which she is a part, set up by her company. The committee asked the questions ‘what/who is diversity/diverse? We are all diverse but there are differences and it depends how others see us as well. We want to be accepted as diverse but treated fairly and equally. When Patrizia was asked if she’d recommend the programme, she was unequivocal about its merits but encouraged people to think of what inclusion means for them. ”You need to have a special spirit and be in a certain phase of your journey to be able to make the most out of it.”
The BBU team looks forward to relaunching BUILD and SHAPE before the end of this year.
About BBU’s Programmes
FLUID is for individuals seeking to progress their careers along their chosen path. Fluid applications for 2022 mentees closed on 13 September and for mentors on 17 September 2021 – the programme runs for 12 months.
SHAPE is for entrepreneurs looking to start their own businesses and shape their ideas about the changes they want to make. Shape applications for 2022 open in November 2021 and the programme runs for 6 months.
BUILD is a programme for new or returning entrants to the construction industry. It returns soon and will be looking at the topic of Negotiation.
BBU sponsors, funders and partners include: EPR Architects FLUID Gold Sponsor; UnLtd and NAWIC for the SHAPE Programme