OhioMBE Awards 2017 Top FBE: Sandra Madison, AIA
Sandra Madison was born in Baltimore, Maryland and graduated from Northwestern High School in the 11th grade with honors and was accepted on scholarship at the University of Maryland College Park. During the summer after high school graduation, she was accepted at Harvard University Graduate School of Design’s Career Discovery Program for Urban Design. This program crystalized her decision to apply to the School of Architecture within the University of Maryland, College Park. In her senior year, Sandra was invited to speak as Valedictorian to her graduating class and was the only African American Architecture graduate in her class.
After 10 years of working in Architectural Firms in Baltimore, Sandra moved to Cleveland to worked with Robert P. Madison International, Inc. (RPMI) where she worked for 26 years before becoming majority Owner with title CEO, Chairperson. Today, RPMI is the largest black female owned architecture firm in the State of Ohio. It should be noted that only 2% of all licensed architects are black and only 18% of all licensed architects are female.
Her professional affiliations include the American Institute of Architects where she serves on the Women In Architecture Committee and the AIA Outreach Council, the Shaker Heights Architectural Review Board where she has served for over 12 years and is currently Chairperson and has served on the Mount Pleasant Design Review Advisory Board in Cleveland and the Friends of Shaker School Foundation.
Sandra is married to Architect and firm President, R. Kevin Madison, AIA and they have a son, Kevin Jr, and a daughter, Maya.
Published in OhioMBE – Jan. 1, 2018 and OhioFBE – Jan. 1, 2018
