#76 Productive Collisions with Latoya Nelson Kamdang, Director of NY Operations, Moody Nolan

Latoya Nelson Kamdang is the Director of New York Operations for Moody Nolan. She is also a U.S. Fulbright Senior Scholar, Registered Architect, Certified Interior Designer, and LEED AP BD+C. Her experience spans architecture, planning, exhibit design, industrial and interior design. She has experience in hospitality, retail, museums, workplace, education, and institutional. Latoya was on the design team for the Smithsonian Institute National Museum of African American History and Culture. While practicing, Latoya has been simultaneously working as a Visiting Associate Professor at Pratt Institute. She educates students on interdisciplinary design and material theory. She has a research focus on expanding urban areas, neighborhood gentrification, sustainable technologies, and indigenous architecture. Latoya earned a Master of Architecture from University of Pennsylvania School of Design as well as a Certificate in Real Estate Design & Development from the Wharton School of Business. She has a Master of Fine Arts degree from George Washington University and a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and Marketing from Georgetown University. She currently sits on the board for Beverly Willis Architecture Foundation, The New York State Board of Architecture, The First 500, and the Van Alen Institute VanGuard.

In this episode, Latoya shares how she went from being a Fulbright Senior Scholar in Taiwan, to becoming Director of Operations at Moody Nolan in New York.  She shares her experience as a professor at Pratt, how she developed her skillset as a professor, her approach to teaching and meeting students where they are. We also discuss the challenges of becoming a working mother, and figuring out how to carve out space for yourself.