Shawna Mabie, AIA

Shawna Mabie, AIA

Growing up in a small city in central New York, Mabie inherited a passion for helping others and the stamina for hard work from her father, a fire chief, and grandparents, who were farmers. She attended the University at Buffalo but withdrew during her junior year largely because she lacked the professional mentorship to help her face the rigors of architecture school. After exploring other careers, she renewed her academic journey and completed her undergraduate and graduate studies at North Carolina State University. Her break from academia helped her develop a reservoir of tenacity that not only helped her earn her professional degrees but also fueled her drive to assist others, namely the next generation of architects.

Mabie’s engagement with AIA began at NC State, where she revitalized its AIAS chapter and more than doubled its membership in her first few months as the chapter’s graduate president. She later stepped into the role of AIA Triangle emerging professionals associate chair, launching numerous programs aimed at easing the transition from school to practice. After obtaining her license, she co-founded AIA Triangle’s Leadership Forum, which, over seven cycles, has produced 62 leaders, nearly half of whom serve AIA as task force chairs.

In 2021, Mabie joined the Raleigh office of Hanbury as a project manager, guiding many of the firm’s complex undertakings, such as a 500,000-square-foot science complex in Doha and coordinating the design of a 109-acre science park across four offices. In all of her work, Mabie nurtures a spirit of collaboration among her teams and shapes an environment where creativity can flourish. She also leads her office’s Summer Scholars program, an elevated apprenticeship program that draws college students from across the nation. And, in the last two years as the office’s AXP/ARE coordinator, she has helped six emerging professionals achieve licensure.

A natural educator, Mabie was a teaching assistant for several semesters at NC State. After completing her master’s degree, she returned to the school as an adjunct faculty member to teach courses focused on the application of software in practice. During the year she spent in northwest Arkansas, she taught studios at the University of Arkansas Community Design Center on affordable housing and the missing middle. She also engaged junior high students in a project on transitional housing prototypes for New Beginnings, a bridge housing community.

The common thread running through all of Mabie’s accomplishments is a willingness to help and empower others, whether it’s her peers, community, or the profession at large. Her deep understanding of architecture and her ability to clearly communicate it continue to impact the lives and careers of those around her.