Heidi Blau, AIA, LEED Partner, Cultural/Educational Studio FXFOWLE Architects, LLP

Heidi Blau

Name: Heidi Blau, AIA, LEED

Title: Partner, Cultural/Educational Studio

Company: FXFOWLE Architects, LLP

Location: New York, N.Y.

Birthplace: Boston, Mass.

College: Smith College, bachelor of arts; Columbia University, master of architecture

First job outside of real estate: Sales and court bookings for a country club tennis pro shop

First job in real estate or allied field: Junior designer for Hagmann Mitchell Architects, a firm founded on the proceeds of placing in the PEAK competition in Hong Kong

What do you do now and what are you planning for the future? FXFOWLE is a 30 year old architectural, planning and interior design firm committed to design excellence, social responsibility, and sustainability with offices in New York and Dubai.

Favorite books: "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver; "The Cairo Trilogy" by Naguib Mahfouz

Persons you admire most (outside of family): Susan B. Anthony for her dedicated support and leadership in the women's suffrage movement. Martina Navratilova for her single-minded commitment to following her dreams and doing all that was necessary to attain them.

Keys to success: Commitment to the value of design excellence for all projects; leadership; in reaching consensus with groups that are leading our institutional clients; a multi-faceted practice of public and private institutions; luck - the residue of design.

If you had to choose another vocation what would it be? Teaching tennis to kids