Julia Gamolina.
Julia Gamolina, 30
Director of Strategy and Partnerships at Trahan Architects; Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Madame Architect
Julia Gamolina has both a visual and a literary eye.
As director of strategy and partnerships for Trahan Architects, she’s responsible for building relationships with businesses and nonprofits that might become the subject of some of Trahan’s sprawling projects — but as founder and editor-in-chief of online publication Madame Architect, she’s responsible for interviewing and inspiring the next generation of female architects.
Gamolina neglects neither her profession nor her publication. The Canadian citizen works to grow Trahan’s presence in New York, which includes the Usdan Summer Camp for the Arts’ space on Long Island. She’s also been involved with strategic recruiting and hiring for about two years, and has brought on two new members to the Trahan team, with plans for more.
Gamolina has, too, tried to give Trahan more of a platform through social media and newsletters, from which she said they’ve gotten business inquiries. Looking forward, Gamolina hopes to become more involved in educational, life sciences and affordable housing projects.
“Education is huge for us, especially just given everything in the pandemic and how models of learning are evolving based on everything we’ve learned from online learning,” Gamolina said. “Also life sciences is really huge and I know there’s a lot of activity in that space in New York and I think a lot of people are tapping into that. And affordable housing is really huge. That’s something we really believe in.”
Gamolina also believes in mentorship — one of the reasons she founded Madame Architect. As a student in high school and college, she said she always gravitated toward female teachers, and found herself doing the same as a young professional in architecture. When she realized others could benefit from the advice she was getting, she decided to start publishing interviews just over three years ago.
“I realized that a built-in, natural system of mentorship that happens in academic settings doesn’t translate directly into professional practice,” Gamolina said. “I realized I’m not the only one that has the questions that I have and that has the anxieties that I have. … And so I started publishing interviews, and it just completely snowballed from there.”—C.Y.
