This bright young architect just crossed the threshold into her 30s and already sports a professional resume of someone twice her age. After graduating from CCA, she and her then-boyfriend (and now husband) started their own firm, Myriad Harbor. After racking up an ever-growing roster of impressive projects and a few design awards, a new opportunity came calling. In 2014 they were hired to create and lead the Environments team at Airbnb, which meant overseeing the design of the fast-growing brand’s offices around the world. Rachael's first Airbnb office, in Portland, Ore., was a radical reinvention of the status quo: There’s not a cubicle or headset in sight; instead, employees set up their mobile workstations in thoughtfully designed spaces. She's since led the design on offices in Singapore, Tokyo, London, Dublin, Paris, Sao Paulo and San Francisco. Last month she was awarded the Art Directors Club Young Guns award, but had to bow out of the ceremony in New York, as she was busy at home with her one-week-old son, August.
Proud Moment: "September was a banner month for me and the family both personally and professionally. There was the one-two punch of our son August coming into our lives and then winning the Art Directors Club Young Guns award. And I celebrated my 30th birthday, with bonus points to August who was majorly cooperative and slept like a log so I could fit in a little celebration."
Words of Wisdom: "I'm in the super early days of being a mom—August is just 20 days on the outside—so the 'wisdom' I'll share is borrowed from what I've learned working at a startup: Things change fast! If you love something, enjoy to the fullest and at the same time if you're hating life don't worry it won't stay that way for too long."