BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — Elizabeth Hernandez founded her own firm, Ethosphere Studios, and as one of the only Latina architects in Kern County, she's paving the way for more representation in the construction industry.
- Video shows Elizabeth Hernandez, a local Latina architect, designing plans and picking out finishes for her projects
- Elizabeth Hernandez is one of the only Latina architects in Kern County.
- Latinas represent only 1.7% of the total number of architects in the nation.
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As you walk through downtown Bakersfield, you'll see modern buildings and historic ones, and they all come from building plans born out of the minds of architects like Elizabeth Hernandez who says she's one of only a few Latina architects in Kern County.
Nearly everything Hernandez does revolves around these plans.
"This is what a contractor would use to build something," Hernandez said, showing a set of completed building plans.
From selecting different lumbar finishes and counter tops, Hernandez, a licensed architect and CEO of Ethosphere Studios, says she works with her team using technology like this for quality assurance to make construction seamless.
"You hire us because you want the process to go smoothly to look good and you don't want to be overwhelmed," she said.
Hernandez immigrated to Lamont from Mexico at 8-years-old, and she's one of the only Latina architects in Kern County.
"All the time, it almost happens, that someone says 'Oh, my architect,' and they just assume it's a male," Hernandez said.
According to the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards, Hispanic or Latinos make up 4.9% of architects.
"You as a Latina, you bring value," Alicia Ponce, an architect, said.
That's the message Ponce tries to share with her organization, Arquitina, which works to mentor Latina architects as they pursued their architecture license.
"[They're] very inspiring, resilient women who are building the buildings that you all live in and work in, that we all sleep in," Ponce said.
She says by using the data from NCARB and from the American Institute of Architects, Latinas represent 1.7% of the total number of architects in the nation.
Hernandez, just one of those women, says by starting her firm and showing young Latinos in construction what's possible, she hopes to see those numbers rise.
"You can trust a female to take on your project that we can do, even pregnant, we can do everything."
Hernandez says she hopes to see more opportunities in the industry for people of color and women in architecture to network with upper management to promote long-term retention.
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