Architecture + Advocacy

Kianna Armstrong (she/her)

“As a black woman from Cleveland, Ohio I grew up in a community that was the product of redlining and the victim of discriminatory policies. My family witnessed the consequences of this history firsthand in the inequitable distribution of resources around us, and we had no control over the redistribution of these resources.”

Architecture + Advocacy is dedicated to bridging the gap in architectural services for underrepresented communities, focusing on addressing social, health, and economic inequalities. By making architectural education and services accessible to low-income BIPOC communities, it seeks to shift power dynamics in neighborhood development, fostering collaborations between residents, architects, and planners to ensure that every child can grow up in supportive, resource-rich neighborhoods.

Kianna is a versatile artist and designer who is determined to use creativity to make social change and build community. She is in the class of 2026 in the Bachelors of Architecture program at the University of Southern California. She is the Executive Director and Co-Founder of the organization Architecture + Advocacy, in which she uses her background in architecture to equip communities with the tools to design grassroots change in their own neighborhoods. Kianna has always been passionate about using architecture to un-design inequities that manifest in the built environment. She plans to use her education in architecture and social entrepreneurship to continue inspiring young people to be change makers with the power of design.