Zena Howard doesn’t just design buildings, she tells stories through architectural design. Her work invites people to see themselves reflected in the spaces around them, to feel history in the walls, and to imagine a future that includes them.

As a Principal and the Global Cultural & Civic Practice Leader at Perkins&Will, Zena has built her career on the belief that architecture can heal, empower, and restore. She led the completion of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, a project that forever changed how the world experiences the story of Black America, not as a footnote, but as the foundation of the nation’s cultural fabric.

That same spirit drives her work today. From Destination Crenshaw in Los Angeles—the largest outdoor art and cultural celebration of African American creativity in the country, to the Bezos Learning Center at the National Air and Space Museum, Zena designs spaces that honor both memory and possibility. Her projects, including the Motown Museum Expansion in Detroit and the Vicksburg National Military Park Interpretive Center in Mississippi, each carry the same intention: to connect people through truth, history, and shared hope.

Through her signature Remembrance Design™ approach, Zena works hand in hand with communities whose stories have too often been left untold. She listens, she learns, and then she builds, transforming pain into pride, and history into a home.