Leadership Luncheon w/ Kristin Dufek

Leadership Luncheon w/ Kristin Dufek

Milwaukee’s skyline tells a story—and EUA has helped shape it. From the Milwaukee Rep and St. Augustine Preparatory Academy to the Baird Center, 875 East Wisconsin and American Family Field, EUA’s work is woven into the places where Milwaukeeans gather, learn, work and connect. Kristin Dufek, AIA, LEED AP, has spent more than two decades contributing to that work while growing into a leadership role that now places her at the helm of EUA as CEO and President.

For Kristin, leadership is about more than designing buildings. An architect herself, she has spent more than two decades at EUA, moving from project work into executive leadership and helping guide a multidisciplinary firm through growth, change and increasingly complex work. Her experience spans healthcare, workplace, education and community environments, giving her a unique perspective on what it takes to turn a big idea into something people can actually experience.

And the scale of the work is worth paying attention to. EUA’s $80 million transformation of the Milwaukee Rep is reimagining a historic downtown theater complex, while the 174,000-square-foot St. Augustine Preparatory Academy North Campus is creating a new educational environment designed to serve up to 1,000 students, with a future vision to serve more than 2,000. These are not simply buildings. They are major investments in how Milwaukeeans experience culture, education and community.

So what can building a city teach us about building a career and leading people? Join us over lunch as Kristin takes us behind the projects and into the leadership decisions that make them possible. We’ll talk about leading through growth and change, developing talent, navigating the unexpected, building trust across disciplines and what it means to have a hand in shaping the future of a city. Whether you work in architecture and development or simply live, work and build your career in Milwaukee, this is a conversation worth having a seat at.

More About the Speaker:

Kristin Dufek, AIA, LEED AP, is CEO and President and Principal at EUA, a leading architecture and engineering firm headquartered in Milwaukee. A 22-year veteran of EUA, Kristin joined the firm as an architect in 2002, became Vice President in 2015 and was named President in 2021.

An architect by training, Kristin works across EUA’s Community, Healthcare and Workplace markets and brings a people-centered approach to both design and organizational leadership. She describes her role as balancing clients, teams, people and processes while embracing the “organized chaos” that comes with complex work.

EUA’s Milwaukee portfolio includes some of the city’s most recognizable spaces, including the Baird Center, 875 East Wisconsin, American Family Field, Milwaukee Rep | Associated Bank Theater Center, St. Augustine Preparatory Academy North Campus and Komatsu Mining Corporation’s Milwaukee headquarters. The firm also works extensively across healthcare, education, workplace and community environments throughout Wisconsin.

Kristin holds a Bachelor of Architecture from the University of Notre Dame and a master’s degree from the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee. Her leadership has been recognized through her inclusion in the Milwaukee Business Journal’s Wisconsin 275 Most Influential Business Leaders.

About the Leadership Luncheon Series

The Leadership Luncheon Series connects early- to mid-career professionals with the influential leaders shaping Milwaukee’s future. These fast-moving, 60-minute conversations are designed to deliver practical leadership lessons, local insight, and meaningful connection before sending you back into your workday energized and ready to lead.

*Lunch is provided with registration*