Photo © Gruen Associates
Norma Merrick Sklarek was a woman of many firsts. Starting in 1954, she was the first African American woman to earn an architecture license in New York, then 12 years later she became the first in California. In 1959, she was the first black female to become a member of the American Institute of Architects, where in 1980 she was the first to be elected fellow, a highly prestigious honor. And, these are just a sprinkling of her accomplishments.
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… Sklarek landed a job at Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, a prestigious firm where she worked for five years, before moving to California and taking a job at Gruen Associates, where she stayed for two decades.