Hope for a Better Future: Perkins&Will's President Lindsey Peckinpaugh on Generosity, Discernment, and Forces for Good
Lindsey Peckinpaugh by Alexander Gouletas.
By Julia Gamolina
Lindsey Peckinpaugh is the President of Perkins&Will, a global architecture and design firm with more than thirty locations around the world. A licensed architect with nearly three decades of experience, she leads the firm’s core business—driving excellence in design, operations, and management—and collaborates closely with the Executive Team and Board of Directors on firmwide strategy and innovation.
Lindsey is a Trustee of the Poetry Foundation, a member of the Economic Club of Chicago, and serves on Ball State University’s Architecture Professional Advisory Board.
JG: In your role as President of Perkins&Will, what are you thinking most about for the rest of 2025? What would you encourage young firm owners and leaders to be paying attention most to at this moment?
LP: I was recently reviewing a global market intelligence report that our team put together which noted that the World Uncertainty Index (WUI) hit an all-time high in Q2 of this year. What does that mean that the world is more uncertain than ever? Of course, it shows up with our clients delaying decisions, in funding cuts, and thus in an unpredictable backlog, but it also shows up on the mental, emotional, and spiritual load of people. This is a real human condition and, in turn, a real business condition that we must adapt to and learn to lead through.
We’re spending a lot of time thinking about how we can care for people — both our clients and our teams. Often, leaders talk about helping people by setting a vision, providing strategic guidance, and clearing obstacles. But we’ve been thinking a lot about care and how that’s different from help. When we focus on help, we tend to lean into a task-oriented mindset, but care is deeper. It requires connection, commitment, and reflection.
I believe one of the most caring things we can do as leaders right now is to connect people to a purpose, tend to both the head and the heart of your practice. While the world may feel uncertain, our values are clear – Perkins&Will exists to design a more beautiful, healthy, and equitable world. Leaning into that feeds the heart. It delivers deeper prosperity and affirms that our hard work matters.
Oak Park CRC. Photography by James Steinkamp.
Now let's go back a little bit — tell me about why you studied architecture, and why Ball State.
I am the youngest of three daughters and I was raised in rural, central Indiana. My father was a contractor, and my mom was a family and adolescent therapist. My childhood was full of imaginative play. I spent my time outdoors exploring the woods, drawing, and writing poetry. When I was sixteen, my parents divorced and my mom and I took a 1,000-mile road trip to camp in Everglades National Park for Spring Break. During that drive, she asked what I wanted to study in college. I told her that I wanted to be a poet. She said, “You should do something creative, but you need to think about a profession that will allow you to follow your passion and build financial security.” We drove for several more hours and somewhere near the Florida state line she said, “Have you thought about architecture?”
I didn’t know an architect and had never engaged in the design community. Upon returning to school, I went to my high school guidance counselor and told her I wanted to learn more about the architecture program at Ball State. She looked at me skeptically and said, “That’s a highly competitive program.” I am a competitor, so undeterred, I did my own research, organized an entire career fair for my school, invited a local architect to come, and went on to get accepted into Ball State’s program with a significant scholarship. It was one of the smartest long-term decisions I’ve made.
“We need to be bold in positioning emerging talent and platforming them for growth opportunities. It’s so inspiring to me how the SCD partners invested in me and set me up for success, and the profession needs to embrace this mindset.”
Tell me about your experiences working for various offices before joining Perkins&Will. What did you learn that you still apply today?
During my fourth year at Ball State, I was required to go out on an extended internship. I had just come back from living in the mountains of Cuernavaca, Mexico as an exchange student and decided to head to the mountains of Colorado. I connected with the Denver Service Center (DSC), a design and construction center for the National Park Service. At that time, the federal government had a hiring freeze and hadn’t had an intern in several years, but I convinced the DSC Director to hire me. At the DSC, I worked on a restoration project for Jean Lafitte National Park near New Orleans and the Grand Canyon South Rim visitor’s center. My experience there clarified that I wanted to focus on commercial and civic work with broad community impact.
After completing my thesis year at Ball State, I returned to Denver to pursue my first full-time job. I interviewed with Sink Combs Dethlefs (SCD), a nationally renowned sports and recreation practice. During my interview with founder Dick Combs, we discussed the role of sports and athletics in community building. I also told Dick that I wanted to own my own firm someday, and that I would likely practice for a couple of years then return to school to get an MBA. Dick said I wouldn’t need to do that—that if I was loyal, curious, and hard-working, he and his partners would teach me everything I needed to know about running a business. So, I worked my tail off—and Dick and his partners, Don Dethlefs and Andy Barnard, lived up to that promise. Over the next nine years, I earned my architectural license, led some of the largest and the most complex projects in the firm, became a key leader in the practice, and opened up a Chicago studio for SCD — all by the age of thirty-one.
Which brings me to a point I feel so strongly about: We need to be bold in positioning emerging talent and platforming them for growth opportunities. It’s so inspiring to me how the SCD partners invested in me and set me up for success, and the profession needs to embrace this mindset.
West Lafayette Wellness Center. Photography by James Steinkamp.
West Lafayette Wellness Center. Photography by James Steinkamp.
At Perkins&Will, you started out as a practice area leader and are now President. How has your skill set evolved as your roles at Perkins&Will evolved, and what have you learned from each of your steps there?
I’ve been on an unimaginable adventure since joining Perkins&Will via a merger in 2017. Coming in to the firm after opening and leading an office, I was equipped with a well-rounded skillset. If you talk to leaders who started their career in small firms, you’ll hear them consistently say, “I did everything.” It’s true: You learn to wear many hats. Entering Perkins&Will, I found quickly that the culture here is deeply entrepreneurial and surprisingly non-corporate, so I jumped headfirst into the opportunities.
From 2017 to 2021, I led our regional sports practice and am proud of the work we brought in and executed during that time. In 2021, I was asked to step up and lead our founding studio in Chicago. My experience leading a smaller office, my business acumen, and inclusive leadership style positioned me well for the role. As Managing Director, I applied my skills to what I call “the project of the studio,.” I often thought of myself as a gardener in this role, tending to our beautifully diverse team by ensuring they all had the water, nutrients, and sunshine they need to deliver their best work and serve our clients; while also proactively weeding and protecting our business from threats.
In April 2025, I passed the Managing Director baton to Margaret Cavenagh, who joined us from Studio Gang, allowing me to move into my President role full-time. My role today is deliciously complex. I love how quick moving the firm is and am committed to nurturing our entrepreneurial spirit as we continue to grow. As my reach has become more global, I am working in close partnership with other firmwide and local studio leaders to establish best practices, expedite knowledge transfer, enhance collaboration and champion design excellence across our entire platform.
“I have a clear definition of what a successful life means to me, and it’s measured in generosity. I want to be in a position to be generous with my time, energy, resources, intellectual and creative gifts to build beautiful relationships, teams, and communities.”
Looking back at it all, what have been the biggest challenges? How did you manage through perceived disappointments or setbacks?
For so long, I tied my success to my work ethic. I told myself for years that to succeed, I had to give my career my all. This meant years of working weekends, traveling, burning the candles at both ends. This untenable pace came to a halt for me in 2013 when I found out I was pregnant. To say that I was not expecting to be expecting is an understatement. I was unwed, single, and an absolute workaholic.
From the moment I gave birth to my son, Mason, I knew he deserved my best self. To provide that, I needed to prioritize my own well-being over my never-ending work commitments. This meant I had to find a completely new relationship with work and redefine what it meant to be an architect and a single mom. Today, twelve years later, it’s not easy, but the blessings far outweigh the challenges.
These past years have taught me so much about being more strategic with my time. I no longer push teams to over-iterate and over-deliver. I no longer treat everything at work as equally important. Now, I am ruthless with prioritization and simplification. I have learned to communicate expectations very directly and clearly. Being a mom has made me a better leader and required me to be locked in, sharp, and intentional with my energy.
Your LinkedIn bio reads, “Lindsey is an architect, a super fun mom…” I love that you call out both of your big roles! Unpack this for me – why did you write not just “mom” but “super fun mom,” and how do your big roles inform each other?
Full disclosure: My super fun mom card is at risk of being revoked any day now! Mason is now a middle schooler, so my fun clout is waning, but I still give it my best effort. I believe that I have a responsibility to foster Mason’s sense of wonder and idealism. I hope that he grows up to be a globally minded, engaged citizen but right now his childhood is sacred. It should be a time of delight, innocence, and security.
Kids today have access to the underbelly of the world at the click of a button. I want him to know that the world is complex, tragic, and heartbreaking, but it is also beautiful, magical, and full of joy. He sees that I work hard because I believe my work makes a positive difference in the world. I want him to understand that change requires energy and it’s important to replenish yourself. We travel, play, create, and pursue fun as a means to recharge, stay optimistic, and to fend off cynicism.
Lindsey and Mason in Chicago. Photography by Saverio Truglia.
Who are you admiring now and why?
Professionally, I am actively admiring several architecture firms that are leveraging their design talents to help address the housing crisis. Affordable housing can and should be beautiful. The market sector has very tight margins and constraints that can make these projects unattractive for some firms. We have stepped up to meet this challenge, and I’m admiring other firms like David Baker Architects and Alexander Gorlin Architects who are delivering award-winning projects in this space.
Personally, I have long admired Elizabeth Oldfield, the author of Fully Alive, Tending to the Soul in Turbulent Times and the creator of The Sacred podcast. Elizabeth champions compassionate civic discourse by creating space for people to share their opinions and lived experiences, even if those differ vastly from her own. Listening to her has led me to be much more reflective of my own principles and taught me to actively seek out alternative viewpoints.
What is the impact you’d like to have on the world? What is your core mission? And, what does success in that look like to you?
My mission is to be salt and light. People may resist this sentiment because of its biblical origins, but at its core, it’s about the universal intention to be a positive force for good. I believe in the power of good people and good design. As an architect it’s really that simple for me. Design is an act of hope — hope for a better future.
I have a clear definition of what a successful life means to me, and it's measured in generosity. I want to be in a position to be generous with my time, energy, resources, intellectual and creative gifts to build beautiful relationships, teams, and communities.
Finally, what advice do you have for those starting their career? Would your advice be any different for women?
My advice is to be generous with your gifts and discerning with your energy. Everyone starting out their career should commit to a lifelong practice of examining the values that propel your life forward, then surround yourself with the most committed and creative people who can help you advance that purpose. You will work hard, and there is value in hard work itself, but be clear in what you’re working towards.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.