Deirdre Stearns

Background

About Deirdre Stearns

I am a licensed architect in Hawaii and California and hold an NCARB certificate. My passion is in design and the sustainability and resiliency of buildings. As Director of Sustainability at AHL, one of Hawaii's most prominent architectural firms, I lead, maintain, research, and advance the firm's sustainability initiatives. This role includes improving our progress as a signatory firm of the AIA 2030 Commitment, a global program for architecture firms to work towards reducing the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of their entire project portfolio to reach net zero operational carbon by the year 2030. This role is outward and inward-looking, with community speaking engagements, outreach to clients and consultants, internal staff training and education, and leading firm-wide strategy to reduce GHG emissions. As Director of Sustainability, I also track office-wide scope 2 emissions. In parallel, I am also the Project Manager for two mixed-use highrise buildings in Honolulu, Hawaii. I serve as the main client contact for communication while also leading an architectural team comprised of Project Architects, Technical Designers, Interior Designers, drafters, and outside sub-consultants, all in a remote capacity. My architectural career has taken me all throughout the world, from my initial years at the University of Hawaii at Manoa in Honolulu. I spent over seven years working on commercial retail projects domestically and internationally in Los Angeles. Since 2016, I have been a Project Architect and Project Manager on multiple retail, mixed-use commercial, hospitality, and highrise residential projects in Hawaii. In addition to working in Hawaii and Los Angeles, I have directly contributed to architectural projects in Hawaii, Southern California, New York, Canada, Russia, China, and Thailand.