2024 West Region Conference – Cultural Crossroads in Education: Ruth Baleiko
What motivates Malika: having the space to think and contemplate deeply, supporting her teammates, and getting lost in the makings of a drawing, a model, a spreadsheet, a meal. “This all may mean I’m most passionate about process-driven and non-linear thinking” which suits her roles as Project Manager and Project Architect well, as her job wavers between big-picture design and small picture articulation, between design technology and production. She also provides a good deal of mentorship to growing colleagues, and serves as an Internship Coordinator and Open Studio Advisor.
Zooming out, Malika’s heart lay with fairness and integrity, which she considers daily personal pursuits. “There are thousands of decisions at many different scales that require a commitment to these ideals in moving a decision forward to its solution. I try to be fair to the design intent of my projects, the desire of their owners, and the growth and development of my team, the profession, and of myself.”