Robin Klehr Avia, FIIDA

Robin Klehr Avia’s leadership is a hallmark of her professional reputation — whether she is setting a strategic vision for the firm or directing high-profile projects for influential organizations such as The New York Times, The Ford Foundation, and the Jackie Robinson Museum.

Since joining the firm in 1980 as the 24th employee of the New York office, Robin’s contribution is one of the many reasons Gensler now has 29 practice areas, more than 4,000 active client relationships, a global network of over 7,000 leaders, and diversity of talent in 53 offices.

As Regional Managing Principal for the Northeast, Robin has helped grow the region from a single office to locations in the U.S., Latin America, and Canada. Robin also serves on Gensler’s Board of Directors and is a member of the Gensler Executive Committee and Management Committee.

Robin’s projects have won countless design awards, including two AIA Committee on the Environment (COTE) Top Ten Awards, Docomomo’s Modernism in America, NYC Landmarks Lucy G. Moses Preservation Award, Business Week/Architectural Record Award, the International Interior Design Association’s Decade of Design Award, NYCxDESIGN Awards, and the Society of American Registered Architects. Her leadership and work have been featured in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Fast Company, Interior Design, and Architectural Record. She was profiled in “The Power Architects That Are Reshaping New York City,” part of Commercial Observer’s annual Power 100 list, celebrating the most influential individuals in New York City real estate. Additionally, she is a 2017 Interior Design Hall of Fame inductee.

Robin holds a Bachelor of Science in Interior Design and an honorary doctorate from the University of Tennessee. She is a Trustee Emeritus of the Dwight-Englewood School, and advisory board member for the New York School of Interior Design. Robin served on the national board of the International Interior Design Association and was elected to its College of Fellows, the association’s highest honor, in 2000.