The DJC Oregon interviewed Soderstrom’s partners on the exciting promotion of Marlene Gillis, who is now the firm’s first female president:

Soderstrom Architects didn’t plan for its latest leadership transition to take place during a global pandemic; it just happened.

“We’ve been working on this for almost 10 years,” said Marlene Gillis, the Portland firm’s new president. “You never know with the timing – for 10 years straight the principals had planned to retire. But they would say that every year.”

Gillis took the reins from Dan Danielson, who now is serving as president emeritus. She joined Soderstrom in 2000, left for a few years, and then returned in 2009. Gillis then was groomed for a leadership role.