Pawtucket, RI Kathleen Bartels, AIA, principal and co-owner of LLB Architects, was recognized by Providence Business News (PBN) with an Achievement Honoree Award at its 2019 Business Women Awards. PBN honors the success of high-achieving women in a variety of industries with these annual awards. 

Bartels has been instrumental in the growth of LLB Architects, formerly Lerner Ladds Bartels, which was established in 1936. She has helped expand its practice from a respected local design firm to a regional leader in major institutional and civic projects. She has a masters in Architecture degree from Harvard University Graduate School of Design and a bachelor of arts from Dartmouth College. She joined LLB Architects in 1996 and became a partner in 2000.

In 2011, Bartels and business partner Christian Ladds completed a renovation and adaptive reuse of a vacant mill building in Pawtucket which became LLB Architect’s headquarters. Now known as the Design Exchange for its fostering of creative enterprises, the building has won numerous design and historic preservation awards, as well as serving as a model for urban renewal and redevelopment.