The patriarchy is alive and thriving in Milwaukee, says Ursula Twombly, who spends a lot of energy helping women in Milwaukee’s design-related fields gain access to leadership roles. She’s designed coursework at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee with architect Pat Frost to help women already in the field of architecture reach higher level positions. “In Milwaukee, only a handful of women architects are in leadership roles in the larger firms,” she notes in the course description. “We believe that with even a small increase of women shareholders within these firms, their active presence will start to change conversations, will advance more family-friendly work environments, and will more likely assure that women employees in general are as equally supported and promoted as their male counterparts.” Ursula, a founding partner and architect at Continuum Architects + Planners and, before that, an architect at Kahler Slater, is retired these days. She specialized in environmentally conscious design. Sustainability was not an add-on to her work but integral to it, a natural aspect of good design, no matter how big the project or the location. Salvaged materials were a way to keep costs low and create a warm and genuine feel, she’s said. Some of her projects in Milwaukee include the Clock Shadow Building, Saint John’s on the Lake, the Third District Police Station and Communication Center, and the Bradley School of Technology and Trade. She was born in Switzerland and came to the U.S. in 1977.