ARLINGTON, Va. -- Quincy native Korey White has found her passion in advocating for inclusiveness in a predominantly-male field.

A 2007 Quincy Notre Dame graduate, White, 29, is an architect with Stantec in Arlington, Va. She recently received the American Institute of Architects' 2018 Young Architect Award -- a national designation given to architects with 10 or fewer years in the field -- in large part due to her advocacy work. White was one of 18 architects across the country to receive the award.

"It motivates me to keep doing the work I'm doing," she said. "It shows me that where I'm investing my time, and the issues I feel are important, are resonating with the rest of the community."

White received her Masters of Architecture and Masters of Urban and Regional Planning degrees simultaneously from the University of Colorado-Denver in 2013. She has founded multiple committees and coalitions in the architectural field and has worked to influence legislation. She helped rewrite the National Design Services Act to promote more inclusiveness and worked with the bill's sponsor, Rep. Ed Perlmutter, D-Col, to introduce the legislation.

She recently started Women at Stantec, an employee group that promotes diversity and inclusiveness in the architectural and engineering fields. White said only around 18 percent of the architectural field is female.

"We started the group to start these conversations and to connect with leadership," White said. "My passion is advocacy, advocating for inclusiveness, for well-designed communities and for the profession."

White's drive is fueled, in part, by the leadership she learned under when she first entered the field. She said the first principal she worked under was devoted to making the work day enjoyable and promoting equality among his team -- values White has instinctively applied to her own career.

She often goes into schools to speak with students about the viability of pursuing architecture as a career path.

"It's about empowering people to find their own value," she said. "I want to be an example for other people."

White is the daughter of Jeff and Bobbe White of Quincy. She is the only licensed female architect in Stantec's Rosslyn office.