In six years, Emily Moline Meyer has risen to client engagement manager from an entry-level administrative position at Spokane architecture firm Bernardo Wills.

Beyond her additional activities outside of work in professional groups and community organizations, she recently became a new mother while earning an executive MBA degree from Whitworth University.

“I graduated six days before my due date,” says Meyer, 30, who recently returned to the office after three months of maternity leave.

Back in 2018, when she was hired fresh out of college with an undergraduate degree in sociology, also from Whitworth, Meyer hadn’t envisioned her career would take off at a design firm.

“I thought I was going to go into academia,” she says. “But then life happens, and sometimes you just need a job, and it’s OK to take a job that will fit your needs, because you don’t know where that could take you.”

Gretchen Renz, managing director of operations and finance at Bernardo Wills, says she saw Meyer’s leadership potential early in her tenure with the firm.

“Her desire to grow was stronger than I had seen in other people in that position,” Renz says.

Renz, a 33-year employee at Bernardo Wills, says she was the same age as Meyer was when she began working at the firm.

“We had different backgrounds and different education, but that same drive was there that this was going to be more than a job,” Renz says.

Meyer credits her rise at Bernardo Wills in part to mentors Renz and Gary Bernardo, as well as the culture within the firm that encouraged and enabled her to expand her position into new roles.

“It’s the kind of place where it doesn’t matter what your background is as long as you work hard and invest time and effort in the company and care deeply for the work we do and our clients,” she says. “For someone like me, who didn’t have a typical business background, that was really important.”

Renz also notes that Meyer is active in the community, including working with Lumen High School and the Whitworth University Women's’ Leadership Network.

“It’s just another expression of her willingness to get involved and sacrifice her own personal time for the benefit of others,” Renz says.

Meyer also currently serves on boards and committees with professional organizations, OneAEC, Society for Design Administration Seattle, and the Inland Northwest chapter of Design-Build Institute of America.

She says she’s found that being involved in professional and volunteer organizations is a natural segue into leadership.

“They’re all run by volunteers, so whenever an excited and enthusiastic person joins, it helps take the load off of more veteran members who have been shouldering the load,” she says.

Renz says that Meyer is in demand as a speaker at professional-development and industry events because she is an emerging leader.

Meyer says she enjoys helping others with relationship building. She notes that many of her business colleagues have become friends.

“I think that is just a really special thing in Spokane,” she says. “We'll connect on business or leadership or mentorship, but at the end of the day, they care about what's going on in your life just as much.”

Originally from Chico, California, Meyer fell in love with Spokane while earning her undergraduate degree at Whitworth. She describes the Lilac City as the perfect place for young professionals.

“It’s big enough so there are good jobs available,” she says, adding, “It’s small enough to where you can get to know important players.”

While Meyer has new priorities caring for her 3-month-old daughter, Margot, her other interests include working out at a women’s gym near downtown.

“I’ve met people at the gym sweating together that we’ve ended up connected on business and volunteer work,” she says.

She also has been working on home renovation projects with her husband, Wade, and she enjoys reading and learning.

Despite her rapid career advancement and extensive community involvement, she says, “I’d probably describe myself as a homebody.”