Adri Guyer
Jill Monaghan
Senior Project Designer + Fun Director, Generator Studio
Born: Topeka, Kan.
Education: Kansas State University, Master of Architecture
Generator Studio’s Jill Monaghan has worked on a quarter-billion dollars’ worth of high-profile sports facility projects for teams across the NHL, NFL and NBA.
For most architects and designers, a portfolio like this takes decades to build and earn, but Monaghan’s done it in a career that is eight years and counting.
Monaghan credits Generator Studio for giving her an opportunity to interact with people on the “thought leadership” side of these projects and being one of the few women in sports architecture, which gives her a different perspective in this male-dominated subsection of the business.
“So on these projects, we’ll sit down with various members of the sales staff, people from the C-suite and do an audit of the facility, and look at and ask: What do we have? What are we missing and what doesn’t exist yet and how can we start implementing some of those thoughts and ideas?” Monaghan said.
She worked closely with St. Louis Blues executives as they took on a three-year, $150 million makeover of the Enterprise Center, which included the introduction of new gathering spaces and premium areas. Monaghan also worked on food and beverage areas, concourses and premium spaces at at Amalie Arena and U.S. Bank Stadium.
She is leading the design of the NHL Seattle Kraken’s community-focused training center and handling its programming and brand integration. — Karn Dhingra
More about Jill
Guilty pleasure: Console video games.
Woman in sports business I’d most like to meet: Erin Andrews. I remember watching sports growing up and accepting that sportscasters are men. When Erin become a prominent figure on ESPN it shook my fundamental thinking about women and the roles they play across sports business.
I wish I’d known at my career’s start: Be open to conflict. Some of the best ideas come from a difference of opinion.
Change I’d make related to women working in sports: I would like to see women in a broader range of positions. For that to happen, we have to continue shaping support systems and opportunities for networking and mentorship. Like this one!
Sports can grow its role in the social justice movement by: Listening and reacting to voices previously unheard or ignored. I think our default position as people is to filter our perceptions through our own experiences. Less filtering, more listening directly.
