Yolanda Cole to retire after decades of championing forward-focused design

Senior Principal, Yolanda Cole, will retire at the end of March 2026.

After several decades of shaping design, community, and our culture, Yolanda Cole, FAIA, announces her retirement. Join us in raising a glass (a martini glass, of course!) in recognition of the incredible impact our co-founder and leader has had on our firm, our region, and the design industry at large.

Yolanda’s career journey has traced a winding path, but through every twist and turn, creativity, music, and design have been a common thread. Yolanda earned a bachelor’s degree in music education from The Ohio State University. She went on to attend the University of Cincinnati’s undergraduate architecture co-op program and earned her Master of Architecture from Columbia University.

Later in her career, after returning to music following a 20-year hiatus, Yolanda became principal flutist and co-founded the DC Concert Orchestra Society, now one of the leading community non-professional orchestras and chamber music series in the District. “A full circle moment was performing in one of the projects I led at St. Thomas Parish in Dupont Circle,” said Yolanda. She is now the Chair of the nonprofit’s board.

Her energetic influence has been widely recognized. Yolanda is an AIA Fellow, recipient of AIA|DC’s prestigious Centennial Medal, and was named Architect of the Year by the DC Council of Engineering and Architectural Societies. Among many accolades, she was also a past president of AIA|DC, named in the Washington Business Journal’s Women Who Mean Business, Bisnow’s Women of Influence in Commercial Real Estate, and included in the Washington Business Journal’s Power 100.

Pre-Hickok Cole

Before merging with Mike Hickok’s firm in 2003, Yolanda spent nine years at Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates, rising to Senior Designer, and relocated to Sydney, Australia, to oversee the design and construction of the 42-story Chifley Tower. After returning to the States, she moved to DC and later joined and purchased Roberts Vardell, one of Washington’s top 25 interior design firms, renaming it Lyrix Design. “I took a leap, more so a jump off a cliff, and went into something I didn’t really know a lot about: interior design,” said Yolanda. She grew the firm and expanded into architectural services, a great fit to merge with Mike’s company. “The merger brought me back to the kind of work I grew up on, designing and managing large-scale commercial and base buildings,” said Yolanda.

A Different Kind of Leadership

A natural-born leader, Yolanda has always been rooted in momentum and purpose. She has championed a strengths-based approach, maximizing team members’ innate talents and allowing people to grow where they are naturally strongest. “People can go so much further in their careers when they’re working where their strengths lie,” Yolanda said. “It can be a waste of energy and talent to try to position people to be something they’re not.”

“When Yolanda’s firm first merged with Mike’s, her presence was felt immediately,” said Mark Ramirez, Managing Director. “Our culture changed almost overnight, and we were a different firm the very next day. Over the 26 years that followed, Yolanda never stopped pushing us forward. Her restlessness, drive, and constant search for new ways to elevate our work became part of the firm’s DNA. I’ve always appreciated that energy and the way she challenged and inspired us, ensuring that things not only moved, but moved with purpose. Her legacy isn’t just in the projects we designed, but in the firm she helped shape, and the people she helped strengthen.”

Under the leadership of Yolanda and Mike, Hickok Cole grew by 70% in staff and 100% in revenue. The firm expanded its offerings to include multifamily architecture, residential interior design services (Hickok Cole Lifestyle), and a branding studio (Hickok Cole Creative). “I remember when I interviewed in 2004, sitting with Yolanda and Mike, that it was always a vision of theirs be able to incorporate branding into our projects,” said Sarah Barr, Director of Creative. “If we can design the buildings and design the spaces, why can’t we also lead with the brand vision for these projects? In 2013, when I pitched to create Hickok Cole Creative to focus on this effort, I was met with a resounding ‘yes.’ Yolanda has always said yes and always supported new ideas for growth, and I am grateful to her. We took chances, made connections, and she was deeply involved in projects when we first started, sitting in on the visioning and naming of projects like The Hepburn. Hickok Cole Creative has become a thriving arm of Hickok Cole focused on brand strategy and experiential design, often layered into our own projects, making them richer and more dynamic for our clients,” said Sarah. 

Research-Based Change

Yolanda has always believed in research and experimentation as drivers of innovation. “I am especially proud of iLab,” said Yolanda. “It was inspired by our national NAIOP Office Building of the Future competition win.” What began as small staff-supported passion projects became a substantial research program and later led to groundbreaking achievements, including the District’s first Net Zero energy building and mass timber renovations. iLab’s impact helped shape our firm and positioned us for “What’s Next.”

Through her leadership with ULI Washington, where she served as Chair from 2018 to 2019 as the organization’s first architect and only second woman in the role, Yolanda spearheaded multiple research initiatives focused on action, not just studies. These included “Millennials Inside the Beltway: Optimistic Urbanists” research and its follow-up, aimed at understanding how to retain the workforce that fuels urban economies, and a subsequent effort, “Increasing Housing Supply and Attainability,” examining zoning, entitlement, and community engagement across the core DMV to identify ways to enable more attainable housing.

The Team

“I’ve been incredibly fortunate to have such a great team of talented and dedicated people who have made Hickok Cole the firm that it is today,” said Yolanda. “I am pleased and proud to be able to pass the baton to the next generation and watch them ‘spiral up’ to the next level. I am also privileged to have so many great friends and colleagues inside and outside the industry who have supported me along the way. A BIG thanks to all of you!”

Yolanda’s retirement comes after years of planning and stewardship. Four members of our corporate leadership team—John Bisch, Laurence Caudle, AIA, Robert Holzbach, FAIA, and Mark Ramirez, AIA—have been promoted to Senior Principal. They are joined on the corporate team by Sarah Barr, Mike Johnson II, FIIDA, AIA, and David Wahl, AIA. Together, this group has been actively guiding the firm for nearly a decade, ensuring continuity of our strategic vision and collaborative mindset.

“This transition has been years in the making,” said Yolanda. “I’m proud of the team of design strategists we’ve built, and I’m confident in the vision plan we have formulated for the firm’s future. They embody the commitment to innovation, collaboration, and thoughtful design that has defined our firm.”

Star Projects

Our work is now visible throughout the region in landmark projects, such as NPR’s headquarters, CSIS headquarters, the District Architecture Center, St. Thomas Parish Redevelopment, the International Spy Museum, the National Association of Broadcasters headquarters, mass timber 80 M Street, The Hepburn, the LEED Platinum+ renovation of the American Geophysical Union headquarters, and the forthcoming National Geographic Museum of Exploration. These projects, along with many others, have garnered over 300 awards from major industry organizations, including the Urban Land Institute, NAIOP, the American Institute of Architects, and the International Interior Design Association.

“When I interviewed with Yolanda and Mike in 2004, she expressed to me their vision to make Hickok Cole the best design firm in the region,” remembers Rob Holzbach, Director of Commercial Office. At the time, the firm was a solid, mid-level firm. Yolanda spoke about transforming collaborative design in an upward spiral where we win a project, kill it, promote it, and that leads to bigger opportunities. We always knew that if we could get to the table, we could compete with the national firms. We proved that when we won the CSIS and NPR design competitions in 2007 and 2008. Since then, we’ve been on an upward trajectory – this year, we’re completing the incredible National Geographic Museum of Exploration. Building on her legacy, I’m even more excited than ever about our future as a strategic thinking design firm.”

Creative Roots

Yolanda’s creativity spans beyond architecture and design. Her creative threads can be found in her passion for music and all things fashion. Fun fact: she has a slew of hidden talents, including screenwriting, poetry, cooking, and even baton twirling!

A maximalist at heart and deeply committed to a theme, Yolanda’s bold and memorable fashion sense throughout the years has been nothing short of iconic. “It’s kind of crazy – people will randomly compliment me on the street or say something in the elevator, the airport security line, or just about anywhere,” said Yolanda. “And now I try to do the same when I see fun fashion.” Her creative sense of style and flair has brought glamour to the real estate industry and profession. She uses “gown” as a verb (as in “I don’t really gown anymore”) and has been known to travel with her own martini set. Rarely an outfit repeater, here are some of our favorite looks to date.

What’s Next?

While Yolanda’s retirement marks the end of one chapter, it’s far from the end of her story. She is currently digging into genetic genealogy to discover her family roots. It turns out she is related to June Carter Cash! She plans to stay busy as always and wants to continue to have an impact in DC, the DMV region, and the built environment overall through ULI and the DC Concert Orchestra Society. “My goal has always been to make a difference and make things happen,” said Yolanda. “I want to make things better. If I can grab hold of the good in something and amplify it, I’m going to do it.”

Yolanda, thank you for changing our part of the world for the better! Cheers to what’s next!

Check out the Washington Business Journal piece about Yolanda.