In her decade of experience at DLR Group, Nichols has mentored employee-owners, counseled clients, and delivered holistic design solutions attuned to the needs of local communities. As office leader, she grew the firm’s Orlando office by 235% and saw its continued success as Orlando Business Journal’s Best Place to Work in 2023 and AIA Orlando Firm of the Year award winner in 2024.  She also advanced gender equality, with women comprising more than half of the integrated practice in Orlando, at 53%.  As a female Asian-American architect and national expert specialized in large-scale public building types, she passionately advocates for providing more opportunities for underrepresented communities in an industry where the percentage of Asian American women architects is estimated to be around 3-5%.

With over 25 years’ experience working nationally and internationally on large scale projects, Nichols’ portfolio of work includes Clackamas County Courthouse in Oregon City, Oregon, a landmark project in the field of social infrastructure, and Pinellas County Family Courthouse in Clearwater, Florida, a nationally recognized project for delivering trauma-informed design for civic life.

“Our firm is deeply rooted in the Southeast and experiencing tremendous growth in all market sectors,” said Nichols. “I look forward to guiding our employee-owners in the region and ensuring that they have the resources to remain at the forefront of innovation and deliver leading-edge design solutions. Regardless of building type, we will root our work in a desire to serve others, with a commitment to elevate the human experience through design.”

A past President of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) Orlando chapter, Nichols has earned several AIA Florida Awards for Excellence, including the AIA Florida Silver Medal award in 2021. She was a member of the inaugural class of AIA Florida Citizen Architects in 2013 and continues to embody a citizen architect ethos through her service on nonprofit boards, design charettes, community service, and other efforts that demonstrate her leadership as architect and contributor to her community.

With a passion for mentoring, creating opportunities for emerging professionals, and elevating minorities in the profession, Nichols was among the founding planning members who started the AIA Orlando chapter of Women in Architecture (WIA), a committee focused on promoting gender equity in the architecture profession. She also participates as a guest speaker, studio critic, and has been a previous visiting professor at the University of Florida, where she earned a Master of Architecture in 2001. Nichols serves as a bridge between the university and the architecture profession as a current board member for the University of Florida School of Architecture Advisory Council.