Keynote Speaker

Katie LaForest is a licensed architect and part-owner of Pittsburgh-based mossArchitects where her roll in the firm is both Vice President and Principal. mossArchitects received the prestigious Architecture Firm Award in 2024 from the Pennsylvania chapter of the American Institute of Architects which recognizes firms that have demonstrated excellence in the quality of their portfolio, firm culture, and influence on the profession for at least 10 years.

Katie holds a Bachelor of Architecture degree from Virginia Tech where study abroad travels throughout western Europe and her award-winning thesis project of urban infill in Pittsburgh's South Side neighborhood piqued her interest in the ever-evolving city she now calls home. She started her professional career with FortyEighty Architecture working on several innovative environmentally conscious projects such as the Fred Rogers' Center at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe, Pennsylvania.

Practicing as an architect and project manager for over twenty years, she has contributed to the diverse urban landscape of Pittsburgh and its surrounding communities with a focus on adaptive reuse, workplace, hospitality, and multi-family residential projects. She has received both local and national awards for her work. Katie's fundamental interests lie in exploring ways in which the various scales of architecture-site, building, occupancy, and materiality-can be empowered to create a sense of place and belonging.

This impact is bolstered by her involvement with the local chapter of Urban Land Institute, including its Women's Leadership Initiative committee. Volunteering for that committee as well as the local AIA chapter's PALM (Promoting Advocacy & Licensure through Mentorship) program supports her interest in championing underrepresented groups in the architecture profession and overall construction industry.

In addition to providing design services and project leadership within mossArchitects, Katie spearheads the firm's equitable practice and community engagement efforts while also cultivating the collaborative firm culture and mentorship opportunities. In 2021, her mentorship expanded to include a position of Adjunct Faculty as a Design Studio Instructor at Carnegie Mellon's School of Architecture. In 2025 she was selected as one of 58 local executive-level leaders to participate in Leadership Pittsburgh's annual namesake program to gain a deeper, behind-the-scenes understanding of the region's interconnected systems and key changemakers to further advance her community influence and civic engagement.

Although a native of Virginia, Katie is a descendant of an extensive line of transient military families, and therefore eagerly rooted herself in the historic Squirrel Hill neighborhood of Pittsburgh alongside her now-husband to continually fix-up their 1920's home. Outside of the office, you will find her either cheering in the audience of her son's theater performances, or on the sidelines of her other two sons' ball games. As her busy schedule permits, you might find her tucked away in a corner of one of the city's amazing public libraries reading or finishing a crossword puzzle.