Cheryl Lynn McAfee, FAIA, NOMA (born c. 1958), is an American architect.[1] She is the CEO of McAfee3, an architecture firm founded by her father Charles F. McAfee.[2][3][4] In 1990, she was the first women to receive an architecture license in the state of Kansas.[5] McAfee was named one of the "Top Women Architects" by Ebony magazine in 1995.[1] McAfee led the design and construction of sports venues of the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta.[6] She is also known as Cheryl Lynn McAfee-Mitchell.[7]
Early life and education
Cheryl Lynn McAfee was born in c. 1958 in Wichita, Kansas, to parents Gloria Myrth Winston and Charles F. McAfee.[8] Her sister Charyl Frena McAfee-Duncan is also an architect and works at McAfee3.[8]
She started working at McAfee3 (formerly Charles F. McAfee Architects, Engineers, and Planners firm) in 1981.[10] In 1990, she was the first women to receive an architecture license in the state of Kansas.[5] She relocated in 1990 to Atlanta to prepare to lead the design and construction for all 33 sports venues of the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta.[5][6] After the end of the Olympics, she worked to convert the Olympic Stadium into Turner Field.[5] In 1995, Mc Afee was elected as president of National Organization of Minority Architects (NOMA) and was the first female president.[11][5] She was the principal architect on the joint design effort for the Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport from 2000 until 2015.[5]