BRENTWOOD, MO, July 19, 2019 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Marquis Who's Who, the world's premier publisher of biographical profiles, is proud to present Cynthia SoRelle Easterling with the Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award. An accomplished listee, Ms. Easterling celebrates many years' experience in her professional network, and has been noted for achievements, leadership qualities, and the credentials and successes she has accrued in her field. As in all Marquis Who's Who biographical volumes, individuals profiled are selected on the basis of current reference value. Factors such as position, noteworthy accomplishments, visibility, and prominence in a field are all taken into account during the selection process.
Cynthia Easterling is a native of New Orleans, LA and has accrued over 43 years of industry experience to her credit. Ms. Easterling has worked as a private-practice architect since 1999. She began her professional career as a Draftsman at J. Robert Green & Associates in Clayton, Missouri in 1976 while still in school. She was involved in various other firms in the St. Louis Metro area ultimately working as a project architect for Christner, Inc. from 1984 to 1998 where she was involved in multi-family residential projects, school districts, various office projects and culminating in healthcare architectural projects.
In addition to this tenure, Ms. Easterling was a part-time instructor in the Architectural Drafting & Design curriculum at the St. Louis Community College at Meramec from 1979 to 1980. Other career-related projects include:
• House manager of Historic Home in St. Louis County.
• Co-author of a book titled "Webster Park: 1892-1992" containing the history and a photographic inventory of an old commuter suburb located in St. Louis County. The neighborhood is now on the National Register. The book was originally published in 1993 and a second edition was printed in 2003.
• Assisted with a survey and the photography for a National Register Historic District in Coastal Mississippi (Cuevas-Pineville District).
• Co-presenter for AIA St. Louis Continuing Education Seminar titled "What We Learned From Hurricane Katrina."
• Instructor for OLLI continuing education program for USM Gulf Park.
Prior to embarking on her professional path, Ms. Easterling pursued a formal education at Tulane University in New Orleans, earning a Bachelor of Arts in 1974.
After moving to St. Louis for a job opportunity working with Heritage St. Louis assisting with an architectural survey of the City of St. Louis doing both research and field work, she went on to attend St. Louis Community College-Meramec, where she obtained an Associate of Applied Science degree in Architectural Drafting and Design Technology in 1979. She was a member of Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society and received the AIA drafting award for architectural students.
Initially interested in the field because of her interest in art, drawing and history and because of her grandfather, who was a building contractor who restored and renovated older homes in Uptown and Garden District New Orleans, she was further drawn to her career due to a course she took while at Tulane University from Samuel Wilson in Louisiana Architecture.
Following the lymphoma diagnosis of her young son in late 1998, Cynthia's family and personal priorities changed. Her son's illness had a profound effect and made the family realize that life is indeed short and one should do what you have a passion for. This also began her involvement with Friends of Kids with Cancer and the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.
Self-employment gave her flexibility and enabled her to shift her schedule in order to accommodate her son's chemotherapy treatments and to spend more time with her daughter and husband. It also allowed her to branch out into related endeavors.
Private Practice Summary:
• Since starting her own practice, Ms. Easterling has been involved primarily in residential projects. Her favorites are working on older buildings, whether as renovation, adaptive re-use, reconstruction on homes that were severely damaged by Hurricane Katrina and new construction in Historic Districts on empty lots.
Private Practice Goals:
• Good design doesn't have to be expensive
• "I consistently strive to meet my clients' budget and time frame"
• Individualized approach
• Client quote: "with historic accuracy, she (Ms. Easterling) translated our visions flawlessly into a working blueprint for our contractor to follow. Throughout it all, she was more like a friend, going beyond the call of duty with ideas, practical advice and tops for getting the best project available without breaking our bank account".
After dealing with her son's illness, the family's goals changed. Along with her husband, she purchased an old home in the community of Pass Christian, Mississippi, where her grandfather and several generations of her family had lived. In anticipation of eventually moving back to the area, Ms. Easterling started getting involved in small residential projects on older homes. Then came Hurricane Katrina…and the rest is history.
They were just in time for Hurricane Katrina and were fortunate to still have a house standing. The aftermath of this experience is something that will never be forgotten. She now divides her time between St. Louis and the MS Gulf Coast.
Post-Katrina Endeavors:
• Helped put houses/homes and lives back together on the MS Gulf Coast after Hurricane Katrina, starting with an email newsletter to displaced residents. She maintained this for seven years after Katrina made landfall.
• Designed and developed the "Lost Homes of Scenic Drive" poster as a fund-raiser for the Pass Christian Library and created notecards from her pre-Katrina photographs of historic homes along the MS Gulf Coast.
• Submitted a short story that was included in an anthology that was published for the 10th anniversary of Katrina.
Ms. Easterling is incredibly proud of the people in her town and along the Mississippi Gulf Coast who have continually inspired her in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.
Always active in her community, Ms. Easterling has participated in many organizations connected with history, architecture, libraries and art. Some of the groups that she has been active in over the years include: Pass Christian Historical Society, Friends of the Pass Christian Public Library, Webster Groves Public Library, Landmarks Association-St. Louis, Historical Society of Gulfport, MS, MO Preservation, MS Heritage Trust, Association of St. Louis Archivists, St. Louis Area Registrars, Society of Architectural Historians, St. Louis Publishers Association, St. Louis Genealogical Society, Daughters of the American Revolution, The Huguenot Society of South Carolina, Alliance Francaise-St. Louis.
She has been a licensed architect in the state of Missouri for over 30 years and has been an active member of the American Institute of Architects in St. Louis.
After her children had "left the nest", Cynthia began to get back into her art work. Over the last eight years, she has had her fused glass work shown in various art shows and juried exhibitions and has been honored with several awards for her glass work. Her work has been shown at the Ohr-O'Keefe Museum of Art in Biloxi, MS, Craft Alliance Gallery in St. Louis and the Walter Anderson Museum of Art in Ocean Springs, MS. Additionally, she has given seminars on fused glass and has her work at several galleries along the Gulf Coast.
Organizations that she is active in related to art are:
• Craft Alliance Gallery in St. Louis
• Pass Christian Art Association
• Ocean Springs Art Association
• Arts of Hancock County
• Stone County Art Association
WEBSITES:
• www.passbeachhouse.com
• www.cindysartsplusglass.com
In light of her exceptional wide-ranging undertakings, Ms. Easterling first received the Homer Award from the National Association of Home Builders in 1986 and has subsequently had several of her residential projects included in the Pass Christian Historic District Tours of Homes over the last ten years.
Ms. Easterling has been selected for inclusion in the 22nd edition of Who's Who in the Midwest and the 56th edition of Who's Who in America, as well as the third and fourth editions of Who's Who of Emerging Leaders in America.
In recognition of outstanding contributions to her profession and the Marquis Who's Who community, Ms. Easterling has been featured on the Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement website. Please visit www.ltachievers.com for more information about this honor.
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