As a ninth grader at Chicago Vocational High School, LeGard was naturally curious, building a childhood full of “Legos, drawing, coloring, just anything artistic” into a career path, with high school drafting classes instrumental in finding it.

But the biggest influence was Leodies Arburtha, a long-serving vice-principal at Chicago Vocational and a graduate of Tuskegee (Alabama) University. He began the school day at the historic Art Deco and Art Modern hybrid-designed Chicago South Side school with a booming public address announcement, “It is a beautiful day for teaching and learning.” Even when it was raining, he would exclaim, “There is nothing but liquid sunshine outside.”

Arburtha mentored LeGard and believed his alma mater, a private Historically Black College and University with an acclaimed Architecture program, would be a good fit. So, at age 17, LeGard left Chicago for the American South, and architecture has been part of her life for the past three decades.

“Mr. Arburtha saw something in me and suggested Tuskegee would be the right place for me,” she said. “In my life, many people have assisted me and reached out a hand to lead me forward. I knew I had to do the same thing.”

Recently honored as one of the Jacksonville Business Journal’s 2026 Women of Influence, LeGard is the Senior Design Manager for Haskell’s Private Facilities Architecture and Engineering (AE) Group. She started working at Haskell immediately out of college, first at Tuskegee, where she graduated with a bachelor’s in Architecture, and then at Auburn, where she earned a Master of Building Construction degree.

“Janel is an excellent communicator, and that’s vital in the role she holds,” said Peter Skirbst, Haskell’s Vice President of Integrated Design for Private Facilities AE. “Leading a design team, interfacing with the construction team and also with the client requires an ability to transition from one situation to another very quickly.”

‘Something New Every Day’

LeGard’s current responsibilities include start-to-finish oversight on the design of buildings in the food and beverage industry. A Frito-Lay building in Honolulu required vertical construction rather than horizontal work due to Hawaii’s guidelines, with parking on the roof, a covered patio, and other green amenities. Another facility for energy drink manufacturer VPX (Bang Energy) in Phoenix included wastewater discharge and retrofitting an existing facility with exacting equipment and piping. The Arizona facility would normally have taken 10 months to complete, but Haskell completed it in 6 months, allowing VPX to accelerate its annual distribution capacity by 5x.

“I don’t know everything about electrical or wastewater, but, as usual, I learn something new every day,” she said. “I love learning about my craft. There’s no doubt I was born to be an architect.”

This natural attraction to learning was highlighted in late March 2021, when LeGard was recognized as one of The National Association of Black Women in Construction’s (NABWIC) Women in History at their Northeast Florida Hard Hats and Heels Virtual Event. NABWIC is a Florida-based, non-profit organization formed in 1991 to address the unique challenges of Black women in the construction industry and to champion and empower Black women in construction and related industries to reach their full potential as industry leaders.

The honor wasn’t presented for the construction of a building, but rather for LeGard’s longtime mentorship of area youth through the ACE (Architecture, Construction, Engineering) Mentor Program.

“I think some minority students, especially female students, who are interested in architecture would appreciate someone who looked like them sharing details of a profession that they find interesting,” she said. “Not all of the students in the ACE mentoring program are minorities, and I simply find joy in sharing my professional experiences. There’s always a need to continue to educate.”

Inspiring the Next Generation

LeGard’s influence has particularly impacted individuals in the Jacksonville community with whom she first connected at A. Philip Randolph Career Academies, a career- and college-preparatory magnet school.

Ashantae Green serves as an elected Supervisor of the Duval Soil & Water Conservation District and owns two businesses in the green-design realm. She was motivated by meeting LeGard during her high school years.

“Janel was the first female architect I ever met who looked like me,” Green said. “It was amazing that she took the time to visit an inner-city school and cared about what my dreams were. That has always left a lasting impression on me and inspired me to be an ACE mentor, where I serve as a board member now.”

Mercelin Etienne attended the University of North Florida, earning a degree in Construction Management and eventually joining Haskell.

“These new employees were being introduced, and I saw Mercelin and immediately said, ‘I know you,’” LeGard recalled. “And then the first project he works on, he is working with me at the VPX facility in Arizona. That was so much fun.”

Skirbst took the connection with Etienne, a Project Manager at Haskell, to another level.

“That’s like a fairy tale,” he said. “Working with someone in the ACE program, and then they come back to work with you? That’s such a neat feeling for Janel, but also for all of us.”

Janel is also an author of “You Can Be, ME TOO! A week in the life of an Architect.” The children’s picture book follows a conversation between a mother and a daughter and explains the day-to-day aspects of an architect at work.

“This children’s storybook and coloring book is what I wish I had when I was a child,” Janel said. “I loved playing with building blocks, coloring, just being creative. I received my architectural license in 2009. At that time, I was one of the first 500 licensed female African American architects in the US, from a pool of approximately 219,000 registered architects (0.002%). My storybook and coloring book are a testament to my journey in this profession. I hope it raises awareness and inspires the next generation of architects.”

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