Background
Zelma Gussin was born in New York City, the daughter of Russian Jewish immigrants.
Zelma Gussin was born in New York City, the daughter of Russian Jewish immigrants.
She graduated from Santa Paula Union High School, where she played on the tennis team She majored in art at the University of California Berkeley and later studied at the California Institute of Technology.
At the University of Southern California School of Architecture, she was the only woman in her 1947 graduating class. In 1948 she worked as a draftsperson at the Los Angeles City Planning Department. In Paris, Zelma pursued her interest in sculpture at the École des Beaux-Arts.
She earned her architecture license in 1957, and worked with Richard Neutra, Victor Gruen, Rudolph Schindler, and Raphael Soriano.
The Wilsons settled in Ojai upon returning to California in 1964. Zelma Wilson opened her architectural practice in Ojai, Zelma Wilson and Associates, American Institute of Architects, in 1967.
Wilson primarily designed community buildings such as schools, churches, and libraries (see list of works below), but she also designed private residences, banks, and at least one bridge. She served as president of the Ventura County branch of the American Institute of Architects in 1977.
In 1983 she was named a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects.
In addition to her architectural firm, Wilson lectured on architecture at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. She also served on the California State Governors Emergency Task Force on Earthquake Preparedness, and was active in Ojai organizations, including the "Ojai Beautiful" conference, Ojai Downtown Redevelopment, the Ojai Historical Preservation Commission, and the Ojai Valley Performing Arts Theater. Zelma Wilson"s professional papers are held at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in Blacksburg.
She appears in the 1987 television documentary "of the Hollywood Blacklist," discussing her family"s experience of the blacklist.
Passionate Protector of Ojai"s Beauty.".