During World War II, at age 15, Willis learned to fly a single-engine propeller plane in order to qualify for the Women's Air Service.

[9] In the late 1960s, when suburban expansion was booming, Willis combined her retail experience with large-scale housing, that later evolved into designs for institutions, urban planning and development.

[16] Willis' work extends from the belief that design can influence human behavior and that the spatial concepts of form, function, proportion, texture, and color visually communicate with the senses.

[6][18] In 1974, Willis & Associates, Inc., was awarded an architectural and engineering contract for the design and plan of the Aliamanu Valley Community for Military Housing in Honolulu, Hawaii.

Though CARLA had been previously employed successfully, Willis' firm faced a greater challenge presented by the Aliamanu site, located on a non-active volcanic crater floor in a one hundred year old flood plain of clay.

The Manhattan high school received national recognition for its design[21][22][23] and was published as one of the exemplary examples of architecture in education facilities by the American Institute of Architects.

Housed in the former U.S. Pension Bureau's Headquarters, four blocks from the National Mall, the museum's mission is to "advance the quality of the built environment by educating people about its impact on their lives.

[28] In 1995, Willis created the Architecture Research Institute as a think-tank to develop and advocate urban policies through interdisciplinary partnerships between academics, governments, corporations and the public.

The Institute sought to "promote research in design and planning that informs public policies and strategies that create livable, compact, global cities that are eco-sustainable, walk-able and less automobile dependent.

R.Dot mobilized hundreds of designers, professionals, and civilians to create a coordinated response to help guide the rebuilding effort and establish a planning framework for the city of New York.

[13] The Beverly Willis Architecture Foundation's (BWAF) mission is "to change the culture of the building industry so that women's work, whether in contemporary practices or historical narratives, is acknowledged, respected and valued.