Message from the Chair and Vice-Chair of the AIAO Committee on on Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (CoEDI)

Kelly Chanopas, AIA is an Associate at ZGF and has chaired AIA Oregon CoEDI since 2019, after serving as vice-chair since the committee’s founding.  Octavio Gutierrez, AIA is an Associate at Mahlum and has vice-chaired the committee since 2019.

Greetings, colleagues!

The AIA Oregon Committee on Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (CoEDI) was initially formed in 2018 in an effort to expand the (then) AIA Portland Chapter’s commitment to impacting equity, diversity and inclusion across our member community by offering programs that address leadership development, workplace culture, career development, and broader community engagement.  Our mission today remains to better reflect the global and demographic richness of our population through advocacy for under-represented groups in our profession.  Throughout our short history, our mission has been guided by four keystones:  supporting firms in attracting and retaining diverse talent, mentoring across all phases of the professional pipeline, facilitating connections to our communities, and promoting the value of design and its contributions to and from society.

While we currently serve as chair and vice-chair of CoEDI, our committee’s efforts are supported by a dedicated – and truly fabulous – group of members and allied professionals who selflessly volunteer their time to develop our recurring programs (Engage, Workplace Now), put on our flagship annual event (Future Vision), and identify additional tools, topics and speakers to offer learning opportunities for the greater AIA Oregon membership.  We are always happy to talk more about our events, but here is a brief summary:

Engage is a series focusing on opportunities to connect architects and designers with each other and our communities, celebrating the contributions of those who bring diverse experiences, views, and needs into the design process.  Past events have included a volunteer opportunity open house and bringing in speakers from local government and non-profit organizations.

Workplace [Now] is an interactive series exploring the elements of firm culture. The format and theme of each events vary, but past events have focused on the multi-generational office and mentorship.

Future Vision is a day-long symposium organized around themes of justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion.  Future Vision 2019 focused on the tools necessary to promote equity within the profession, and Future Vision 2020 will explore issues of identity and intersectionality.  Our 2020 event will be virtual with sessions held over multiple days.

We both got involved with CoEDI as a call to action and a determination to take the necessary steps to effect meaningful change. For us, CoEDI embodies a framework necessary for just and equitable processes to be developed, tested, and widely shared through our professional networks in order to create diverse and inclusive work environments where BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and People of Color) professionals are treated equally as their true, authentic selves. 

Although the current pandemic has upended many of our lives, we remain committed now more than ever to bring social and racial justice to our profession.  We are encouraged by the overwhelming response that you – our members – have shown by attending our June 2020 social justice listening sessions and monthly committee meetings, and we appreciate your patience as we re-tool our processes for a broader, albeit remote, level of committee engagement.   We are forging ahead with planning for Future Vision 2020, and we are preparing to re-launch our discussion groups around the AIA Guides for Equitable Practice and other member-suggested reading selections. 

CoEDI meets on the fourth Thursday of each month, from Noon to 1pm, and we look forward to welcoming you at a future meeting or event.  Until further notice, we are meeting remotely via video conference.  We are joining the 8/14 AIA Oregon Virtual Happy Hour at 4:00 to discuss allyship within our profession.  Join us!  If you have any questions or would like to receive meeting notices and committee announcements, please e-mail us at info@aiaoregon.org.

Message from the AIA Oregon Board Secretary

Misti Nelmes, AIA
AIAO Board Secretary

A Call to Non-Members - You Are Important

Hi, I’m Misti Nelmes, Board Secretary, Architect, and a new member with AIA Oregon.  After a career of 17 years, half practicing architecture, half in the energy efficiency industry, I decided heading into 2020 it was time to get involved with AIA. Given how this year has unfolded, I’m grateful for that decision and would like to share why.

Shortly after graduating from the University of Oregon in 2003, I moved to Bend where my career in architecture predominantly existed.  I moved there during the pre-recession boom and was fortunate to stay employed through the downturn.  Mentorship came from my boss and peers at the small office where I worked, which was great.  However, as I started to prepare for the ARE’s I first felt the void of not being connected to a larger professional network.  At the time, AIA membership in Bend required joining AIA Southwestern Oregon, centered in Eugene 130 miles away, and I just couldn’t see the value in paying fees to an organization that didn’t have a presence in my community.  I also didn’t see access to resources that would help me prepare for the ARE’s, which even despite the lack of a local network, could have been provided through the internet (Bend isn’t that remote).  So, I borrowed ARE study manuals, buckled down, asked questions from a few peers that recently tested, and drove myself across the mountains 10 times to take the exams – since the only testing locations were in Portland or Eugene.  It worked, but I felt, wouldn’t it be nice if there were more support for emerging professionals in regional areas?   

That experience wasn’t necessarily negative, it just didn’t label the AIA in my mind as a valuable resource.  As I continued practicing, I found that continued to be true as I navigated maintaining my license.  Though eligible CEU’s were provided through AIA, I had to pay for them on top of paying the annual membership and they weren’t any easier to access, or any more interesting, than finding free online courses myself.  The potential additional value of having access to a broader network was there, but again, across the Cascades. I was left questioning whether that easily recognizable acronym on my signature line was worth the cost and effort to reap the value that I needed.

The restructuring of the AIA in Oregon entirely reset my perception.  Having a local section in my area was the first reason I became interested in becoming a member; finally, my resources would be funneled to my local network.  But more so, when I began to follow the shift in culture is when I decided to become an active member and decided to jump in full force by taking on the role of Board Secretary.  I’m inspired by the possibility to shape this organization’s future and be a voice for those in similar situations as myself while also learning from the front line.  Not only is the Bend Section directly represented by its members, but there is a burgeoning vision of connecting all Sections to each other, sharing resources, leveraging content and momentum to regional sections – and vice versa.  I am inspired by this; the strength of our Sections should not be limited by the membership numbers, or the topography divide between us.  As a practicing architect in Oregon, an AIA Oregon member now has access to statewide peers, knowledge, professional development, etc.  There is value in learning from local peers, as well as those practicing in different regions of our state.  At no other time during my observation of this organization operating in our state have I felt this to be true. 

Fast forward to the here and now, I feel it is more true than ever that AIA Oregon members have an opportunity to shape what the organization is, and leadership is listening.  As a parent juggling family, work, and health during a global health and social injustice crisis, I see the resources AIA Oregon providing members as a lifeline to maintaining business operations, continuing education, and - most importantly - connection.  It would be all too easy (and logical) to scale back, not get involved, focus on my most immediate needs.  Membership gives me the opportunity to be engaged in this moment in a way that aligns with my personal values.  I feel reinvigorated, reminded of how design touches all facets of community, and how we can make an impact together.  I’m also reminded of how important maintaining connection is, so that when crisis calls, we have a place to band together.   I am thankful I joined the AIA.

“What you put into life, is what you get out of it” rings true.  This isn’t necessarily a plug for membership, though I hope my story resonates with some of you.  My ask is to those that aren’t members; if you’re a practicing architect in Oregon, why are you not a member of AIA Oregon?  Do you have a similar perception of the “old” AIA?  I genuinely want to hear your story.  I hope you want to get involved, but as a non-member, your voice is equally if not more important in shaping the future of this organization. 

Message from an AIA National Board At-Large Director

Britt Lindberg, AIA, LEED AP
2020-2022 AIA National Board At-Large Director

Hello AIA Oregon colleagues,

One of the most rewarding things about being an architect and AIA member, particularly in these important and challenging times, is leading collaborative teams to help envision, design, and build a truly better world for the future of all. It is with this spirit that I approach my work as a Technical Director on commercial workplace projects at Gensler in San Jose, CA. It is also with this spirit that I am honored to serve as your AIAO liaison to the AIA National Board, in my role as a 2020-2022 AIA National Board At-Large Director, elected by delegates last year at the A’19 conference.

I became an AIA member after achieving licensure in 2007, just over 5 years after graduating with an M.Arch. from UC Berkeley. I joined the AIA as I was working with a small firm at the time, and wanted to learn from more peers and mentors if there were additional ways of practicing which I maybe wasn’t aware of yet. I quickly found that I gained a lot of knowledge and inspiration from meeting with like-minded colleagues of all experience levels and sizes of practice. I soon volunteered to join the local AIA Silicon Valley Emerging Professionals Committee (EPC), founding its Young Architects Forum and leading programming geared toward recently-licensed colleagues that were seeking to improve their presentation, client relationship, and business savvy skills. The colleagues I met through the EPC then invited me to join the local board of directors, and I couldn’t say no to the opportunity to be involved in a policy-making role at the chapter level. At this time I also began working at Gensler in their San Jose office, where I still love working every day, as living in Silicon Valley I wanted to be a part of large-scale projects for global technology clients.

Seeing first-hand how the work of the AIA board, committees, and members was able to achieve something larger than was possible through project work alone, even large-scale projects, I was motivated to serve as the local AIA chapter president in 2014. Seeking a way to better increase the public awareness of the importance of design and architecture, and boost support to small firms, I launched the chapter’s now-annual Home Tours program. Being chapter president opened opportunities to serve on the AIA California board, ultimately as its 2018 president, which then led to the connections and support to run for national board election. At every step along the way, the personal and professional rewards keep growing – the close friendships with diverse, insightful, and enriching colleagues; the public speaking experience that helps me be more confident in my everyday work; the knowledge and leadership roles that help advance my career; the making a difference through advocacy, mentorship, climate action, equitable communities, and more; and the spreading awareness of the importance of design in helping people live, work, play, learn and heal better. These are my drivers in all that I do every day, and I encourage all of you to also be engaged, and follow your purpose!

Across the AIA today, much listening, planning, and action is being taken for all three urgent and interconnected priorities: racial justice, climate health, and human health.  For this work the AIA board, under President Jane Frederick’s leadership, is looking inwardly, to our members, firms, organization, and industry; and outwardly, to our industry allies, elected government leaders, and society at large.

While the below summary of AIA national updates is presented as separate sections, AIA understands that these issues are integrally related. Progress and success in one, will bring progress in another. We cannot have equitable communities without addressing racial justice, climate action, and human health. All are urgent, priority lenses through which the AIA board is approaching all AIA activities, and encouraging chapters and members throughout the organization to do the same. Only by working together will we make the large-scale, global, impactful, much-needed progress that we know is necessary.

Racial Justice
The AIA board issued this statement on systemic racial injustice:
https://www.aia.org/pages/6301167-aia-board-statement-on-systemic-racial-inj.

More than a statement, this is AIA’s commitment to listen, undo, rework, and take strong action against racial injustice toward people of color. AIA is also creating a Racial Justice Framework & Action Plan, that will identify short and long term actions the organization can take, to eliminate bias and barriers. This includes looking at the Honors & Awards programs, which are moving forward this year but some may experience delays as we examine and work to improve our processes to solicit, evaluate, and celebrate achievements with diverse, equitable, and inclusive results.  AIA has also actively strengthened our relationship with NOMA, who now is our 6th collateral partner organization (joining AIA’s shared work with NCARB, NAAB, AIAS, and ACSA).

This important work involves at least as much listening as it does discussion of policy change and action. Progress, decisions and actions are ongoing, and will take time. The board will keep AIAO leaders informed, and we also welcome all members’ input any time (my email address is below). In the meantime, I encourage all architects to be a part of making change locally – visit a K-12 school and show BIPOC children that they can and must become our future architects; be a mentor to local high school or college BIPOC students and help them navigate a successful and rewarding career path; ensure your firms and project teams are diverse and including community engagement processes; encourage BIPOC colleagues to join the AIA and serve in leadership roles on committees and boards, which is rewarding and impactful in so many ways; read books and watch online videos to learn about dismantling systemic racism. There is no time to lose.

Climate Action

In 2019 the board voted to prioritize climate action throughout the organization for 2020, in recognition of the great impact our buildings and projects have on the earth’s natural resources and environment. The need for urgent, coordinated action still stands. AIA has adopted the Committee on the Environment’s ‘Framework for Design Excellence’ as a holistic framework for design excellence. You can find more about the Framework, and many case studies and a ‘Super Spreadsheet’ to help evaluate your projects, online:

https://www.aia.org/pages/6201381-architecture-and-climate-action-the-path-f
https://www.aia.org/resources/77561-sustainability

 The AIA also just recently released its Climate Action Plan and Executive Summary, which all AIA chapters and members can use as a guide to take action in your projects and in your communities. This plan has been shared with AIAO leaders, who can forward to any that would like a copy. Also if your firm hasn’t yet signed on to the 2030 Commitment, this is a simple and powerful way to commit to and track your progress toward better energy performance and carbon neutral projects:

https://www.aia.org/resources/202041-the-2030-commitment 

COVID-19 Resources

As the country’s exposure to COVID-19 grew this spring, AIA responded quickly through formation of four task forces, who have and continue to develop important resources to members. An ArchMap was developed to share rapid response emergency facilities in a database; a checklist was developed to analyze if an existing building could be used as an emergency response shelter; facility re-opening guides were shared for different project types to assist in re-opening safely; business resources for firms were provided to reinforce the value architects provide in this challenging time; working with AIA components to be resilient in this uncertain time; and more. The main COVID-19 page on the AIA website at the 1st link below gathers many of these resources, while the 2nd link is to the Business Task Force’s work which I had the honor to be a part of directly:

https://www.aia.org/pages/6280670-covid-19-resources-for-architects

https://www.aia.org/resources/6295205-covid-19-business-resources-to-thrive-

AIA also recognizes this year is very challenging economically for many. New members graduating from college can sign up for 18 months of free membership, and dues waivers are available on an individual as-needed basis for existing members.  As with anything, if you have questions or would like more information, please contact me or your AIAO leaders and we are happy to assist.

Be Involved

All of the above, and more, are achieved through individual AIA members being engaged in the issues, and actively serving on local, state, and national AIA groups. There are hundreds of ways for all 94,000+ AIA members to be involved, expand your peer network, learn more from others, and, I believe, be a better architect as a result.  I look forward to working with all of you!

Respectfully,

Britt Lindberg, AIA, LEED AP
2020-2022 AIA National Board At-Large Director

Technical Director, Gensler, San Jose, CA
britt_lindberg@gensler.com