Curt Wilson, AIA
Executive Vice President
AIA Members in Oregon,
My name is Curt Wilson and I’m an architect, a member, and the Executive Vice President/CEO for AIA Oregon. I’m in this role because of the opening created when our former EVP, Robert Hoffman, acted on a great opportunity to re-enter Architecture practice. Robert did a lot for AIA Oregon and AIA Portland during his tenure and I encourage you to let him know how much you appreciate his service and leadership.
Thursday at 3, or T@3 as we call it, started in the Southwestern Oregon Chapter, now the AIA Eugene Section, a few years ago. The intention is to reach out to all members on a consistent basis to identify the various events and programs we are scheduling, as well as other events of interest to our members. AIA Oregon took over the T@3 in the Spring and the feedback we’ve received is generally positive. While we are grateful for that, we (staff and board leadership) recognize the need to communicate more directly about what we are doing and why. Therefore, this is the first of a new weekly message from those of us involved in board or committee leadership.
As you may already know, we reorganized our structure starting this year from four local chapters and the state council, to a single state chapter (AIA Oregon) with five local sections (AIA Bend, AIA Eugene, AIA Portland, AIA Salem, and AIA Southern Oregon). This transformative process began in 2013 with a directive from National to prioritize a higher level of member service available to all members. I credit Robert and the chapter leaders from the past few years for embracing the challenge of re-organization. However, change is neither quick nor easy, and I believe we are not yet living up to the promise of a better member experience for all of us.
The Board and our leaders, President Seth Anderson, AIA, and President-Elect, Amy Vohs, AIA are committed to making the promise a reality.
We’ve engaged in a series of planning events over the past few years to get to this point, including a day-long planning session at the Portland Center for Architecture on October 18, 2019 focused on what we are going to do better and/or different in 2020. See the recap here. Our planning is organized in four strategic initiatives, and we formed groups dedicated to moving each of the initiatives forward. The initiatives are:
Strategic Initiative 1 – Elevate the Member Experience
Strategic Initiative 2 – Enhance Professional Development
Strategic Initiative 3 – Improve Our Communities
Strategic Initiative 4 – Adapt to the Changing Profession
Look for periodic updates in the T@3 about our strategic initiative planning efforts.
One of my observations since taking this role is that across the state there are a lot of events and programs going on, but because we operated as independent chapters, we didn’t really know what the others were doing. As this year started, we didn’t recognize the value in communicating all that we do, therefore most people are not aware of what is going on. Through this weekly e-newsletter, what will be a more robust website, and more activity on some social media platforms, we plan to communicate better about what is happening. For example, on 10.23, the Eugene Section celebrated the annual People’s Choice Awards program, and on 10.25, the Portland Section celebrated the annual Architecture Awards program. I think John Reynolds, FAIA and I are the only two people who participated in both events. Both are high quality programs that show the diversity of work and the diversity of firms in Oregon.
I’m honored and excited to be your EVP and take very seriously the responsibility to help create a better AIA in Oregon. This phrase sums up my approach to this role, “growing the collective impact of each of us”, because this statement both highlights the potential of what we can do together and emphasizes that each member, each person is important.
In my short time in this role, it is clear to me that many of you take pride in being part of this profession, care about AIA, and want to see a stronger organization. The foundation of a strong organization is an active and engaged membership, and that’s what our initiatives are intended to grow. I encourage you to find the AIA Oregon committees, groups, and programs that you are interested in and get involved. Let’s make AIA better together!
As a Eugene resident leading this organization headquartered in Portland, I split my time between Portland and Eugene, and I intend to participate in as many events in Bend, Medford and Ashland, and Salem as possible. I’ve reached out to many members, firm leaders, and representatives of related organization to meet and discuss how we together can create a better profession for all of us. Please reach out to me if you would to meet and lets schedule a time. You can call or text to 541-912-0878, email me at cwilson@aiaoregon.org, and/or check in with me on Instagram at @curtwilsonaia.
Respectfully,
Curt Wilson, AIA