Claire Blaylock
Executive Director, AFO
My name is Claire Blaylock and I am the Executive Director of the Architecture Foundation of Oregon. The best part of this job is making connections with communities across the state of Oregon, and getting to collaborate with innovative, dedicated, and passionate members of the AEC field. Seriously, where else can you find a room full of professionals who geek out over CLT, debate the technologies of biophilic design, and which Pac-12 football team has the best shot at the Rose Bowl? When I’m not at work discussing the aforementioned topics, I enjoy taking long walks on the beach, sipping coffee, and reading The New Yorker magazine cover-to-cover. Just kidding! I do enjoy these things, I also have 3 kids who are 9,7 and 2.5 years old- so my walks on the beach involve frantic running to keep children from being swept away by sneaker waves.
The last time we were able to gather in a large group for Honored Citizen was 2019 BC (Before Covid). Last year we honored Oregon’s Teachers virtually for our event, but this year we are finally able to gather in person. We know that some folks may feel nervous about gathering in a larger group at Honored Citizen but rest assured that we are taking safety protocols seriously. We will be requiring proof of vaccination, masking when not eating or drinking, and reducing the number of guests per table.
Honored Citizen is one of our field’s most cherished evenings for good reason - not only do we all get to come together and see friends and colleagues but we get to honor a great contributor to our community. This year we are honoring that fantastic and amazing Interiors Architect Carol Edelman. As one of the first female leaders of an Architecture firm in Oregon, Carol embodies so many of the values that we hold at AFO but also that we hold as a community. Over the course of her career and her life in Oregon, Carol has cemented her legacy by highly valuing mentorship, community commitment, education, and creativity. From the famed Uncle Chen’s Restaurant in Portland to the visitor center at Mt. St. Helens, Carol’s work spans our region. As the youths these days say – “If You Know-You Know”- but if you don’t know, come to Honored Citizen and leave truly inspired and moved by Carol’s work and her story.
Honored Citizen is also a chance for us to gather and celebrate our accomplishments and look toward the future. I am the first person to admit that our field has work to do in order to work toward greater industry diversity, social equity, and broader inclusion - but we have started to take important steps. NOMA-PDX, AIAO, AFO, NAMC, Room for More and others have started sharing knowledge and coordinating to form a coalition of organizations dedicated to creating inclusive and diverse internship opportunities for high school students. The focus of the group is to provide student-centered experiences and ensure that the professionals and teams working with the students have been trained to work with youths from diverse backgrounds. In creating supportive opportunities for students of all kinds, we – as a field- are taking huge steps towards making our work more accessible to a wide variety of students.
There have not been many opportunities to celebrate anything together over the past 22 months. But now we are starting to get on the other side of our great period of social distancing. We hope you are able to join us for Honored Citizen, and if you can’t come in person we have a streaming option as well. But if you are unable to participate this year, I hope you feel inspired to join one of the amazing groups who are working hard to increase access to our field and strengthen our community.