John Flynn, AIA
AIA Oregon President
AIA Leadership Summit 2024 Recap
Hello Colleagues –
Last week’s message offered a recap of our Oregon Leadership Summit and our State Capital Legislative Day. I hope you enjoyed reading about that. This week, I’m writing to give you a debrief on the National Leadership Summit which took place in Washington, DC last Tuesday – Friday. I was part of the AIA Oregon delegation that included representation from 3 Sections plus AIAO staff: Evon Calabrese, AIA Oregon (Portland) representative to AIA’s National Associates Committee; Kaley Fought, AIA Oregon (Salem) Immediate Past President; Curt Wilson, AIA Oregon (Eugene) representative to the 2024 AIA Strategic Council; Heather Wilson, AIA Oregon Executive Vice President and CEO; and yours truly.
The National Leadership Summit agenda included continuing education sessions, working sessions related to governance and organizational leadership, and most importantly, Capitol Hill Day in which we visited with representatives from several Oregon legislators’ offices – both Senate and House of Representatives. On “Hill Day,” we came prepared to advocate for three particular issues that, as a national organization, we support:
· Democracy in Design – a bill to codify that design work for new federal building projects will not be limited to any specific mandated style. H.R.964 - 118th Congress (2023-2024): Democracy in Design Act | Congress.gov | Library of Congress
· Revisions to federal contract fee caps – recommends that legislators contact the procurement regulators within the executive branch to make sure that existing fee caps are limited to only those contract types for which they are intended, and that the Qualifications-based Selection (QBS) standard applies to all other types of federal contracts for A/E services.
· Tax Relief for American Families and Workers – a bill to extend tax credits (initially enacted in 2017) that are set to expire in 2025. In addition to Low Income Housing Tax Credits, the bill addresses Research & Development Tax Credits, and would allow tax deductions of R&D expenses in the same year they are incurred. This business-friendly tax policy can be helpful to architecture firms that conduct research as part of their non-billable expenses. H.R.7024 - 118th Congress (2023-2024): Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act of 2024 | Congress.gov | Library of Congress
We typically don’t meet with the Senator or Congressperson – we meet with their senior aides and policy advisors, who are critical and active influencers within these legislative offices. These meetings were very engaging, and I felt invigorated while we roamed the halls of Congress and made our case to our legislators. We’ve heard the term “Citizen Architect” often in the past several years; participating in legislative affairs is a great way to influence change in our communities. I encourage all of us to step up, whenever possible, at the local, state, or national level.
On ensuing days at the conference, attendees delved into governance, professional advocacy, and innovative leadership strategies. We heard from candidates for the AIA Board of Directors –elections will take place during the A24 Conference in June. Our 2024 AIA President, Kimberly Dowdell, advocated for a Chief Architect in every major American city to help solve our most pressing urban problems. Inspiring speakers gave their takes on leadership through design.
There were numerous breakout sessions, one of which gave the Oregon delegation some interesting insights. AIA North Carolina runs a program called “Activate,” which offers thousands of dollars in grant funding to member-led and member-supported initiatives and events every year. Activate is a model for the mini-grant program recently recommended by AIA Oregon’s HQ Task Force and adopted by the Board of Directors. Our program is envisioned as a way to support architectural engagement in Oregon communities. It was exciting to see how successful AIA North Carolina’s Activate program has become in the 10 years since it began. And inspirational to imagine that we can have a similar impact here in Oregon.
Here's a link for more information on this year’s conference: Five key takeaways from 2024 AIA Leadership Summit
The AIA Leadership Summit is a great opportunity to gather in numbers to advocate for legislative advancement, meet and learn from other architects from across the country, and strengthen the relationships between our AIA DC leadership and state/local components. Every year, attendees come away with a sense of purpose and a refreshed perspective on our profession’s collective strength and capabilities. I’m already looking forward to next year!
Thanks and best regards to all!