Message from the AIA Southern Oregon Director

Sam Uccello, AIA
AIA Southern Oregon Section Director

Hello Oregon Architects and friends of Architects. My name is Sam Uccello, and I am the Section Director for Southern Oregon. I have been a licensed architect for over 24 years, an Oregon resident, and a member of the Oregon AIA since 2015.

A little about myself, I attended and received my degree from the University of Illinois at Chicago. This included a year overseas study at the Ecole D’Beaux Arts in Versailles France. During my time in Versailles I traveled extensively in Western and Eastern Europe, including Russia. I have had many successful projects in southern Oregon as well as in the Caribbean, Cypress, Spain, and many on the eastern United States.

Southern Oregon has so much to offer including outdoor activities, world class wineries, the Shakespeare Festival in Ashland, and a thriving architectural community. We have a diverse range of Architecture firms that are responsible for all types and sizes of projects.

As a group in Southern Oregon, we are striving to showcase our Architects and projects. For example, last year we had a successful People’s Choice Awards. Southern Oregon has not had a People’s Choice Awards in a few years and with the success of the one we had last year we hope to make it an annual event.

We are also hopeful we can start in-person meetings by the end of summer or early fall. We have had many suggestions on finding venues to hold our first in-person meeting. Since we have so many world class wineries, we may start there.

Last year there were devastating fires in Phoenix and Talent which have kept many Architects in our area busy with rebuilding. Last year Curt Wilson and Andrew Owen were invited to participate in a radio program to respond to a misleading letter to the editor on rebuilding Talent and Phoenix. It was a successful way for our professional organization to set the record straight on rebuilding after a natural disaster.

We have had discussions about working with Re-make Talent, which is an organization working to facilitate information for the community to rebuild. The web address is http://remaketalent.org.

One of the items that Architects may be able to help with is to contribute generic house plans for the library they are setting up on their web site. In this process we are also learning from Rebuild Paradise, an organization responding to the California fires in 2018.

Southern Oregon emerging professionals are working together to help each other in the process of getting licensed. There has been a lot of sharing about the way that the new testing is being conducted via online testing. I have heard some positive responses to online testing.  Also, the emerging professionals recently accomplished an in-person visit of a project under construction. This is something that we will strive to continue with the emerging professionals.

As always, we wish to bring in more Architects to AIA Oregon from the Southern Oregon section. We constantly reach out to individuals and firms that are not currently part of AIA and encourage them to join and participate in all the activities the AIA Oregon has to offer.   

I encourage anyone to reach out directly to me with comments, concerns and info on upcoming events and programs at designdept@SBJames.com and remember to register for the Thursdays @ Three where there is so much information about AIA Oregon and the different sections, including our own Southern Oregon Section.

Thank you.

Samuel Uccello

Message from the AIA Oregon Treasurer

Stephanie Morales
AIAO Treasurer

When I joined the AIA as an Associate AIA member in 2017, after completing the three-year master’s program at the University of Oregon, I never imagined myself landing here as your Statewide Chapter Treasurer just four years later. That bright-eyed student knew too well that she had so much to learn, and so many challenges yet to overcome before gaining any position of leadership within the profession, even less a local chapter of a national organization. Nonetheless, I am here. I am here as one of two current Associate AIA Board members, and as one of the few people of color currently holding the position of AIAO Board member. 

I got involved with AIAO when I became an active member of the Committee on Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (CoEDI). The work by this committee, Co-Chaired by Kelly Chanopas and Octavio Gutiérrez, along with the AIAO Board, became the bedrock for what we now know as the AIAO Social Justice Action Plan and the Social Justice Resources Page on the AIAO website. This shift in conversation cannot be discussed without the global impact that the murder of George Floyd had on our society. May 25th will mark one year since Mr. Floyd’s murder. In the time that has passed, AIAO held a listening session to hear from its members regarding social justice and CoEDI hosted the annual Future Vision Conference last November, centering on Critical Race Theory and community advocacy as a means for equitable design. Community members formed the Portland chapter of NOMA, and firms around the state are gathering to report on the implementation of equity, diversity, and inclusion ideals within their practice.

So where do we go from here? During the first Board meeting of 2021, we held a planning session where each member had to commit to one of the Social Justice Action Plan Framework Goals in a tangible way. My commitment to you, our members, is to increase the number of BIPOC Board Members to better represent the diversity within our community. What I have learned in these past few months as your Treasurer is that I will always be encouraged to share my thoughts during Board meetings, and I feel welcomed to think critically on how the Board can better support its ever-changing membership. This support fuels my commitment to inspiring others to arise and become the future leaders of our chosen profession, but my commitment takes more than the power that I hold, it also takes you. 

We need your voice as a future AIAO Board Member. I’m looking at all of our BIPOC members who may have never seen themselves reflected in leadership. I see you. While it’s important to gain knowledge and devote oneself to the work, it’s also very important to lead, be part of the waves of change. Be the mover. Whether you are a recent graduate, an emerging professional, or a seasoned professional. You matter, your voice matters. I truly believe we can make positive change if we work together with sincere commitments to centering justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion. This means having each of our organizations reflect the population it serves. Our collective consciousness has been elevated and we cannot turn back now. Will you take up the challenge? Will you support your fellow BIPOC designers to lead as the next AIAO Board member? The change we need is within us, we just have to answer its call. 

If you are interested in joining the CoEDI, contact info@aiaoregon.org. 

If you would like to learn more about this topic or get involved, visit our social justice resources page at: https://www.aiaoregon.org/social-justice-action-plan or email info@aiaoregon.org.

Message from the Outgoing AIA Oregon EVP

Curt Wilson, AIA
Outgoing. AIAO EVP/CEO

Thank you for your support

As I write my last message as an employee of AIA Oregon, I realize that I had no idea when I took over this role after my friend Robert Hoffman left to re-enter practice all the emotions I would feel as I exit to re-enter practice as Wilson Architecture.  The decision to become the interim Executive VP of AIA Oregon was not the result of a developed plan, but an opportunity to serve this organization at a high level and to challenge myself personally through a new experience.  The opportunity came about 6 months into our transition to a single state chapter, the new AIA Oregon. As a long-term board member of the old AIA Oregon, I was deeply involved in the reasons to become a single state chapter and what we anticipated as the benefits, but like all others leading the transition, I didn’t understand the depth of the challenges until after we committed.

My combined experience as chair of the legislative committee, state board leader, mid-size firm leader, and resident of Eugene gave me the perspective to help connect across our former chapters and modify how we all engage with AIA to move closer to the ideals we anticipated for the single state chapter.  I appreciate that the AIAO Board of Directors, led by 2019 President Seth Anderson, AIA and 2020-21 President Amy Vohs, AIA supported me through the last 22 months. Seth, Amy, all board members, and committee leaders gave me latitude to lead and move in directions that I recommended. That level of support was fundamental to help us get through the events of 2020 and early 2021 in good shape and ready to take on the future, a future that includes a new Portland home and the resumption of in-person events. 

On Monday, I return to AIA Oregon as an active and engaged member. As a member, I’m excited for the future led by our new EVP/CEO, Heather Wilson. We are lucky that an experienced AIA component leader who has worked in North Carolina and Utah is interested in being part of AIA Oregon.  Heather has been involved with the AIAO staff team for about 4 weeks now. She’s demonstrated the rare combination of leadership, support, and guidance.  Connect with Heather soon to help her learn more about your part of Oregon.

I mentioned above that I didn’t anticipate the feelings I would have this final week. I didn’t realize how difficult it would be to leave the AIAO staff team. The team includes Colleen Bastendorff, Adrienne Morris, and Kathy Wendland. Our team is split between Eugene and Portland, and in my view, we embody the transition from individual chapters to a single, unified chapter.  When I started in the middle of 2019, we were working in Portland and Eugene, doing things as they were done in the past.  For the past year or so, working from home has brought us all together.  We meet daily via Zoom and approach all our tasks as a team.  We enjoy each other’s company, support each other, and do more together than we could alone.  I will miss being part of the team. Colleen, Adrienne, and Kathy, I’ve always been so impressed with your commitment to AIA Oregon and to the importance of serving our members.  Thank you for your support.