Message from the EPC Co-Chair

Evon Calabrese, Associate AIA
Emerging Professionals Committee Co-Chair

I would like to encourage you to attend the first annual AIA Oregon Leadership Summit, February 21, 2024.

At this event AIA members will gather in Salem, Oregon to learn first-hand about current legislative agenda items that affect the architectural community and the clients we serve (guided by the AIA Oregon Legislative Committee). We will also hear from members  and staff of the Oregon State Board of Architectural Examiners (OSBAE) and discuss the importance of personal and professional advocacy.

The Oregon Leadership Summit was especially designed to be an exciting opportunity for emerging professionals and new members. A new, member-driven concept, it gives you the opportunity to discuss ongoing legislation and meet the Oregon licensing board, which is no longer part of the licensure process. For members interested in public policy, governance, and local and national issues, this event is crucial to becoming a “citizen architect,” and you’ll have the chance to meet with your state representatives at the Capitol.

Not sure if this is for you? Join me February 7 for an informational session with my co-chair, Savannah Sinowitz, and AIAO EVP / CEO Heather Wilson. We’ll discuss what to expect, how to prepare, and how you can have the greatest impact on policies that shape your professional landscape.

 AIA Oregon is offering reimbursements for attendees actively participating in AIA Section or State-wide Committees as well as AIA Associate member Emerging Professionals committee members working toward licensure.

Reimbursement will be provided for travel to and from the event (from your home Section) and for one night hotel stay in Salem. We’ll also carve out some time to get to know each other in a more casual setting, so keep an eye out for information on an Emerging Professionals Social Hour the evening before in Salem.

Schedule:
2/20    5:00pm           Evening EP Social Hour

2/21    9:00am           Breakfast and Priority Issue Briefing (Salem YMCA)

            10:00am        Advocacy Visits (Oregon Capitol)

            12:00pm        Lunch with OSBAE and the Power of Personal Advocacy

                                    Event is scheduled to conclude by 2pm.           

I hope to see new faces as well as those of you I know are passionate about how we, as architects, can have a stronger voice for the built environment and the communities we live in and serve. Please reach out with questions! We would love to hear from you.

Register for this event here

Evon Calabrese, AIA
Co-Chair, AIAO EP Committee

Message from the AIA Oregon HQ Task Force Co-Chairs

Elisa Ahn, AIA
Alan Scott, FAIA
Co-Chairs, AIA Oregon HQ Task Force

AIA Oregon HQ Task Force: Pivoting Beyond Bricks and Mortar

Throughout 2023, the HQ Task Force embarked on a mission to not just find a new address, but to reimagine our presence in Oregon. We started with questions: What do members want from the chapter? How can we meet your needs, recognizing the ways in which we live, work, and interact are changing? What financial realities do we face?

As we delved into the hearts and minds of our diverse membership, a nuanced picture emerged – one that caused the Task Force to question our initial assumption that the answer to our challenges lay in a new HQ space or spaces. We realized that, in addition to being financially restrictive, a traditional brick-and-mortar investment was not what most members wanted. Instead, you told us that investing in physical spaces could mean getting stuck: with big recurring costs, in locations that would leave some people out, and in spaces that may quickly become architecturally dated.

This brought us to a paradigm shift. After deeply listening, we moved away from our limited exploration of physical space and toward a broad reconsideration of AIA Oregon’s relationship with people and places.

The result is a set of recommendations adopted by the Board of Directors last week. Our top recommendation was that the chapter should not pursue ownership or long-term leases of spaces, for now. From there, we pivoted into what the chapter should do, introducing specific actions and initiatives to strengthen and serve Oregon’s architecture community.

Our recommendations include:

• Hiring additional AIA Oregon staff to support sections and grow member engagement

• Investing in new, statewide programs – and providing clarity and resources for anyone involved in planning events

• Reimagining the structure of section steering committees to provide more support to volunteers, nurture leaders, and encourage broader participation

• Boosting advocacy and civic involvement at the board level and beyond

• Developing a mini grant program to support architectural initiatives in Oregon communities

• Reimagining our Allied Professional membership, with an eye toward building stronger bonds throughout the A/E/C community

As co-chairs of the AIA Oregon HQ Task Force, we believe this bold step away from the traditional HQ model represents a defining moment in our history. It's a decision guided by unwavering member focus, financial prudence, and a vision for a future where every architect across Oregon feels connected, supported, and empowered to thrive.

We are deeply grateful to the Task Force members who volunteered their time and effort to create this new vision, and to everyone who showed up to help us define our new opportunities together. We look forward to seeing these ideas come to life – and to experiencing the impact of a strengthened foundation and a community-led vision for our chapter.

Elisa Ahn and Alan Scott
Co-chairs, AIA Oregon HQ Task Force

You can go to our Creating a New HQ webpage to learn more.

Message from the AIA Oregon President-Elect

John Flynn, AIA
AIA Oregon President-Elect

Looking Forward

Hello, Colleagues –

I’m writing to you from the President-Elect’s desk for the last time.  The New Year is just around the corner and I’m honored to step into a new role as AIA Oregon’s President.  Thank you, Kaley Fought, for your leadership over the past two years!  And for your continued expertise next year in your role as Immediate Past President.

For me, I’m excited and looking forward to 2024.  We’ve been growing as a single-state chapter.  Think of it.  In 2018 we, as an organization, voted to consolidate our four Chapters into a single entity with five Sections.  As 2024 begins, we are starting our sixth year as the Oregon Chapter of AIA.  We have established our core values around stewardship in terms of climate change, resiliency, and universal design as well as our increased commitment to equity, diversity, and inclusion at every level of engagement in our profession.  It’s time for us to solidify how we take our statewide strengths to the section level.  This is where we can build volunteer capacity and provide meaningful services for our members. I’m thinking of more programs and engagement opportunities for all our Sections!

Let me tell you what else I’m looking forward to in the coming year:

• Increased programming and member services:  Our budget outlook is healthy, and we will be using our resources to increase programs and services.  This may even take the form of adding to our AIAO staff so that we can fully serve all sections.

  We are currently “unburdened” from paying for leased spaces (see my next bullet point) and that provides us with opportunities to channel our resources to areas that will have a direct impact on all our members.

• A new idea for how we interconnect – the not HQ:  As you may have read in our previous “Message From…” posts, the results of our HQ Task Force survey and outreach/engagement with membership over the past months has yielded an understanding that, for now, we don’t necessarily need a physical headquarters space.  This idea comes from our sensibility that, as a statewide organization, we can connect, exchange, and collaborate without the financial challenges of leasing and/or building-out a permanent physical space.

  When we need to connect in person, we’ll find places/facilities that meet the needs of the moment, thereby keeping our operations lean and statewide-focused.  The Task Force that’s been working hard for almost a year-and-a-half will be presenting recommendations to the AIAO Board of Directors in January for how we can elevate our game with a new perspective on AIA Oregon’s “home.”

• The Oregon Design Conference:  The Conference will take place in Bend, May 8 – 10, 2024.  ODC 24 will offer the state’s 1500+ AIA members educational programming and networking opportunities.  We are planning an in-person conference with opportunities for members to access recordings of the presentations after the event.

  The conference theme of ODC 2024 “Beyond Shelter: Confronting Our Housing Crisis, Together” will address the housing crisis, sustainability, and resilience through the lens of what actions architects can take to have a positive impact.  Architects have a responsibility to consider their role and the possibilities that exist for their collaborative impact.  More information will be coming soon on the state’s only conference on the practice of architecture!

• Increased advocacy and civic engagement:  AIA Oregon will continue to address issues, both statewide and locally, that affect us as design professionals and community leaders.  We have an active Legislative Affairs Committee and, although 2024 is a short session for our state legislators, we expect our voice to be heard in matters of business interests, the built environment, and climate action.  Public policy advocacy is such an important aspect of our organization.

Finally, I’m looking forward to connections with members and partners.  I’m committed to engaging with Section activities across the state – in person as often as I can. And that gets us back to where I started with today’s message.  Let’s make the most of our statewide strengths.  I’m excited for a productive 2024 with all of you!

Thanks and Happy Holidays to everyone!