It has been my privilege to serve as one of California’s representatives on the National board for the last few years.  Assigned to the new Communication Committee, I had a chance to be a part of the repositioning effort from its beginning.  The first year saw the most comprehensive effort in AIA’s history to document the connections, and disconnections, between members, non-members , emerging professionals, clients and allies, and the public at large.  The results, taken as a whole, were sobering; but at the same time, it was heartening to see an emerging optimism and hope for change. I like many believe this effort will ultimately reposition our profession to align with a robust and expanding future.

As repositioning has moved beyond information into action and results, I’ve been fortunate again, in securing appointment to the new Practice and Prosperity Committee.  This group is one of the key places where the “rubber will hit the road” as we make the course adjustments that lead to prosperity.  It is also a platform from which new ways of doing business – both as professionals, and as our institute - may surface and be vetted.

As I near the end of my term as a California regional director, I would like to take what I’ve learned and put it to work for California directly as 1st VP/President Elect. 

The driver of my candidacy is a single word:

FOCUS

We all realize that we don’t have the resources or energy to be all things to all people.  At the AIACC under a continuum of talented leaders and high performing staff, we are well on the way to aligning our fiscal and operational forces with a focused, select group of our passions and needs. 

I hope to add a passion for action and for member connectivity that has been demonstrated over my 35 years of AIA membership.  Examples of passionate and proactive work on behalf of the AIA over the last decade:

•  Instituted virtual meetings and leadership action at the AIACV, including vetting a national conversation, researching legal issues, and penning the bylaws revisions that made it possible.  This effort resulted in a National Grassroots Individual Excellence Award in 2009.

• Moved the AIACC to a new Content Management based web platform as VP of Communications as a personal mission (an unbudgeted adventure that unfolded in the last few months of my term)

•  Launched the very first AIACC presence in social networking including facebook, linked-in, blogs, and even a live twitter feed from the 2011 Montery Design Conference.    

• Brought conversations about the role of Architects in shaping Permit Streamlining in their communities; from the AIA Convention in Denver and soon in Chicago, to speaking engagements at WoodSolutions Fairs in Baltimore, Washington, Minneapolis, Long Beach, and other cities around the country.   This personal passion has also led to launch of a web platform devoted to Architects sharing best practices: PermitStreamline.Com.  One measure that has gotten traction around the US is the annual Code Conversations program founded over a decade ago at the AIACV which has increased regional collaboration and consistency in the Central Valley.

• Personally took action over a multiyear period to help inspire the launch of the Central Valley’s first professional Architectural program, using a new paradigm that directly integrates education, experience and licensure; even serving as Architect for the current build out underway scheduled for a fall completion in urban Sacramento

These examples illustrate how I’ve been able to focus my energy and drive to touch fellow professionals, allies and beyond, spanning across the diversity of our membership, our businesses, and our interests. 

I hope to help lead the AIACC it’s evolution toward an evidenced based leadership model which I believe has potential to leverage our precious time and resources: finding consensus on what data best illustrates the disconnections and opportunities we want to focus on; and then providing the metrics that will allow us to confirm that our programs and initiatives are moving us in the intended direction.

Most would agree that the ‘new normal’ has more uncertainty, and more variability. The challenges ahead are daunting; but they are also energizing when put into the context of sustainability, service to society, and the power of design: all focused on issues we are trained to address as society’s stewards of the built environment.