From navigating day to day work/life challenges to mapping strategic career goals, charting your professional development, assessing periodically, and correcting your course can increase the likelihood for sustainable career satisfaction and success. During this quarter's workshop, you will gain insight from architect leaders who have used career mapping tools to navigate goals, options and challenges within their own career trajectory. You will learn and apply tools for strategic goal setting in your professional development as well as techniques/ideas for the immediate challenges of reconciling work/life conflicts which have more impact than you think. Working together, participants will map these macro and micro career mapping approaches highlighting connections between individual goals, prioritizing in both personal and professional contexts for realizing a rewarding and positive results.

Join us at AIASF on Thursday August 17th.

Registration is $25 for General Admission and $20 for AIA Members

Light Food & Beverages will be provided.

CEU's - 1.5 Credits

#EQxDChartYourPath Event Agenda

6pm - 6:15pm Registration and Networking

6:15 - 7pm Intro & Panel Discussion

7pm - 7:35pm Charting your Path Workshop

7:35pm - 7:45pm Report Back & Conclusions

7:45 - 8pm Networking and Clean-up

Meet the Career Mapping Mavens!

Jill Bergman, AIA, ACHA, EDAC, LEED AP

Principal, HDR Inc.

Jill is a Principal at HDR, and a leader in healthcare facility design. Jill holds her architecture licensed in California and is an ACHA board certified healthcare architect; and that is a good thing because she tried and failed at a career in standup comedy. Her background is all healthcare projects, mostly large firms, mostly large projects, mostly medical planning. She attended Clemson University for both her BA in Design and M.Arch, Architecture + Health program. She believes architectural design is a team sport; that hospitals are small magical cities; a short, well run meeting is a thing of beauty; and the intersection of data and buildings will grow exponentially in the next few years. In her past, she has taught residencies with the bay area LEAP Architects in School program, served on the AIA San Francisco Board of Directors, the AIA Academy of Architecture for Health National Board of Directors, chaired the Scholarships and Fellowships Committee for the AIA/Academy of Architecture for Health.

Lilian Asperin, AIA

Associate and Project Director, WRNS Studio

Lilian values a firm culture that embraces collaboration, connection to the community, risk taking and fostering talent. As an Associate and Project Director for WRNS Studio’s San Francisco office, she helps lead the design process and build teams that deliver aspirational outcomes. Lilian attended the University of California, Berkeley and graduated with honors. After completing her studies, Lilian worked at architecture firms around the Bay Area, including Stanley Saitowitz, the City of San Francisco’s Bureau of Architecture, SOM and NBBJ. A leader within the Society for College and University Planning (SCUP), she organized the first-ever Hackathon for MOOC’s as part of the Pacific Regional Conference and continues her involvement with the organization as Council Program Chair. Lilian also acts as Co-Chair of AIA San Francisco’s Equity by Design, a call to action for both women and men to realize the goal of equitable practice and communicate the value of design to society.

Workshop Moderator

Annelise Pitts, Associate AIA

Bohlin Cywinski Jackson

Annelise Pitts is a designer with Bohlin Cywinski Jackson in San Francisco, CA. In her design work, she has collaborated with clients and interdisciplinary design teams on programmatically complex design and planning projects. Recent projects include the UC Davis Large Lecture Hall, and campus planning for Dominican University of California.  As a member of the Equity by Design core team, and the group’s current research chair, she is responsible for the development and oversight of the Equity in Architecture Research Project. She looks forward to sharing the results of the 2016 survey at this year’s symposium. Annelise spends her time outside of work exploring California’s ski mountains, running and hiking trails, and traveling with her husband.

Learning Objectives - 1.5 AIA CEU/LU

1. Participants will be able to analyze data from career dynamics survey results, identify issues and frame problem statements related to pinch points in career dynamics.

2. Using examples shared by session leaders and question prompts participants will develop methods for articulating and negotiating professional development goals with senior leaders/employers

3. Participants will determine how to identify resources and prioritize workflow into immediate, short-term and long-term milestones.

4. Participants will assess work/life conflicts and learn strategies to better navigate challenges in their professional and personal lives.

This year, EQxD will be featuring Quarterly Topics for deep dive rumination, discussion and action!

Save the Date Wednesday, February 8th 6pm-8pm at AIA San Francisco

Disrupting Implicit Bias: Workshop Summary (#EQxDisruptBias)

Everyone has implicit bias. We develop our biases through our environment, the people we engage with, and the culture we grow up in. These interactions shape the expectations we have for ourselves, colleagues, and even potential clients. Thus, bias can have a major impact on the design process and desired outcomes in our profession. Additionally, reflecting on our own “Bias Blind Spot” is critical to building empathy and foster a culture of open communication. We will explore implicit bias in design and practice through research and storytelling. We will examine our “Bias Blind Spots” in small groups, and share resources to increase our awareness of bias in our workplace and foster strategies for tangible change.

2017 EQxD Chair Julia Mandell, AIA will be the moderator of the panel with a fresh roster of panelists to provide diverse insights on how to Disrupt Implicit Bias in their work. Rosa Sheng, AIA will provide a brief intro to topic to get things started.

Meet the Panelists for #EQxDisruptBias

Helen Bronston - Associate and Architecture Discipline Lead at SmithGroupJJR

Helen serves as Director of Architecture for the San Francisco office of SmithGroupJJR, where she is an associate.  Raised in Wisconsin, she holds a BA in Anthropology from Yale, and an MArch from Harvard, where she was awarded the AIA Adams Medal. Over her 26-year career she has worked exclusively for non-profit educational, healthcare, and governmental organizations, for that is where she has felt she can do the most good for the greatest number of people. She is currently serving on the board of directors for Joan’s House, a newly-forming shelter for transgender women who have been incarcerated. Her experience transitioning gender as an architect was profiled in the San Francisco Business Times on 12 June 2015. Unable to leave school behind, Helen is also very slowly writing a PhD dissertation in History of Architecture at UC Berkeley.

Sandra Vivanco - Principal, A+D, Architecture+Design

Sandra is founding principal of A+D, Architecture+Design, a San Francisco firm characterized by design excellence as well as innovative community-based processes. Published widely, Vivanco is sought as a Latino cultural expert with profound knowledge of modern art and architecture in Latin America. A Professor of Architecture and Diversity Studies at CCA, she is a Mission resident, an avid dancer, a mother of two public school graduates and is fluent in Spanish, Portuguese and Italian.

Michael D. Thomas, Esq. - Associate, Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart, P.C.

Michael is an Associate with the global law firm Ogletree Deakins in their San Francisco office.  He represents employers in all aspects of employment law.  He also works with employers on diversity and pay equity issues.  Michael has studied mindfulness, meditation and yoga with a focus on healing and self-regulation.  Recent publications include “Preventing Workplace Violence by Examining Trauma and the NFL” which incorporates mindfulness, meditation and body awareness in preventing workplace violence, and “How Employers Can Root Out the Influence of Unconscious Bias in Compensation Decisions.”  Recent speaking engagements include: Inclusion 2.0, “Intergenerational Trauma, Diversity and Inclusion;” Tech Inclusion Conference, “Awakening to Inclusion;” Association of Corporate Counsel event at Google, “Best Practices for Promoting Fair Pay;” Kaiser, Continuing Legal Education, “Implicit Bias” panel and lecturer, Berkley School of Law, “Mindfulness to Disrupt Suffering and Bias.”  He has a B.A. from Bucknell University and a J.D. from Boston College.

Ming Thompson, AIA - Principal, Atelier Cho Thompson

Ming is a principal of Atelier Cho Thompson, a San Francisco-based design and concept firm, engaged in the art of architecture, interiors, graphics, brand strategy, furniture, installations, and exhibition design. Ming and her partner Christina Yoo formed their firm with an aim to transcend the conventional boundaries between these disciplines, resulting in a richness borne of the cross-pollination of ideas and strategies from across this spectrum of design. Ming studied architecture at Yale University and the Harvard Graduate School of Design and has worked for large and small firms around the globe.  As a practicing architect, Ming is focused on bettering human experience through design; she insists that good design must occur at all scales, from the building to the furniture to the logo, and everything in between.  Outside of architecture, Ming serves on the Board of Trustees of the Yale-China Association and the Alumnae Council of The Madeira School, and teaches at the California College of the Arts.

Panel Moderator 

Julia V. Mandell, AIA - Architect at Wilson Associates

Julia is an experienced architect and planner with broad project experience in architecture, urban design, and landscape design. Currently designer and project manager at Wilson Associates, a design/build/development firm in Oakland, Julia’s recent work focuses on innovative commercial and residential projects that serve as urban catalysts. Julia is also very involved with AIASF’s Equity by Design, serving as the group’s 2017 Co-Chair. Previously, Julia worked for four years with SWA Group on large-scale urban design and landscape work in China and Houston, Texas. She received her Master of Architecture from Rice University and her Bachelor of Arts in Architecture from Columbia University.

Implicit Bias 101 Presentation

Rosa T. Sheng, AIA - Senior Associate, Bohlin Cywinski Jackson, AIASF 2018 President-Elect

Rosa is an architect with over 23 years experience, that has led a variety of award-winning and internationally acclaimed projects, from the aesthetically minimal, highly technical development of the glass structures for Apple’s original high-profile retail stores, to the innovative and sustainable LEED NC Gold–certified Lorry I. Lokey Graduate School of Business at Mills College in Oakland, California. As founding chair of Equity by Design and President-Elect 2018 of AIA San Francisco, Rosa has led Equity in Architecture Surveys in both 2014 and 2016, authored AIA National Resolution 15-1 in 2015, and served on the Equity in Architecture Commission in 2016. She has presented nationally and abroad including Boston, New York, Lisbon, Atlanta, Philadelphia, and Seattle. Equity by Design has been featured in Architect Magazine, Architectural Record, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, TEDxPhiladelphia and KQED/NPR.

Based on the results of the Equity in Architecture Survey, less than 50% of male and female respondents were satisfied with their current job situation.  In the same question, a large number responded that they were looking or open to new opportunities within the profession as well as alternative career paths.  Architecture AND... allows us the forum to evaluate traditional models of practice in comparison to emerging models that expand the exploration of design as an addition to practice; partnerships with clients and allied partners, integrated project delivery with multidisciplinary teams, recapturing talent with diverse skills and increased engagement in the workplace. Cultivating Architectural practice to be expansive, innovative, meaningful and influential explores a new way to increase job satisfaction, improve talent retention and sustainability of the profession.

What does Architectural practice look like 20 years from now and what are the potential in expanding the spectrum and adaptation of services that we can provide; reinforcing the value proposition of design as a societal necessity? Developing a diverse practice that straddles several related fields can be lucrative from both a business and creative standpoint. How can a multidisciplinary practice broaden our creative thinking when times are prosperous and deplete the potential risks of volatile building market? What kinds of divergent/convergent work make sense for architects and architecture firms to take on that will promote resiliency and relevance into the future?

Join us on Thursday, October 22nd 6pm-8:30pm for EQxD "U" Architecture AND, the last (and most provocative) workshop discussion of the EQxD Series at AIASF.  We will feature 4 diverse panelists from the AIASF community that are actively engaged in multidisciplinary practice models.  The second half of the workshop will feature a highly interactive "gamestorming" style design thinking exercise that will explore the possibilities of engage in professional practice in a multidisciplinary approach.

2 AIA LUs for this event.

10/22  Sample Workshop Agenda

Networking & Refreshments 6pm - 6:15pm
Introductions/Welcome 6:15 - 6:25pm
Panel Discussion 6:25 - 7:15pm
Break/Transition 7:15 - 7:20pm
Break Out - Design Thinking Exercise 7:20 - 8:10pm
Conclusions 8:10 - 8:30pm

We are excited to bring you the 3rd of 4 EQxD "U" Workshops 2015 - Negotiation is your Power Tool on August 13th at AIA San Francisco!

Based on our survey findings, less than 35% of all respondents negotiated their salaries after receiving an unsatisfactory offer. How can we become more effective negotiators for ourselves, our firms, and for the architectural profession-at-large?

There are many situations and types of negotiation — and ultimately it breaks down to communication styles and the choices we make when we engage in these situations. In this workshop, you will learn HOW to negotiate by understanding the key differences between key negotiation mindsets and then practicing

Join us Thursday, August 13th, 6pm-8:30pm for the most anticipated workshop of the EQxD series. We expect to sell out for this event, so register early. This session will feature a panel of negotiation experts from the AEC community followed by key strategies. Then, you will engage in role play scenarios of real life situations to practice effective outcomes for your next performance review, compensation discussion, contracts with your clients, and essential strategies to stand up to competitive types.

In April, AIA YAF Connection featuring Equity by Design topics including an article on negotiation strategies. A great resource to review prior to the workshop or a reference tool if you can't join us.

What's Flex Got to do with Success? Win-Win Strategies for Work/Life Flexibility

The 2nd EQxD "U" Workshop - What's Flex Got to Do With It? will explore the complexities of making work and life "work" together to fulfill your maximum potential and enjoying the journey along the way.

Inspired by Stew Friedman's book, Leading the Life you want, this workshop will provide a new perspective on how to navigate between the aspects of "life"; work, life, self, and community. Finding a way to achieve "four way wins" also impacts the bottom line by: providing access to a wider talent pool; increasing employee satisfaction, engagement and productivity; and reducing costly employee turnover.

Meanwhile, the architectural profession, driven by the studio culture of academia, commonly demands long, and often unpredictable, hours spent in the office. In this workshop, we will discuss the 3rd rail topics of flex time vs. traditional hours, taking a leave of absence, how to address bias towards those who need or choose to have flexibility of work schedules. We will explore successful strategies for both firm leaders and employees to develop infrastructure that promotes efficiency, balance and performance over the “Culture of Busy”.

MEET THE PANELISTS!

Our panel will feature 4 design professionals from diverse backgrounds; at various stages of personal and professional development. All 4 share their insights on the constant dance between work, life and everything in between. Following a summary of key survey findings on work life flexibility and caregiving, we will engage the panelists in an interactive Q&A. The second half of the session will leverage break-out groups to dive deep and propose actionable solutions to the work life flexibility challenges discussed.

Workshop Agenda

• Networking & Refreshments 6:00-6:15 pm
• Introductions/ Welcome 6:15-6:25pm
• Panel Discussion 6:25-7:15pm
• Break/ Transition 7:15-7:20pm
• Break-Out Groups/ Storytelling 7:20-8:10pm
• Report Back on Break-out Groups/ Conclusions 8:10-8:30pm

AIA CEUs - 2.0

Friday, 5/15/2015  (5:00 PM - 6:00 PM)

Georgia World Congress Center - Room B407 (LEVEL 4) Atlanta, Georgia

Through recent research, Work-life flexibility has emerged a key element of defining success for men and women in large and small firms. Flexibility is likely the most important, and easiest concrete measure firms can implement. This session will show both the how and why flexibility is essential to retain talent.

Panelists:

Lilian Asperin Clyman, AIA, LEED AP BD+C

Project Director, WRNS Studio; The Missing 32% Project Co-Chair, Albany, California

Emily Grandstaff-Rice, AIA, LEED AP BD+C

Associate, Cambridge Seven Associates, Inc., Cambridge, Massachusetts

Kelly Hayes McAlonie, AIA LEED AP

Director of the Capital Planning Group , University at Buffalo, Buffalo, New York

Rosa T. Sheng, AIA, LEED AP BD+C

Senior Associate, AIA San Francisco Board of Director, The Missing 32% Project Chair, Bohlin Cywinski Jackson, AIA San Francisco, Albany, California

Friday, 5/15/2015  (7:00 AM - 8:00 AM)  Room B405 - AIA Atlanta Convention

Many architects struggle with balancing the demands of a challenging career with family needs or other life pressures. This program will explore the difficult choices faced by architects in their on-going efforts to pursue their passion for design, commitment to family, career advancement, and pursuit of personal fulfillment. Focusing on challenges that people face when choosing career and family, three architects will discuss their personal journeys which have resulted in successful careers while maintaining life outside the office. The interactive session will also explore the role that office culture plays in the challenges and successes of navigating work-life balance.

Panelists:

• Lori Snyder Garrett, AIA, LEED Green Associate
• Senior Principal, Glave & Holmes Architecture, Richmond, Virginia
• Luanne G. Greene, FAIA, LEED AP
• Principal, Ayers Saint Gross, Baltimore, Maryland
• Jim Nicolow, AIA, LEED Fellow
• Principal, Lord Aeck Sargent
• Moderator: Rosa T. Sheng, AIA, LEED AP BD+C
• Senior Associate, AIA San Francisco Board of Director, The Missing 32% Project Chair, Bohlin Cywinski Jackson, AIA San Francisco, Albany, California

WE310 Equity by Design: Knowledge, Discussion, Action! 

Inspired by the sold-out October 18th Symposium in San Francisco, this workshop will feature the most popular break-out topics from each knowledge area: Hiring and retention, growth and development, meaning and influence. This energizing half-day workshop will begin by reviewing the findings from the 2014 Equity in Architecture Survey.  What is a Hackathon? You'll use design thinking skills in a rapid prototyping format and competition setting with an elevator pitch to present your initiative for best practices relating to talent recruitment, work/life flexibility, career advancement and transparency, mentorship, negotiation and more. 

Happy Hour at Studio No. 7 - 5/13 @ 5:30-7:30

Location: Studio No. 7 at 393 Marietta Street N.W. Atlanta, GA 30313

Following the WE310 EQxD Workshop, participants will be invited to a complimentary Happy Hour  (5:30pm-7:30pm) at Studio No. 7 for Jury deliberations and Awards. If you can't make the workshop, we will have registration and minor fee to attend Happy Hour event so that you can catch up on the highlights of the Hackathon! Proceeds beyond costs of the event go to funding the 2016 Equity in Architecture Survey.

Happy Hour registration includes networking, a recap of the EQxD Hackathon, Jury results and award announcements accompanied by an assortment of wines and appetizers inspired by Latin American and Asian cuisine that is seasonal and prepared with craft and care. 

THANK YOU FOR YOUR INTEREST.

AS OF MONDAY, May 11th. HAPPY HOUR IS SOLD OUT.

Satisfaction: Workplace Innovations to Attract, Develop and Keep Talent.

What is Satisfaction? What are the factors surrounding talent retention in firms? Is it work culture or diverse teams? Working on good design projects? Having a Transparent Promotion Policy? Role models in leadership positions? High salary? Meaningful work? 

While nearly half of today’s graduates from architecture programs are women, they make up only 25% of practitioners, and 17% of partners or principals in architecture firms. In the Hiring & Retention, we will examine survey results on the initial employment and retention of architectural professionals as it relates to gender equity. We will highlight “pinch points” around major career and life milestones at which women are more likely to leave a firm.  Our research has shown that those who believe that their daily work is aligned with long-term career goals are more likely to be satisfied with their jobs, and less likely to be looking for new employment opportunities.

This workshop will further explore what people need in the short term (ie.,happiness) vs. what they truly need for a meaningful career (that they may not even realize yet). We will have 3 feature panelists from various Bay Area firms to review our early survey findings and discuss their work culture as it relates to job satisfaction and retention.

This will be followed by a series of small group exercises, using design thinking tools, to generate strategies for transforming workplace culture in order to increase sponsorship/mentorship opportunities, provide fair and unbiased criteria for advancement, counter tendencies of in-group favoritism, promote diversity in teams, and to develop meaningful roles for all employees.  

Workshop Agenda

• 6pm-6:30pm Networking/Refreshments
• 6:30-7pm H&R Survey Findings/Panel Discussion on Satisfaction w/Q&A 
• 7pm-7:50 Break-Out Groups 
• 7:50-8:10pm Group Presentations/Report Back
• 8:10pm- 8:30pm Conclusion/Q&A

AIA CEUs - 2.0

Come plug in to our 2015 initiatives!

Equity if for Everyone :  New? Bring a Friend? Men? Returnees? We welcome ALL to the take Action for Equity.

Agenda at a Glance: 

Download Agenda HERE!

Equity by Design 2015 Initiatives

Initiative Report‐Outs (Goals, Format, Next Steps and Team Members)    

• INSPIRE % ‐ Social Media and Gallery Exhibit
• EQxD U – Learning Modules, Topics and Schedule
• EQxD Alliance – Network and 5030 Challenge
• EQxD Research – Report of Findings and Future Survey Content

EQxD U Workshop 1 of 4: (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction (3/12/15) 6pm-8:30pm  

Planning Session/Review Agenda/Confirm Coordinators/Volunteers 

• Format: Survey Findings, Panel Discussion, Gamestorm and Discussion 
• Sarah Estephan – Survey Findings, Symposium Highlights
• Panelists – Introduce unique attributes of firms they represent
• Group Break‐Outs – Discuss and prioritize 3 questions for panelists
• Briefings by Group