Quarter 2 Topic: Articulating your Values

This year, EQxD will be featuring Quarterly Topics for deep dive rumination, discussion and action! Quarter 2 Topic for Discussion: Articulating your Values and is worth 1.5 AIA LU.

EQxD "U" Workshop Q2 - How to Become a Change Agent

How do the industry’s most influential change agents move from identifying a problem to making a lasting impact? Workshop participants will be invited to learn from the experiences of thought leaders who have shifted the status quo in their work within the urban context of San Francisco and the Bay Area.

These leaders will guide participants through tools and techniques while offering them an opportunity to put those skills into practice in a hands-on workshop. Attendees will develop a framework of steps: how to frame a problem, engage others to ideate and find solutions, and leverage networks to implement change as a Call to Action for desired, transformational outcomes.

Meet the Change Agents Panel

Garrett Jacobs - Executive Director Open Architecture Collaborative

Garrett’s architectural journey began in post Katrina New Orleans. With a passion for social justice and connecting people, Garrett focuses his energy on organizing the allied design professions in reflective community work. He has over six years of organizing experience from community design build projects, to running an international network of volunteer chapters, and even a national network of municipal civic technologists. Garrett led the reorganization of the Architecture for Humanity Chapter Network and is currently the founding Executive Director of the Open Architecture Collaborative working to inspire, rally and support designers to challenge the status quo of design services.

Maia Small - Urban Design / Design Review Manager at San Francisco Planning Department

Maia Small is a Senior Planner Architect at the San Francisco Planning Department where she leads the design review team and provides architectural expertise in the development of building form, open space, and policy in long-range planning. Maia was a partner in Thurlow Small Architecture from 2006 to 2013 where she designed and managed architecture and urban design projects for commercial, institutional and municipal clients. Prior to her private practice, she worked for Bernard Tschumi Architects in New York and Mark Cavagnero Associates in San Francisco. Maia completed her Master of Architecture at the Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation and her Bachelor of Arts in Architecture at the University of California, Berkeley. She has also taught architecture at Harvard University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the Rhode Island School of Design, and the University of Tennessee.

Jennifer Jones, CAE IOM - Executive Director, AIA SF

Jennifer Jones, MS, CAE, IOM serves as Executive Director of AIA San Francisco (AIASF), one of the largest AIA Chapters in the nation representing 2,200+ members in San Francisco and Marin County. As executive director, her core responsibilities relate to long‐term organizational stability and success of AIASF, which includes establishing and maintaining internal and external partnerships, guiding strategic planning, formulating policy, and leading administration in the interest of architect and allied professional membership. Jenn has an MS in Public Service & Nonprofit Management from DePaul University, and was a 2006 DePaul Public Service Fellow. Jenn has been honored for her accomplishments in association management by PR Newswire, Association of Media & Publishing, International Association of Business Communicators, and Association TRENDS. She is currently managing the Friends of Harvey Milk Design Competition for rethinking the use of the historic plaza in the Castro District.

Change Agent Panel Moderator and Workshop Facilitator

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.

REGISTER for #EQxDChangeAgents

Learning Objectives - 1.5 AIA CEU/LU

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.
Using examples shared by session leaders and question prompts participants will developmethods for engaging others to find solutions to identified problems.
Participants will determine how to identify resources and prioritize workflow into immediate, short-term and long-term milestones.
Participants will propose a quantifiable solution to identified problem or opportunity, and develop actionable steps for implementation of solutions in a larger scale.