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#EQxD2020 Session 4: J.E.D.I. Agenda + Practice

(For full description of the EQxD2020 SERIES - CLICK HERE)

Session 4: J.E.D.I. Agenda + Practice

Architecture as a Professional Practice is a largely white, male, straight, cis-gendered profession, with roots that stem from the policies and practices within the educational pipeline and professional workplace. As such it is difficult to claim that the field is able to truly serve end-users who represent the intersection of identities and demographics of our country - especially those who have been historically marginalized. Recently, as we have witnessed a seeming awakening of much of America to a truer history and narrative of the experience of black identities and BIPOC communities , it has become abundantly clear that privilege blinds one to the lived experience of those with less of it. 

Architecture is a political act. Without a true representation of the populations we serve, the profession cannot fulfill its mission to design and advocate for the health, safety, and welfare of our society’s intersectional demographic.

  • How do we create a truly just, equitable, diverse, and inclusive (JEDI) profession that attracts, welcomes, and supports talented designers of all races, ethnicities, genders, sexualities?  

  • How can we identify and promote pathways for education and learning about the profession, much earlier? How do we improve the pipeline to bring more young people of color to architecture, and how do we mentor and champion them once they have arrived? 

  • How do we ensure equal pay for women in architecture, implement leadership advancement, and create inclusive workplaces that allow all professionals, regardless of their sexuality or gender expression, to feel valued? 

This session will provide an introduction to these questions and explore strategies and solutions for creating a JEDI workplace.

Learning Objectives:

    • Using key readings on equity and justice in the architectural practice, participants will be able to describe ways in which the profession has played a role in perpetuating barriers that limit access to the opportunities and resources needed for satisfying and sustainable careers, while also narrowing the profession’s collective ability to effectively shape social, health, and environmental justice. 

    • Participants will learn about the work of architectural equity and justice activists who are implementing new practices and processes that in turn create a paradigm shift towards a just future in which our profession is more relevant and provides meaningful and inclusive career opportunities to all architectural professionals, regardless of their identity or background.

    • Participants will investigate an intersectional concept of justice, articulating ways in which architectural practitioners can become change agents delivering a tripartite platform for justice by designing holistically to address issues related to health, social mobility, and the environment.

    • Participants understand ways to establish goals and establish measures of success to track improvements in practice which promote justice in architectural practices, in their projects, and in their communities. 

Pre-readings for Discussion

Recommended Additional Resources

AIA CEU CREDITS AVAILABLE

Join us.

Our collective exploration will have a deep focus on how Just and Equitable policies and frameworks drive Diversity and Inclusive opportunities and practices (J.E.D.I.). At the core, we will prioritize Justice, creating a common thread to expand our intersectional mindset. All sessions via Zoom and recorded for later viewing.

Presenters

Practice Champions

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Kendall A. Nicholson, Ed.D, Assoc. AIA, NOMA, LEED GA
Director of Research and Information, ACSA

Kendall Nicholson is a licensed educator, trained architectural designer, and an avid researcher.  He works as the Director of Research and Information at the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA).  With degrees in architecture, real estate and education, his research explores the discipline of architecture through the lens of a social scientist.  He has presented research internationally and his research interests surround equity, education, and curriculum within the discipline of architecture. 

Nationally, his passion for equity and race relations manifests in his role as the research consultant for the 2016 and 2018 Equity in Architecture Survey sponsored by AIA San Francisco and Equity by Design (EQxD). He also volunteers as a member of the AIA’s Equity and the Future of Architecture board committee and as an at-large director for the AIA National Associate Committee leading a work group on Mentorship and Equity.

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Karen E. Williams, AIA, NCARB, LEED AP BD+C
Architect, Pivot Architecture

Karen E. Williams joined PIVOT Architecture Eugene, OR, as a Project Architect in 2014. Currently she is working CA on a local elementary school. Born in London, England, Karen has always had an international perspective. Karen attended Florida A & M University where she received a Master of Architecture degree. In addition to practicing architecture, she is an Adjunct professor at the University of Oregon, instructing the courses of Professional Practice and Fundamentals of Revit, as well as serving as a career advisor. Karen was the emeritus chairperson of the Women In Architecture – Orlando (WIA-O) committee where her personal goal was to learn from the influential women in Orlando’s architecture community. Consistently she is works to educate people about the overall benefits of the architecture community. She believes strongly in the need to market architecture to citizens of all ages and is willing to share her talents with the community.

In 2014 Karen was a recipient of the National Young Architects Award. In 2012 she received the Fred Pryor Young Architects Award at the AIA Orlando Design awards program for her demonstrated commitment to the profession and community via leadership and community service. She is consistently working to educate people about the inner benefits of the architecture community. She believes strongly in the need to market architecture to citizens of all ages and is willing to share her talents with the community.



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F. Jason Campbell
Associate, SmithGroup, Lecturer at UC Berkeley, Creative Director at Ell

F. Jason Campbell is an interdisciplinary designer and artist, leveraging the fields of architecture, photography, and exhibition design. He leads design efforts as an Associate for SmithGroup Higher Education San Francisco, and instructs undergraduate and graduate level design studios at the University of California, Berkeley. He has presented at the local and national conference level on topics such as: equitable and alternative methods of architectural practice, and the intersection of academia and professional practice.

Campbell’s work has been steered by interests in the spatial properties and actions required to claim, make, and keep space; and alternative use of space resources. He recently completed a 5-year design research initiative in the form of a flex-use art space, ELL, forged at the intersection of architectural discourse and performance art. Collaborations include, ‘Evidence’ with the editors of Perspecta50: Urban Divides - the Yale Architectural Journal, and the ARDR (Anti-Racism Design Resources) with SPACE INDUSTRIES.

Campbell earned his Master of Architecture degree from the University of California, Berkeley and a Bachelor of Science in Architecture from the University at Buffalo.


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Session Moderator

Lilian Asperin, AIA
Partner | WRNS Studio

As one of WRNS Studio’s Partners, Lilian helps lead the design process and build teams that deliver aspirational outcomes. A leader within the Society for College and University Planning (SCUP), she is the 2018-2021 Pacific Regional Chair. Committed to advancing the practice of architecture, Lilian also has served as a Board Director of AIA San Francisco and is the Co-Chair of the Equity by Design Committee, a call to action for equitable practice and to communicate the value of design to society


Session Facilitators

Ántonia Bowman, AIA
Architect | ELS

Ántonia is an architect at ELS and a registered architect in Texas and California. She earned her Master of Architecture degree from The University of Texas at Austin and holds a BA in Studio Art from Smith College. Ántonia is interested in the public experience of architecture and concentrates on cultural, civic, and higher education projects. She is committed to advocating for greater visibility and equitable opportunities for women, queer, and ethnically diverse architects in the profession. She is currently serving on the AIA CA Board of Directors as a representative of the East Bay Chapter. Outside of work, Ántonia is passionate about road cycling, spending time outdoors, and travelling.


Julia Mandell, AIA
Associate Design Director | Wilson Associates

Julia Mandell, AIA, is a designer, architect, and advocate for equity in the field of architecture. As Co-Chair of Equity by Design, she has co-authored three Equity in Architecture Surveys and developed and produced many educational sessions, including three acclaimed Equity by Design Symposia. She has shared her expertise and passion for equitable practice with conference audiences, student groups, and in publications such as The Plan Journal and Metropolis.

Currently Associate Design Director with Wilson Associates, a design/build/development firm in Oakland, California, she is committed to the design and development of thoughtful, well-crafted spaces that are comfortable, useful, and beautiful. Her work as a designer and builder focuses on adaptive reuse, reimagining neighborhoods through small-scale interventions that accumulate over time to create welcoming, inclusive, adaptable places. She is a licensed architect in the state of California.

Annelise Pitts, AIA

Principal Consultant / Cameron MacAllister Group

Annelise Pitts, AIA, is a passionate designer, researcher and advocate for justice, equity, diversity and inclusion in architectural practice and in the built environment. As Research Chair for Equity by Design, she leads the Equity in Architecture research project and has guided the development and analysis of three national surveys exploring differential career experiences and aspirations of architecture school graduates on the basis of personal identity. This work has been widely published, most recently in Women [Re]Build: Stories, Polemics, Futures and The Plan Journal.

In her architectural practice, she works collaboratively across project scales and building typologies to develop living, learning, and gathering spaces that are both inviting and uplifting. She is a registered architect in New York State. Having recently relocated to the East Coast after years of practicing in the Bay Area with Bohlin Cywinski Jackson, she now lives and works in Brooklyn, NY, where she and her husband are raising their one-year-old daughter.


Rosa T. Sheng, FAIA
Principal and Director of Equity, Diversity, Inclusion | SmithGroup

Rosa T. Sheng, FAIA is Principal and Director of Equity, Diversity, Inclusion at SmithGroup. She is also the founder of Equity by Design [EQxD] and 2018 Past President of AIA San Francisco. Throughout the years, Rosa has led a variety of award-winning and internationally acclaimed projects, while launching a national movement for equitable practice, just and inclusive design outcomes in the built environment with a focus on higher education learning and space resources for student success. Rosa has delivered continuing educational programs and thought leadership outreach featured in Architect Magazine, Metropolis, Wall Street Journal, TEDxPhiladelphia, SxSW, KQED/NPR, and Cannes Lions. In 2019 she was recognized as a Metropolis Game Changer.

#EQxD2020 SERIES - Practice, Process and Paradigms for the J.E.D.I. Agenda

Pricing + Registration

Registration is available for individual sessions, for a package of three sessions (available for the first three and second three consecutive sessions), and for the full series suite of six sessions. To register for a package of three sessions or the full series of six sessions, please view the ticket options for the first session in that ticket bundle.

The Full Series+ option includes digital access to recordings of all sessions.

AIA Member

  1. 1 Session  $20

    1. Package of 3 Sessions  $50

    2. Full Series+  $95

General Admission

  1. 1 Session  $30

    1. Package of 3 Sessions  $80

    2. Full Series+  $155

AIASF Student Member

  1. 1 Session $10

    1. Package of 3 Sessions  $20

    2. Full Series+  $35

REGISTER HERE

Need-Based Complimentary Tickets

The #EQxD2020 Series is welcoming and supportive of those interested in attending that are currently experiencing economic uncertainty. We will ensure that there are no barriers to access for this program.

In recognition of the compounded challenges of 2020, AIASF Equity by Design will be providing need-based complimentary series tickets for those challenged with financial hardship. If you are a student, emerging professional, or practitioner who is currently unemployed or under-employed, please complete this form to apply for complimentary registration for the series.

#EQxD2020 – (ARE) Licensure Challenge Scholarship Program

The ARE Challenge Scholarship Program recognizes that the effort and expense of the architectural licensing process as a barrier to achieving this professional milestone and disproportionately affects candidates of historically underrepresented identities in the profession. In light of the extremely challenging and economically unstable conditions that we are collectively facing, AIASF Equity by Design has established financial assistance scholarships for licensure candidates who are eligible to take the ARE licensure exams. Selected Recipients of the #EQxD2020 ARE Challenge Scholarship will be reimbursed for three (3) ARE Exams (Value $705 per recipient), regardless of pass or fail status.

We are also seeking AEC co-sponsorship of this program to fund additional ARE Challenge Scholarship recipients; contact Sponsorship@aiasf.org to learn more.

Eligibility:

  • Applicants must be currently eligible to take the ARE Exams for Architectural Licensure.

  • Candidates must be currently authorized to work in the United States.

  • Applicants are strongly encouraged to participate in the #EQxD2020 series.

#EQxD2020 SERIES - Practice, Process and Paradigms for the J.E.D.I. Agenda

Thanks to our #EQxD2020 SERIES Champions!

  • Silver Sponsors -

    • HOK

    • SHERWIN WILLIAMS COIL COATINGS

    • OBR Architecture

  • Titanium Sponsors

    • SMARTci

    • AWV

    • PARKLEX USA

    • MORIN

  • Bronze Sponsors -

    • PYATOK

    • CAMERON MACALLISTER

    • SOM

    • SMITHGROUP

    • WRNS STUDIO

Earlier Event: December 11
#EQxD2020 SERIES: Session 3 - J.E.D.I. and Environment
Later Event: February 26
Closing Session - Practice, Process and Paradigms for the J.E.D.I. Agenda