Designing a future that thrives

There are seasons in our lives when the pace of the world slows just long enough for us to understand the meaning behind our work. This year has been one of those seasons for me. A year when the conversations felt deeper, the responsibilities felt heavier, and the possibilities felt closer than ever before. A year when I saw, with renewed clarity, that architects do far more than shape the built environment. We give form to the future.

When I began my journey as the 101st President of the American Institute of Architects, I carried with me both the weight of history and the promise of what could be. I knew our profession stood at a turning point. I knew the Institute needed to rediscover its center, its trust, and its purpose. And I knew that the path forward would not be built only on policy and process, but on something more elemental: a shared belief in who we are and what we can become.
 

So, this year, we did the quiet, essential work of reconstruction. We asked ourselves hard questions. We looked inward at our governance, our frameworks, and our long-standing ways of operating. Through the ongoing efforts of the Governance Task Force and the Strategic Planning Committee, we began to carefully align the organization with the realities of practice today. These efforts are not loud. They are not finished. They do not seek attention. But they form the roots of an organization prepared to meet a rapidly changing world with steadiness and conviction.
 

We also renewed AIA’s headquarters —a project that feels less like a renovation and more like a promise that we will embody the values we champion. A promise that AIA will evolve with the same thoughtfulness and creativity that we ask of every client and every community. The building reflects our aspirations, a living testament to the power of design to restore, to reimagine, and to remind us of what is possible.
 

And then there was the work that awakened something even deeper: the AIA Housing Summit. A moment when we welcomed leaders from every corner of the housing ecosystem to confront one of the most urgent challenges of our time. This gathering felt different. It felt human. It felt honest. It felt like a collective breath taken together, an acknowledgment that while architects cannot solve the housing crisis alone, we cannot allow ourselves to be on the sidelines of that conversation. This summit reminded me that architects carry a rare ability to bridge worlds that do not often meet. We bring together community and policy, creativity and practicality, vision and responsibility.
 

Throughout the year, as I met architects across the country and around the world, I heard stories of hope and resilience, disappointment and reinvention, uncertainty and ambition. I spoke with emerging professionals standing at the threshold of their careers, with firm leaders shepherding their practices through change, and with educators imagining new futures for architectural learning. Every one of these conversations affirmed that our profession is not static. It is alive. It is evolving. It is reaching for something more.
 

That spirit is why I continue to believe so deeply in my vision for AIA, and its members, to thrive. “Thrive” is not a campaign. “Thrive” is a posture. “Thrive” is a refusal to shrink in the face of complexity. “Thrive” is a commitment to stretch, to question, to learn, and to lead. “Thrive” invites us to replace fear with curiosity, scarcity with possibility, exhaustion with purpose. It reminds us that architects are at our best not when we are merely surviving the pressures of our profession, but when we allow ourselves to imagine boldly again.
 

Serving as your 101st President has been one of the greatest honors of my life. I carry immense gratitude for the trust you placed in me, for the honesty you shared, and for the hope you allowed me to witness in so many corners of our profession. I will continue to support AIA and leave this role with a full heart and a clear belief in our direction.
 

We stand at an inflection point, but we do not stand alone. We stand together, guided by the collective understanding that architecture has always been about more than buildings. It is about people. It is about possibility. It is about the courage to envision a future that does not yet exist, and the discipline to draw it into being.
 

We are a profession built on imagination.
We are a profession built on resilience.
We are a profession built on the belief that a better world is possible.
 

And together, with a shared commitment to thrive, we will continue to design it.