Hitting our stride
AIA President Illya Azaroff, FAIA on building momentum to shape the future.
The strength of AIA has always been its members. When architects move forward together, our ability to shape the future is extraordinary.
At the start of the year, I shared that during my tenure, I wanted to build momentum for our profession and our institute. Now, just two months in, that momentum is already taking shape.
While we began with a series of transitions—a new president, new Board of Directors, new CEO/EVP, new governance recommendations, and a new Strategic Plan--what I see is something more powerful: an organization in motion.
AIA has always been at its best when it evolves alongside the profession it represents. We are, in many ways, always in a state of becoming. That reality requires leadership that is responsive, collaborative, and deeply connected to the ideas and energy of our members.
The role of the Board of Directors is to listen, to lead, and to create conditions for architects to thrive—expanding opportunities for the profession on every scale, in every community, and in every room where the public and policymakers discuss the future of the built environment. In January, the Board identified three guiding priorities for the year that align with the 2026-2030 Strategic Plan.
- Advocacy to strengthen the voice and visibility of architects
Leadership to accelerate climate resilience and risk reduction
Action to ensure the prosperity of the profession
Since then, we have been moving quickly on all three.
First, we have redoubled our advocacy efforts to ensure the voice of architects is included in key decisions. Through new partnerships and coordinated engagement, we are activating members as trusted experts, meeting with lawmakers, and organizing letter-writing campaigns.
The shocks and stresses affecting our communities are real and ongoing. Our advocacy is rooted in the undeniable truth of our value to society and our mission to improve society and transform the world. With your help—and with the engagement of our more than 101,000 members—we will continue to meet those challenges.
Our second priority, accelerating climate action leadership, builds on the work of recent years.
Architects are uniquely positioned to shape positive outcomes. Our projects demonstrate every day how design can contribute to resilient, sustainable, and healthier communities.
This year we are deepening that commitment by advancing regenerative design and disaster risk reduction (DRR), two areas that represent the next horizon for architectural leadership.
Board committees, the Strategic Council, and architecture experts are helping AIA define the architect’s role in regenerative design. We are identifying leading practitioners and partners across sectors, including finance and investment. These actions will help evolve the Framework for Design Excellence and position architects to lead the broader AEC industry in this critical work.
With disaster risk reduction, we have entered into a collaborative process with the United Nations ARISE network, the Private Sector Alliance for Disaster Resilient Societies, a network established by the United Nationals Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR). This brings together architects, engineers, and resilience leaders around the world -- including many AIA members. We are also developing a voluntary commitment to support the United Nations’ Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, the most encompassing international accord on this critical issue.
All this work serves one goal: strengthening the profession. Our third Board priority is a deep commitment to ensuring the prosperity of architects and the communities we serve. Advocacy and climate leadership both contribute to this goal by expanding opportunities for practice and positioning architects as essential problem-solvers.
Increasing business acumen, expanding training and education, and creating pathways for opportunity across the profession are all part of this effort. When architects succeed, the communities we serve benefit as well.
A powerful moment in our collective engagement occurred during AIA’s Leadership Summit in Washington, D.C. More than 600 advocates from nearly every state participated in Hill Day, conducting hundreds of meetings with members of Congress and the House of Representatives. When called upon, our members also responded to an action alert with 8,000 letters sent to Congress.
Since the summit, our advocacy work has continued to expand. We are building partnerships across the country and coordinating efforts with a broad coalition representing the full architectural ecosystem. This includes holding joint congressional meetings and briefings and delivering a unified message to the Department of Education to make our case for architects as professionals, erase loan limits, and ensure the health of the pipeline of new architects.
This coalition includes organizations that represent the full arc of the profession:
- American Institute of Architecture Students (AIAS)
Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA)
National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB)
National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB)
National Organization of Minority Architects (NOMA)
These organizations cover the full spectrum of architecture—from students and educators to practitioners, accreditation, and licensure.
This is only the beginning.
The year ahead will require focus, persistence, and collaboration. We will lean into the issues that matter most to architects and to the communities we serve. And when architects are not invited to the table, we will set the table ourselves—bringing together allies, partners, and even critics, to advance the profession.
Because we are not spectators in shaping the future. Architects are active participants in building it. There will be challenges. There will be losses. There will be victories. What will determine our success is how we face them—together.
The progress we are making today is the result of members across the country stepping forward: advocating for the profession, advancing climate leadership through their projects, mentoring the next generation, and strengthening the communities they serve.
We need all of you to help shape the future. Your voices, your leadership, your expertise, and your commitment are what make AIA powerful. We can influence policy, advance innovation, and demonstrate the essential value of design.
I know I’m ready for the work ahead. And I know this Board of Directors is ready.
But most importantly, I know that when our members are engaged, there is no limit to what we can accomplish together. I look forward to the months ahead—and to continuing this work with all of you.