A season of change

Architecture is already responding to a world in profound transition. The question now is how we build on that work together. 

The first half of the year was about laying groundwork. For AIA, a new Board of Directors, a new EVP/CEO in Carole Wedge, FAIA, and a new strategic plan all provided a strong foundation. In my first presidential update, I described this as a time to build relationships, set priorities, listen to our members, and create the conditions for meaningful change.

Now we have reached an inflection point. This fall, AIA moves from groundwork to action. From listening and learning to activating and advocating. The Board, our AIA team, and leadership across our components are moving with greater speed and purpose. You will see more Board members in more places, where they will engage on the issues and with members, who are central to our success.

That movement is intentional. It is about taking the foundation we have built and creating the momentum necessary to carry our profession forward—not simply for the remainder of this year but for the next several years of our strategic plan.

Listening and learning

Over the past several months, I have covered a lot of ground—figuratively and literally.

My travels have taken me from the UIA Congress in Barcelona to regenerative design workshops in Bari, Italy; from AIA Florida, Michigan, Tennessee, and Austin to the CACE and Women’s Leadership Summit conferences in Kansas City; and from conversations with AIA Minnesota leaders while attending the NCARB conference to meetings with clients, partners, and members across the country. These visits are an opportunity to listen and learn.

There have also been the less official journeys: visiting active project sites, advancing my firm’s work across the world, and even moving my son back to college. And, when possible, a few long walks through the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. 

I have heard tremendous enthusiasm about where AIA is headed. I have also heard candid feedback about what we can do better. Both are essential to understanding where we are strong, where we need to improve, and what opportunities we have to be more effective.

All of it has reinforced something important: We are a profession in a constant state of becoming. The evolution makes our organization more vibrant, and that vibrancy matters not only for architects but for the communities we serve.

From internal alignment to external impact

One key accomplishment of the first part of the year was strengthening how we communicate with one another. Our internal communications cascade now connects the Board, staff, components, and leadership around shared priorities. Next, we are turning outward, building an external strategy that shows the public the work of our members and how architecture improves the places where they live, work, learn, and gather. We cannot assume our value is self-evident. We must demonstrate it.

That means sharing stories of the work happening in our communities. It means showing our contributions to housing, resilience, health, economic development, sustainability, and quality of life. It means making sure architects are at the table shaping critical decisions about communities’ futures.

A profession built for this moment

We arrive at this moment as communities are facing unprecedented challenges. Climate disruption is accelerating. Housing costs are straining families. Data centers are reshaping community infrastructure, affecting energy, water, land, and local economies. Detention centers and other complex public facilities raise tough questions about dignity and the built environment. And economic uncertainty and tariffs are affecting how projects get built.

These issues share something fundamental: They are systems challenges. And architects understand systems. We understand how land, infrastructure, economics, public policy, technology, health, and human experience intersect. We are trained to see relationships, anticipate consequences, balance competing needs, and turn complexity into something that can be built.

That is one of the great strengths of our profession—and one of the reasons our voice matters now more than ever.

The fall season: From foundation to momentum

In September, we began moving into the latter part of the year with real momentum. We continue advancing housing advocacy and disaster risk reduction. We are strengthening partnerships with policymakers and community leaders. We are advancing regenerative design and integrating it into the evolution of the Framework for Design Excellence.

Our Board, staff, and component leadership will continue working to make AIA more visible, more effective, and more connected to the communities and members we represent. AIA is strongest when our national priorities and local leadership reinforce one another—when ideas move in both directions, when members see themselves in the work, and when we act collectively.

Shaping what comes next

Leading through challenging times is something I am accustomed to. But leadership is not about predicting every challenge that will come our way. It is about the capacity to respond and, whenever possible, shape what comes next.

The future is not something to fear. It is something to shape, and architects do it every day through the buildings we design, the neighborhoods we plan, the policies we influence, and the communities we help rebuild. Every decision creates consequences that extend far beyond the completion of a project.

So, I keep coming back to a simple idea: We should design not only for the people we serve today but for those who will inherit these places tomorrow. The Indigenous practice of thinking across seven generations reminds us to look beyond the next project, election, or business quarter. That future should be resilient, regenerative, healthy, equitable, and full of possibility. And we should never value-engineer hope out of it.

This fall, let us move forward with confidence and purpose. Let us listen, learn, activate, and advocate. We have done the groundwork. Now is the season to build momentum.