CALL FOR APPLICATIONS

The Committee on the Environment is a Knowledge Community of the AIA. We are:

• nearly 9,000 AIA members of this Knowledge Community
• 64 local and state chapters
• 5 national advisory group members
• 4 adjunct advisory group members
• 6 regional team leaders
• 30+ subcommittee & liaison volunteers

COTE was founded in 1990 by Bob Berkebile as an evolution of the Energy Committee. Many other pioneers were involved early on (check out COTE’s history http://www.aia.org/cote_history) including Randy Croxton, Bill McDonough, Susan Maxman, Greg Franta, Don Watson, Gail Lindsey, and others. Our mission, in part, is to “promote the role of the architect as a leader in preserving and protecting the planet and its living systems.” We use holistic definitions to frame what we do:
• Sustainability envisions the enduring prosperity of all living things.
• Sustainable design seeks to create communities, buildings, and products that contribute to this vision.

Best Practices
• 10 Measures of Sustainable Design
• Top Ten Green Projects
• Greening Initiatives

Collaboration & Leadership
• Working with allied organizations and other AIA groups

Communication
• COTEnotes
• COTE Forum
• Working with AIA Media Team

Education & Advocacy
• Ecological Literacy in Education
• 2010 Imperative & Sustainable Design 101
• Biomimicry Workshops
• Working with AIA Government Advocacy
• Student Research Fellowship (in development) |


WE NEED YOU!
We are seeking AIA members with sustainable design expertise, vision, and leadership skills.

Advisory Group members are selected after the current AG surveys volunteers and interested invididuals. AIA members are invited to submit their credentials at any time for consideration, including during the formal call in the winter/spring of each year. To fit the Institute’s summer/fall appointment process, AG appointments for the following year are usually considered in the spring. Terms of service are typically 5 years; the individual serves the first two years as a member, the third as vice chair, the fourth as chair, and the fifth as past chair (and active member). There are monthly calls and three funded in-person meetings per year.

While we can add only one new Advisory Group member each year, we work with many volunteers and hope that you may consider these other roles (which typically require far less time), such as:

The Adjunct Advisory Group was established to help meet the workload demands on COTE. Members will occasionally step into funded meeting slots when AG members cannot attend. The AAG is selected from active volunteers and other interested parties, with an eye toward a balance of skills/interests, discipline, and age/gender/ethnic diversity. Individuals serve 1-2 year terms. There is emphasis on Washington-area professional, given frequent requests for COTE presence at national events. The AAG is invited to join monthly AG calls and participate in various events. There is no funded travel.

The Regional Team maintains contact with the 65 chapters and is made up of past local or state COTE chairs; they serve 1-2 years. We have vacancies in the West Coast and Northeast Regions, and will soon have vacancies in Midwest and Southeast. Candidates must be past AIA COTE chairs at the local or state level.

We also have subcommittees and special appointments from time to time, including COTE liaisons to several AIA groups and allied organizations. We currently have an active communications committee and we are seeking volunteers to write for COTEnotes, our quarterly e-newsletter.

If you are interested in being considered for an Advisory Group or other volunteer position, please send a statement (250 words, maximum) about your interest and qualifications, including which positions you would consider, and a biographical narrative or CV (1 page, maximum) to Shaw Hubbard, no later than June 1, 2008. Advisory Group appointments will be made by August 2008; others will follow by October 2008.

COTE has a strong record of gender diversity and Assoc. AIA member involvement and we are committed to upholding that and seeking greater diversity of all kinds, including age, race, ethnicity, geography, sector, firm/company size, and more.