2023 Women's Leadership Summit
Published: September 19, 2023 | Updated: October 20, 2023
Attendees, panelists, and speakers celebrate AIA’s 2023 Women's Leadership Summit at the Sheraton Boston Hotel, September 12-14, 2023.
A photo recap of the sold-out experience elevating women in architecture, engineering, construction, and design.
Mainstage Moments
On the second day of AIA's 2023 Women's Leadership Summit, attendees watched as AIA leaders made history and listened as the Historic Frontiers | Legacy of People & Place panel shared projects that challenged the industry to preserve history. Keynote speaker Melodie Yashar explained how a competition launched her career as a space architect and how her work on Mars is shifting the paradigm of homebuilding on Earth. A powerful panel - A Unified Movement | Tackling Inequity - with leaders representing a cross section of the building industry, reflected on workplace inequalities and what the next generation expects from today’s leaders. AIA President Emily Grandstaff-Rice, FAIA, hosted A Conversation with Aurora James, where the visionary behind the sustainable luxury fashion brand Brother Vellies and one of the fastest growing social nonprofits, the Fifteen Percent Pledge, revealed the inspiration behind her work. In her closing remarks, AIA CEO/EVP Lakisha Ann Woods, CAE, announced Chicago as the destination for the 2024 WLS.
Click here for a recap of Day One.
AIA celebrates an historic moment as 2023 President Emily Grandstaff-Rice, FAIA, 2024 President-elect Kimberly Nicole Dowdell, AIA, and 2025 President-elect Evenlyn Lee, FAIA, share the WLS Stage. AIA members have elected women to serve as president for three consecutive years - an organization first. Dowdell and Lee are the first and second women of color elected to lead AIA.
Historic Frontiers | Legacy of People & Place panelists take the stage at the 2023 AIA Leadership Summit in Boston. L to R: Moderator Tiffany D. Brown, Assoc. AIA, executive director at the National Organization of Minority Architects, and panelists María Bellalta, FASLA, head of landscape architecture at North Carolina State University, Tamara Eagle Bull, FAIA, professor at Arizona State University, Melissa R. Daniel, Assoc. AIA, creator and host of the Architecture is Political podcast, and Billie Tsien, AIA, partner at Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects.
Representatives from building industry professional associations serve on the A Unified Movement | Tackling Inequity panel during the 2023 AIA Women’s Leadership Summit in Boston. L to R: Moderator Jen Johnson, chief product officer of ConstructConnect, AIA President Emily Grandstaff-Rice, FAIA, Christine Oates, CCM, DBIA, chair of the Construction Management Association of America, Robin Greenleaf, FACEC, chair emeritus of American Council of Engineering Companies, Angela Brooks, FAICP, president of American Planning Association, and Angie Lee, FIIDA, immediate past-president, International Interior Design Association.
Connection and Celebration
Workshops and break out sessions with topics ranging from hiring top talent to changing firm culture were offered during the two-day event, allowing particants to connect one-on-one with counterparts representing diverse professions within the architecture and design industry from across the United States. When the keynotes ended and workshops were completed, WLS attendees made new friends and reunited with colleagues at networking and celebratory events around Boston. Firms hosted happy hours to network and exchange ideas and WLS Dine Arounds connected attendees at top Boston restaurants.
Attendees learn and share during a workshop at the 2023 Women's Leadership Summit Septermber 12-14 in Boston.
Welcome reception attendees kick of WLS with food, drinks, and music at Royale, a 1920s-inspired venue located in the heart of Boston’s theater district.
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