2018 Associates Award Recipient
The AIA Associates Award is given to individual Associate AIA members to recognize outstanding leaders and creative thinkers for significant contributions to their communities and the architecture profession.
Timarie Trarbach, Assoc. AIA, is an award-winning leader whose passion for design and mentorship is evident in her leadership. An advocate for collaboration, she constantly implements the leadership skills she has gained through her involvement in the AIA to propel her work and the profession forward.
Trarbach is a senior architect technician at Kansas City’s Populous where, since 2016, she has worked with an innovative team on a wide array of projects across the country. She has made an imprint on professional and collegiate sports arenas and convention centers. With three of her colleagues, she entered the 2016 Airport Consultants Council Young Professionals Innovation Competition. The team’s winning submission, CurbShare, a curbside arrival system that streamlines passengers’ individual transit needs, led to a presentation at the Airport Consultants Council/American Association of Airport Executives Airport Planning, Design & Construction Symposium in New Orleans last February.
“In her short time at Populous, a firm known for its excellence in innovation and creativity, Timarie has established herself as one of our young and dynamic leaders,” colleague Bryan A. Schmidt, Assoc. AIA, said of her impact at the firm. “In addition, she is not only helping Populous raise the standard professionally, she is helping Populous set the standard in her efforts across the Kansas City community.”
Active in the AIA at the local, regional, and national levels, Trarbach views her participation as crucial for effective engagement with her peers and the profession. She serves on the AIA National Associates Committee Advisory Committee and leads its Mentorship and Diversity Workgroup, which is currently interviewing AIA members to learn more about their experiences with mentorship. Her proposal for the AIA Conference on Architecture 2018, “All Aboard the Mentor Ship,” which she developed with a peer, recently moved into phase two of the submission process.
When a chance meeting with University of Kansas student Anna Collins evolved into a dialogue encompassing architecture, leadership, and equality in the profession, Trarbach quickly assumed the role of mentor and friend. After providing several studio tours and endless encouragement, Trarbach urged Collins to apply for the AIA Kansas City Women in Design Scholarship. In 2017, Collins was selected for the scholarship and awarded $3,000.
“What we do every day is design, but what impacts our firm more than anything else is our culture, and Timarie is an avid supporter and nurturer of just that,” wrote Earl Santee, FAIA, Populous’ managing director, Americas, in a letter supporting Trarbach’s nomination for the AIA Associates Award. “She is spearheading efforts to integrate efforts to integrate a formalized mentorship program at Populous, working hand in hand with our management team to ensure we are engaging staff at all levels of the organization.”
Trarbach’s leadership has helped create tremendous resources for emerging design professionals, and has continuously demonstrated her willingness to serve. Her leadership will no doubt create long-term benefits for her fellow associates.
