by Cody Carpino, AIA Vice President
What can I say – the AIA Leadership Summit was an incredibly inspiring event! It was held at the Marriott Marquis Hotel and Capitol Hill in Washington DC. Attendees were from individual AIA Chapters nationwide and consisted primarily of Executive Directors, Vice Presidents, and Emerging Professional Leaders. The primary focus of the Summit was on training AIA members to be effective leaders in one’s local AIA chapter, firm, and community.
On Advocacy Day, we were on Capitol Hill meeting individually with our state Congress people and their legislative staff regarding two separate bills – ‘Democracy in Design (DID)’ and ‘Resiliency in America Act (RAA)’. My focus was on DID, prompted by an executive order by President Trump that all federal courthouses be designed in classical architecture style. AIA’s stance on DID is that any singular design style shall not be federally mandated, but rather be the decision and collaboration of individual client/architect teams. Design should be based on factors like locality, environment, and purpose. The RAA bill will be covered in a separate article by Felicia Reyes, Assoc. AIA who also attended.
There were several days of workshops during the Summit. Two memorable sessions included Dr. Jermaine Davis, author of ‘Leading with Greatness’ and an inspiring general session with Shelia Johnson, the co-founder of Black Entertainment Television (BET).
Some key takeaways:
- Have perseverance, courage, and fortitude when feeling overwhelmed or hopeless.
- Practice self-monitoring and be conscientious how conversations may impact others.
- Value is in your employees – be sure to recognize and appreciate them.
- Preparation + Opportunity = Success
- One cannot change what they do not acknowledge.
- Cultivate a resilient mindset to easily rebound from setbacks and obstacles.
- Be mindful of the RAP Philosophy when working with others – Recognize, Acknowledge, and Praise.
- Life is not about what you know, but how much you care.
- Build positive mentor/mentee relationships.
- Good design works, but great design is inspirational.
My time in Washington DC was enlightening and empowering. It was a reminder of the great work we do as architects and the importance of advocacy. It was an honor representing the AIACV and my fellow architects nationwide!