(For full description of the EQxD2020 SERIES - CLICK HERE)

Closing Session Workshop Description -

We will summarize the key concepts and lessons from the Series to translate into a draft of  strategic actions and sustained outcomes that are imperative in order to realize the JEDI Agenda within the civic realm. These practices and processes will aggregate into paradigm shifts evidenced in policy amendments, measured progress towards dismantling of systems of oppression, and a motivated workforce that understands and promotes effective change in the built environment. 

Learning Objectives:

• Participants will be able to understand and implement solutions that mitigate  identified barriers, to effectively advocate for workplace, social, health, and environmental justice. 

• Participants will understand practices and processed championed by equity and justice activists and be empowered to embrace their own identity and lived experiences to set or refresh professional career goals for meaningful activism.  and

• Participants will investigate an intersectional concept of justice, articulating ways in which architectural practitioners can become change agents by designing holistically to address issues related to health, social mobility, and the environment.

• Participants will self-assess their growth in understanding and awareness regarding each of the intersectional lenses identified and outline an action plan for effective engagement that leads to a paradigm shift in the practice of disciplines that contribute to the built environment.

AIA CEU CREDITS AVAILABLE

About the Speakers/Panelists

Hop Hopkins, Director of Organizational Transformation for the Sierra Club.

Born in Dallas, Texas to working class parents, Hop sharpened his analysis organizing as an HIV/AIDS organizer and anti-globalization activist during the WTO uprising. Hop is also a certified Arborist, a Master Gardener and is a certified Community Emergency Response Team instructor. Alongside his wife of seventeen years, Hop homeschools their two daughters and maintains a food forest inhabited by their pet Australian shepherds, chickens, honey bees, fruit trees and multiple compost piles.

Bryan C. Lee Jr.
Founder + Design Principal, Colloqate Design

Bryan is an Architect, educator, writer, and Design Justice Advocate. He is the founder/Design Principal of Colloqate Design a nonprofit multidisciplinary design practice, in New Orleans, Louisiana, dedicated to expanding community access to design and creating spaces of racial, social, and cultural equity. He has led two award-winning youth design programs nationwide and is the founding co-organizer of the DAP (Design As Protest) Collective. He was most recently noted as one of the 2018 Fast Company Most Creative People in Business, a USC Annenberg MacArthur Civic Media Fellow, and the youngest design firm to win the Architectural League’s Emerging Voices award in 2019.

Gilbert C. Gee, Ph.D.

Gilbert C. Gee, Ph.D., is a Professor in the Department of Community Health Sciences at the Fielding School of Public Health at UCLA. He received his bachelor degree in neuroscience from Oberlin College, his doctorate in Health Policy and Management from the Johns Hopkins University, and post-doctoral training in sociology from Indiana University. His research focuses on the social determinants of health inequities of racial, ethnic, and immigrant minority populations using a multi-level and life course perspective. A primary line of his research focuses on conceptualizing and measuring racial discrimination, and in understanding how discrimination may be related to illness. He has also published more broadly on the topics of stress, neighborhoods, immigration, environmental exposures, occupational health, and on Asian American populations.

Closing Session Panel Moderator

Rosa T. Sheng, FAIA
Principal and Director of Justice, Equity, Diversity, Inclusion | SmithGroup

Rosa T. Sheng, FAIA is Principal and Director of Equity, Diversity, Inclusion at SmithGroup. She is also the founder of Equity by Design [EQxD] and 2018 Past President of AIA San Francisco. Throughout the years, Rosa has led a variety of award-winning and internationally acclaimed projects, while launching a national movement for equitable practice, just and inclusive design outcomes in the built environment with a focus on higher education learning and space resources for student success. Rosa has delivered continuing educational programs and thought leadership outreach featured in Architect Magazine, Metropolis, Wall Street Journal, TEDxPhiladelphia, SxSW, KQED/NPR, and Cannes Lions. In 2019 she was recognized as a Metropolis Game Changer.

Closing Session Facilitators

Lilian Asperin, AIA
Partner | WRNS Studio

As one of WRNS Studio’s Partners, Lilian helps lead the design process and build teams that deliver aspirational outcomes. A leader within the Society for College and University Planning (SCUP), she is the 2018-2021 Pacific Regional Chair. Committed to advancing the practice of architecture, Lilian also has served as a Board Director of AIA San Francisco and is the Co-Chair of the Equity by Design Committee, a call to action for equitable practice and to communicate the value of design to society.

Ántonia Bowman, AIA
Architect | ELS

Ántonia is an architect at ELS and a registered architect in Texas and California. She earned her Master of Architecture degree from The University of Texas at Austin and holds a BA in Studio Art from Smith College. Ántonia is interested in the public experience of architecture and concentrates on cultural, civic, and higher education projects. She is committed to advocating for greater visibility and equitable opportunities for women, queer, and ethnically diverse architects in the profession. She is currently serving on the AIA CA Board of Directors as a representative of the East Bay Chapter. Outside of work, Ántonia is passionate about road cycling, spending time outdoors, and travelling.

Julia Mandell, AIA
Associate Design Director | Wilson Associates

Julia Mandell, AIA, is a designer, architect, and advocate for equity in the field of architecture. As Co-Chair of Equity by Design, she has co-authored three Equity in Architecture Surveys and developed and produced many educational sessions, including three acclaimed Equity by Design Symposia. She has shared her expertise and passion for equitable practice with conference audiences, student groups, and in publications such as The Plan Journal and Metropolis.

Currently Associate Design Director with Wilson Associates, a design/build/development firm in Oakland, California, she is committed to the design and development of thoughtful, well-crafted spaces that are comfortable, useful, and beautiful. Her work as a designer and builder focuses on adaptive reuse, reimagining neighborhoods through small-scale interventions that accumulate over time to create welcoming, inclusive, adaptable places. She is a licensed architect in the state of California.

Annelise Pitts, AIA

Annelise Pitts, AIA, is a passionate designer, researcher and advocate for justice, equity, diversity and inclusion in architectural practice and in the built environment. She is a Principal Consultant at Cameron MacAllister Group, advising firms in the design industry to advance these topics. As Research Chair for Equity by Design, she leads the Equity in Architecture research project and has guided the development and analysis of three national surveys exploring differential career experiences and aspirations of architecture school graduates on the basis of personal identity. This work has been widely published, most recently in Women [Re]Build: Stories, Polemics, Futures and The Plan Journal.

In her architectural practice, she works collaboratively across project scales and building typologies to develop living, learning, and gathering spaces that are both inviting and uplifting. She is a registered architect in New York State. Having recently relocated to the East Coast after years of practicing in the Bay Area with Bohlin Cywinski Jackson, she now lives and works in Brooklyn, NY, where she and her husband are raising their one-year-old daughter.

Join us.

Our collective exploration will have a deep focus on how Just and Equitable policies and frameworks drive Diversity and Inclusive opportunities and practices (J.E.D.I.). At the core, we will prioritize Justice, creating a common thread to expand our intersectional mindset. All sessions via Zoom and recorded for later viewing.

• Opening Session - J.E.D.I. Agenda - An Intersectional Approach for a Resilient Future

  • Wednesday - Sept. 30, 2020, 1:30-3:00pm PST 

• Session 1 - J.E.D.I. Agenda and Society/Economics/Social Mobility

  • Friday - Oct. 23, 2020, 2:00 pm - 3:30 pm PDT

• Session 2 - J.E.D.I. Agenda and Health

  • Friday - November 20, 2020, 11am-12:30pm PST

• Session 3 - J.E.D.I. Agenda and Environment

  • Friday - December 11, 2020, 11am-12:30pm PST 

• Session 4 - J.E.D.I. Agenda and Practice

  • Friday - January 22, 2021, 11am-12:30pm PST  

• Closing Session - Practice, Process and Paradigms for the J.E.D.I. Agenda

  • Friday - February 26, 2021, 11am-12:30pm PST

#EQxD2020 SERIES - Practice, Process and Paradigms for the J.E.D.I. Agenda

Thanks to our #EQxD2020 SERIES Champions!

• Silver Sponsors -

  • HOK

  • SHERWIN WILLIAMS COIL COATINGS

  • OBR Architecture

• Titanium Sponsors

  • SMARTci

  • AWV

  • PARKLEX USA

  • MORIN

• Bronze Sponsors -

  • PYATOK

  • CAMERON MACALLISTER

  • SOM

  • SMITHGROUP

  • WRNS STUDIO

Unfortunately, A20 has been cancelled due to COVID-19. We hop that you will join us for #EQxD2020 on November 7, 2020

Please be sure to attend these sessions that will feature EQxD Content and Data! These events are included w/ Full or Single Day Registration

• Applying Data to Advance Equity & Performance
  SA317 - 5/16/2020 11:30-1pm

• EQxD: Incorporating Intersectional Approaches for Inclusive Design Outcomes
  SA412 - 5/16/2020 1:30pm - 3pm

Other Curated Sessions for advancing the #JEDIagenda

• Is Equity the Same As Equilibrium? Education, Fairness & New Leadership Within Architecture's Academy (Pro Series)
  TH201 - 5/14/2020 9:30-11am

• Changing the Narrative: The Black Architect- Removing Obstacles, Creating Opportunities
  TH204 - 5/14/2020 9:30-11am

• How Women Lead: A Fireside Chat on Navigating the Path to Leadership

  FR102 - 5/15/2020

• Equity in Architecture: A Coast to Coast Exchange

  SA202 - 5/16/2020 - 9:30am - 11am

• Citizen Architect CPR: Critical Participation in Redesigning Our Communities

  SA215 - 5/16/2020 - 9:30am - 11am

https://www.aialosangeles.org/aiala-events/powerful/

Women in Architecture, WiA AIA|LA’s, Powerful conference (now entering its 6th iteration) has grown into an international caliber event.

Whether you are an early career designer looking for tools that lead to a successful career, a firm partner interested in raising your office’s profile, or an established mid-career architect ready to move forward, Powerful, is for you.

Don’t miss out on this inspirational event that draws sell-out crowds. Attend, learn, meet, and leave with actionable information as well as new relationships. But, we encourage you to register quickly: this AIA|LA event always sells out.

Keynote speakers for Powerful 2019 include:

Alda Ly – Alda Ly Architecture & Design
Alda Ly Architecture was founded in 2017, when groundbreaking co-working platform, The Wing, tapped Alda Ly as the architect of its East Coast and California locations. ALA has since grown to serve innumerable entrepreneurs and startups; the New York–based studio’s long list of disruptor clients also includes functional medicine provider Parsley Health, the retail platform Bulletin, and social-action technology firm Blue State Digital. The practice was named one of top 50 interior architecture firms in the US by The Architect’s Newspaper Interior magazine.

Rosa Sheng, FAIA – Principal, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion Director | Higher Education Studio Leader, SmithGroup
An accomplished architect, Rosa has led internationally acclaimed projects from the aesthetically minimal iconic Apple flagship stores, Pixar Animation Studios – Steve Jobs Building and several innovative projects at institutions of higher learning. Her most notable work champions design for just, equitable, and inclusive environments across disciplines. In 2019, Rosa was celebrated as a Metropolis Game Changer for her leadership as founder of Equity by Design (EQxD). The group’s advocacy is dedicated to minimizing barriers and providing just access to the resources that design professionals need to thrive – regardless of gender, socioeconomic, racial, or ethnic identity. Rosa and the advocacy work of EQxD has received critical acclaim in the Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, ARCHITECT Magazine. She has presented at TEDxPhiladelphia, SxSW and the Cannes Lions Festival on Creativity.

To connect with WiA AIA|LA, click here.

The EQXD 2019 Workshop #1 - Intersectionality and Intercultural Intelligence Panel has been selected to present at Closing Plenary at the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture’s Fall Conference hosted at Stanford University.

About ACSA Conference 2019:

By bringing educators, administrators, practitioners, and students into a series of honest discussions, workshops, panels, presentations and experiences, LESS TALK/MORE ACTION will actively investigate the need for a broader, purpose-driven inquiry into architectural education – one focused on the import of an evolving pedagogy and curriculum that is responsive to the real-time needs of students, the profession, and society. We see the ACSA Fall Conference as the ideal platform for communal discussion and operational collaboration around what really matters in architectural education, what emerging practices are currently being implemented to great success, and how this can consciously shape the future of architecture.

Closing Plenary and Panel

WHY EQUITY MATTERS: AN INTERSECTIONAL APPROACH TO STUDENT SUCCESS

Designers, planners and architects hold an invaluable key to creating just, equitable, diverse and inclusive (JEDI) outcomes in the built environment at all scales. Designing safe, dignified, equitable and beautiful spaces for all are not mutually exclusive and requires an intersectional approach to advance the #JEDIagenda in Architecture School curriculum. What does it take to cultivate the next generation of design professionals with skills for empathy, awareness and intercultural intelligence? This workshop session will engage participants to understand and practice concepts of intersectionality and intercultural intelligence in advancing equitable practice. We will explore the theory of intersectionality as it relates to identity and increased barriers for people in multiple at-risk categories. We will also learn about the theory of intercultural intelligence, which creates a framework for developing empathy and understanding of culture beyond the context of race/ethnicity. The AIASF 2018 Equity in Architecture Survey will highlight the current challenges for students who are historically underrepresented. - Rosa Sheng, Mani Farhadi, Helen Bronston, and Prescott Reavis will share personal stories that celebrate intersectional identities while navigating systems of barriers and bias. Additionally, the panel will lead a group exercise to explore intersectionality as it relates to student success and relevant design outcomes.

Panel Bios:

Rosa Sheng, FAIA, LEED AP BD+C

Principal, Director of Equity, Diversity, Inclusion

An accomplished architect, Rosa Sheng has led internationally acclaimed projects including the aesthetically minimal iconic Apple flagship stores, Pixar Animation Studios – Steve Jobs Building and several innovative projects at institutions of higher learning. Her most notable work champions design of just, equitable, and inclusive environments across disciplines. In 2019, Rosa was celebrated as a Metropolis GameChanger for her leadership as founder of Equity by Design (EQxD). The group’s advocacy is dedicated to minimizing barriers and providing just access to the resources that design professionals need to thrive – regardless of gender, socioeconomic, race/ethnic identity or physical ability. Rosa and the advocacy work of EQxD has received critical acclaim in the Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, ARCHITECT Magazine. She has presented at Harvard GSD, TEDxPhiladelphia, SxSW and the Cannes Lions Festival on Creativity

Helen Bronston, AIA

Associate, SmithGroup

Helen Bronston serves as the Architecture Discipline Lead for the San Francisco office of SmithGroup, where she is an associate. Raised in Wisconsin, she holds a BA in Anthropology from Yale, and an MArch from Harvard, where she was awarded the AIA Adams Medal. Over her 26-year career she has worked exclusively for non-profit educational, healthcare, and governmental organizations, for that is where she has felt she can do the most good for the greatest number of people. She is currently serving on the board of directors for Joan’s House, a newly-forming shelter for transgender women who have been incarcerated. Her experience transitioning gender as an architect was profiled in the San Francisco Business Times on 12 June 2015. Unable to leave school behind, Helen is also very slowly writing a PhD dissertation in History of Architecture at UC Berkeley

Mani Ardalain Farhadi, Associate AIA, LEED AP

Senior Facilities Planner, Stanford University

A global thinker and creative thought leader, Mani Ardalan Farhadi brings three decades of experience in architectural planning. In her current role as Senior Facilities Planner at Stanford University, in the Office of Facilities Planning and Management (OFPM) within the School of Medicine, Mani is combining her passion for education, with her extensive planning skills. Her prior experience includes Taylor Design in San Francisco, Steinberg Hart in San Jose, and Sasaki Associates in Boston. Using analytical skills, she is integral to campus projects, collaborating on design and planning strategies with public and private educational clients throughout the US. Described as ‘the client in the room”, Mani’s keen ability to listen builds consensus within user group settings. Leveraging her expertise, Mani enjoys leading workshops, stakeholder presentations, and conferences nationwide (SCUP, AIA, EQXD, CCFC, CCLC, A4LE, SPUR)

Prescott Reavis, NOMA, LEED AP, SEED

Founding Director of Anomili Design + Planning

Prescott Reavis is an Oakland based Spatial Activist, designer, planner and award-winning educator who has merged over 20 years of experiences in architecture, planning, and education to develop and construct inclusive communities internationally with a focus on equitable design and planning justice. Prescott leads, Anomili Design + Planning, providing community engagement, planning, design and youth design education for non-profits, small business, and community-based organizations, projects include Planning, Community Engagement and Design for The Oakland Black Cultural Zone, and Community Planning/education in collaboration with The Center for Cities + Schools at UC Berkeley, Y-PLAN program throughout the San Francisco Bay Area.

Mr. Reavis previously served as the Director of Community Planning and Project Manager for national renowned Public Interest Design Organization AND Architecture + Community Planning, an Associate at Anshen + Allen Architects. Prescott is accredited in Sustainable Design, certified in Social Economic Environmental Design, he earned his Bachelor of Architecture with a minor in education from Howard University and is currently completing his Masters in Urban Planning from San Jose State University with a focus on integrating youth in the planning and design processes.

SOLD OUT! (as of June 1st, 2018)

Thank you for your interest. Please check out our programming for the rest of the year!

Equity by Design is please to announce its 4th Hackathon will be held at Syracuse University's Fisher Center in New York City.

Equity by Design Hackathon 4: ArchitectuREvolution

A’18 Theme
The New Urban Agenda serves as a multi-faceted platform for Architects to apply our best skills towards imagining and committing to a world that is truly inclusive, where equity is for everyone. The EQxD Hackathon embodies the defining characters of the Agenda - to reinvigorate, to ensure effectiveness, and to create resiliency. Urban development,
while different in scale as Practice development, engenders similar goals of wellness for present generations, openness to embrace diversity and evolving demographics, and a pledge towards sustainability for the future by taking bold steps, together, and today.

What the Hack?

As one of the most anticipated workshops in the past four years, the EQxD Hackathon is a unique experience that is essential to building our skills as designers. Based on the Silicon Valley phenomena and emergence of Design Thinking the workshop is hands on, action-oriented, inclusive and teaches the process framework. Groups of thought leaders, licensed architects, and emerging professionals will assemble in an incubator-like setting to learn and apply radical thinking towards transformational concepts for improving Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion in Architectural Practice and the Communities we serve. Teams will present their Hacks to industry experts and the winning concepts will be presented at the Happy Hour immediately following.

Read More on Last Year's Hackathon Experience in Orlando

Why the Hack?

Hackathons provide an energizing and alternative method to discover, unleash, and create through proximity, design thinking, and teamwork. It’s what happens when you incubate
passion with talent and suspend fear. It’s an experimental environment with a broad and diversely experienced group that's ripe for risk taking and leads to transformational results. Time is a fascinating influence in Hackathons. Perhaps an irony we are nostalgic about is that more time equates to better results. Discard that – we are not looking for perfection. We are looking for bold innovation in the here and now.

When the Hack? 

Wednesday, June 20, 2018 1:00-5:00pm for Hackathon Workshop and 5:30-7:30pm for Happy Hour Reception and Winners Announcement. 

Where the Hack?

Syracuse University School of Architecture has graciously provide in-kind sponsorship for the Hackathon and Happy Hour reception space at the Fisher Center. The entrance to the Fisher Center is located at 19 East 31st Street, between Fifth and Madison Avenues

How the Hack?

Thanks for your interest, unfortunately the event is sold out and we can't accept any additional people due to space limitations. Please check out the other programs for EQxD at A'18 and in the Fall.

Who the Hack?

Meet the #EQxDHack18 Panelists + Jurors

Each one of our Panelists has a story to tell about an experience that took them to that place just outside of his or her comfort zone.  That’s why they are perfect to collaborate as Jurors for the Hackathon. They share a passion for working on “firsts” and not being afraid to find the path (or the support network) to move from idea to realization.  Our panelists will also serve as jurors who are diverse by design, thereby representing a collective and multivalent discussion informed by gender, cultural background, role in AEC industry, and years of experience.

Katherine Darnstadt, AIA - Architect, Entrepreneur, Activist and Founder of Latent Design

Katherine Darnstadt is the founder of Latent Design, a progressive architecture, urbanism, and interiors firm leveraging civic innovation and social impact to design more equitable spaces and systems. Since founding her practice in 2010, Katherine and her firm have been published, exhibited and featured widely, most notably at the International Venice Architecture Biennale, Core 77 Design Awards, Architizer A+ Awards, Chicago Ideas Week, NPR, American Institute of Architects Young Architects Honor Award winner, and Crain’s Chicago 40 Under 40. She currently teaches at Northwestern University.

Danny Guillory - Head of Global Diversity & Inclusion Autodesk

As Head of Global Diversity & Inclusion at Autodesk, Daniel is working to integrate all dimensions of diversity and includsion into many parts of the organization, inclusing customer acquisition, recruitment, hiring, people development, advancement, investment, and acquisition. He also is interested in the application of people analytics and passionate about the integration of diversity into the development of Artificial Intelligence. Daniel studied at Stanford University, Universite de Paris, and Chemnitz University of Technology in Germany.

Emmanuel Oni - Active Design Fellow Design Trust for Public Space

Emmanuel Oni is an architectural designer interested in using design as a catalyst for social change, and has experience in the arts as a painter and arts facilitator. He participated in international urbanism workshops in Venice, Hong Kong, and Lagos, and Parson’s Design Workshops. He received a Master’s in Architecture from Parsons School of Design and a dual Bachelor’s in Biology & Psychology from the University of Houston.

Frances Choun - Equity Champion and Mentor, Former Leader in Construction

Frances is an established and trusted leader formerly as Vice- President of McCarthy’s Northern Pacific Division. Her visionary leadership has propelled the company forward as one of the largest commercial contracting firms in California. Frances launched her career in Architecture, where she developed an interest in the construction side of the business. As an industry expert, Frances is regularly called upon by local, trade and national media to address new and projected trends, and is considered a pioneer in advancing women in the construction field. Frances was in the pioneering class of the Equity by Design's Hackathon at the AIA Convention in Atlanta. This year, her fervor for hacking continues and she will help us select a winner.

Lilian Asperin AIA, LEED AP BD+C; Session Organizer; Partner, WRNS Studio

As Partner at WRNS Studio, Lilian helps to lead the design process and build teams that deliver aspirational outcomes. In her role as Pacific Council Chair for SCUP, she organizes immersive experiences where the most pressing topics within Higher Education are brought to bear. As a Director of the AIA SF Board and Co-Chair of the Equity by Design Committee, she is engaged in a national conversation focused on equitable practices within the Architecture profession.

Rosa Sheng FAIA, LEED AP BD+C - Event Organizer - Principal, SmithGroup JJR

Rosa is an architect with over 23 years experience, who has been involved in a variety of award-winning and internationally acclaimed projects, from the aesthetically minimal, highly technical development of the glass structures for Apple’s original high-profile retail stores, to the innovative and sustainable LEED NC Gold–certified Lorry I. Lokey Graduate School of Business at Mills College in Oakland, California. As founding chair of Equity by Design and President 2018 of AIA San Francisco, Sheng authored AIA National Resolution 15-1 in 2015, and served on the Equity in Architecture Commission in 2016. She has presented nationally and abroad including Boston, New York, Lisbon, Atlanta, Philadelphia, and Seattle. Equity by Design has been featured in Architect Magazine, Architectural Record, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, TEDxPhiladelphia and KQED/NPR.

Special Thanks to our #EQxDHack18 Sponsors

In Kind Sponsor for EQxD Hack Space :

Equity by Design is pleased to announce that Rosa Sheng, AIA, LEED AP BD+C will be the 2018 Convocation Speaker for the Syracuse University School of Architecture.

Aloha AIA Honolulu! 

Rosa Sheng, AIASF President and Founder of Equity by Design and Frances Choun, past AIASF Board Officer, former VP of McCarthy Building Companies and Equity by Design Champion will be speaking about the results from the 2016 Equity in Architecture Survey, as well as information about the 2018 survey.

This will frame the discussion on how Architecture and professional practice can remain relevant, provide meaningful engagement and better design outcomes for the communities we serve.

Frances Choun will be the moderator for the discussion/Q&A

All work and no play makes for dull professionals they say!

Based on advice from other Equity by Design members, our next "meet up" will be a social networking event Happy Hour - Red Dog Restaurant and Bar

Drinks and Snacks are Dutch

Please spread the word and Join us! 

Quarter 2 Topic: Articulating your Values

This year, EQxD will be featuring Quarterly Topics for deep dive rumination, discussion and action! Quarter 2 Topic for Discussion: Articulating your Values and is worth 1.5 AIA LU.

EQxD "U" Workshop Q2 - How to Become a Change Agent

How do the industry’s most influential change agents move from identifying a problem to making a lasting impact? Workshop participants will be invited to learn from the experiences of thought leaders who have shifted the status quo in their work within the urban context of San Francisco and the Bay Area.

These leaders will guide participants through tools and techniques while offering them an opportunity to put those skills into practice in a hands-on workshop. Attendees will develop a framework of steps: how to frame a problem, engage others to ideate and find solutions, and leverage networks to implement change as a Call to Action for desired, transformational outcomes.

Meet the Change Agents Panel

Garrett Jacobs - Executive Director Open Architecture Collaborative

Garrett’s architectural journey began in post Katrina New Orleans. With a passion for social justice and connecting people, Garrett focuses his energy on organizing the allied design professions in reflective community work. He has over six years of organizing experience from community design build projects, to running an international network of volunteer chapters, and even a national network of municipal civic technologists. Garrett led the reorganization of the Architecture for Humanity Chapter Network and is currently the founding Executive Director of the Open Architecture Collaborative working to inspire, rally and support designers to challenge the status quo of design services.

Maia Small - Urban Design / Design Review Manager at San Francisco Planning Department

Maia Small is a Senior Planner Architect at the San Francisco Planning Department where she leads the design review team and provides architectural expertise in the development of building form, open space, and policy in long-range planning. Maia was a partner in Thurlow Small Architecture from 2006 to 2013 where she designed and managed architecture and urban design projects for commercial, institutional and municipal clients.  Prior to her private practice, she worked for Bernard Tschumi Architects in New York and Mark Cavagnero Associates in San Francisco. Maia completed her Master of Architecture at the Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation and her Bachelor of Arts in Architecture at the University of California, Berkeley. She has also taught architecture at Harvard University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the Rhode Island School of Design, and the University of Tennessee.

Jennifer Jones, CAE IOM - Executive Director, AIA SF

Jennifer Jones, MS, CAE, IOM serves as Executive Director of AIA San Francisco (AIASF), one of the largest AIA Chapters in the nation representing 2,200+ members in San Francisco and Marin County. As executive director, her core responsibilities relate to long‐term organizational stability and success of AIASF, which includes establishing and maintaining internal and external partnerships, guiding strategic planning, formulating policy, and leading administration in the interest of architect and allied professional membership. Jenn has an MS in Public Service & Nonprofit Management from DePaul University, and was a 2006 DePaul Public Service Fellow. Jenn has been honored for her accomplishments in association management by PR Newswire, Association of Media & Publishing, International Association of Business Communicators, and Association TRENDS. She is currently managing the Friends of Harvey Milk Design Competition for rethinking the use of the historic plaza in the Castro District.

Change Agent Panel Moderator and Workshop Facilitator

Lilian Asperin, AIA Associate and Project Director, WRNS Studio

Lilian values a firm culture that embraces collaboration, connection to the community, risk taking and fostering talent. As an Associate and Project Director for WRNS Studio’s San Francisco office, she helps lead the design process and build teams that deliver aspirational outcomes. Lilian attended the University of California, Berkeley and graduated with honors. After completing her studies, Lilian worked at architecture firms around the Bay Area, including Stanley Saitowitz, the City of San Francisco’s Bureau of Architecture, SOM and NBBJ. A leader within the Society for College and University Planning (SCUP), she organized the first-ever Hackathon for MOOC’s as part of the Pacific Regional Conference and continues her involvement with the organization as Council Program Chair. Lilian also acts as Co-Chair of AIA San Francisco’s Equity by Design, a call to action for both women and men to realize the goal of equitable practice and communicate the value of design to society.

Learning Objectives - 1.5 AIA CEU/LU

1. Participants will be able to analyze data from career dynamics survey results, identify issues and frame problem statements related to pinch points in career dynamics.
2. Using examples shared by session leaders and question prompts participants will developmethods for engaging others to find solutions to identified problems.
3. Participants will determine how to identify resources and prioritize workflow into immediate, short-term and long-term milestones.
4. Participants will propose a quantifiable solution to identified problem or opportunity, and develop actionable steps for implementation of solutions in a larger scale.

#EQxDChangeAgents Event Agenda

6pm - 6:15pm Registration and Networking

6:15 - 7pm Change Agent Intro & Panel Discussion

7pm - 7:30pm Change Agent Workshop

7:30pm - 7:45pm Report Back & Conclusions

7:45 - 8pm Networking and Clean-up

Articles to read before the event:

Leading Change: Why Transformation Efforts Fail

Your Company's Secret Change Agents

Social Design Pathways via ImpactDesignHub

Want A Stronger Work Ethic? Learn How To Raise Informal Leaders

Four Elementary Forms of Sociality Impacting Trust and Relationships

Booklet on the MSRP

We are pleased to announce the location of our 2017 EQxD Hackathon Happy Hour on Wednesday, April 26, 2017 (5:30-7:30pm) at Cuba Libre, walking distance from the Orlando Convention Center . After the A'17 Conference Workshop [WE304] EQxD Hackathon: Architecture And the Era of Connections (Wednesday April 26, 1-5pm) we will have a recap of the workshop, and jury results of the winners along with a networking reception to catch up with Hackathon alumni from Atlanta, Philadelphia and AIA EQxD Champions.

Register for WE304 EQxD Hackathon & Happy Hour

If you register for AIA National Pre-Conference Workshop [WE304] EQxD Hackathon: Architecture And the Era of Connections, your admission to #EQxDHack17 Happy Hour is included! Please register for it from the AIA Conference on Architecture via the Registration Website - the time of the workshop is Wednesday April 26th 1-5pm. (Early Bird Registration ends 2/15)

Register for #EQxDHack17 Happy Hour Only

If you can't join us for the EQxD Hackathon from 1-5pm on 4/26, but want to join the fun for the #EQxDHack17 Recap and Happy Hour Networking Reception, you can register for this event separately. Registration includes 2 drink tickets and the mouth watering appetizers of the popular Cuban inspired cuisine of Cuba Libre.

#EQxDHack17 Happy Hour Only Registration Fees

(covers drink tickets and mouthwatering Cuba Libre appetizers:

$15 for Students and EPs
$20 AIA Members
$30 for General Admission.

On Friday January 13th, 2017,  The Architecture Lobby is hosting a Think-In at Gensler Oakland. AIASF EQxD's founding chair Rosa Sheng, AIA will be joining the panel discussion.

Gensler Oakland
2101 Webster St #2000
Oakland, CA 94612

This free event is open to the public and will take place from 5-9pm.  A Think-In is a forum for working through difficult and contested ideas in architectural practice.  We are inviting an array of contributors to weigh in: activists, practitioners, leaders of professional organizations, and academics.  The Think-In is free and open to the public, and all interested students, academics, or practitioners are strongly encouraged to join the discussion. Food and drink will also be served.  Visit our Facebook page for more information.

Think-In Discussions and Panelists:

1. Labor, Fees and Wages in the Contemporary Economy
   Panelists: Maria Danielides; Peggy Deamer, Yale University and The Architecture Lobby; Jason Geller, Fisher & Phillips, LLP
2. The Pros and Cons of Contemporary Professionalization
   Panelists: Doris Guerrero, Gensler; Janette Kim, ARPA Journal
3. Architectural Institutions
   Panelists: Margaret Crawford, UC Berkeley; Rosa Sheng, Bohlin Cywinski Jackson and Equity by Design
4. Media and the Public Perception of Architecture
   Panelists: Eva Hagberg Fisher, UC Berkeley; Nancy Levinson, Places Journal

All discussions are moderated by Nancy Alexander.

We are looking forward to joining AIA Virginia for Architecture Exchange East on November 3rd. Rosa Sheng, AIA, LEED AP BD+C will be presenting the opening Keynote on 11/3 at this year's conference at the Greater Richmond Convention Center.

Join Rosa Sheng, AIA, as she discusses how equitable practice has the potential to foster success on multiple levels - equity in the workplace, and socially just access to basic resources, healthier communities and resilient public space in our urban centers. The value proposition of equity at all these levels is rooted in empathy, transparency, education, collaboration and trust. The lack of equity in Architectural practice and allied professions has made Architects prone to lose talent to other more lucrative career paths due to factors that challenge retention; long hours, low pay, work that is misaligned with professional goals, and lack of transparency for promotion and compensation. In order to achieve equity in the built environment, the design workforce needs to diversify to reflect the rapidly changing demographic of people that we are charged to serve. Architecture is also prone to the public not fully understanding the value or potential of what Architects can bring to the table. In terms of social impact, design has the power to inform more equitable, resilient, sustainable and relevant built environments for the increasingly multicultural population of our nation.

Thursday Keynote: Why Equity (in Practice) Matters – Rosa Sheng, AIA (AE16OK)

WikiD - Women.Wikipedia. Design. A Discussion and Resources Q&A

AIASF #EQxDM3 Symposium Thought Leaders Lori Brown and Justine Clark will discuss their collaboration on wikiD, the effort to write more women architects into Wikipedia. They will discuss where the idea and inspiration behind the project came from, how it began, its evolution into an international effort spearheaded between groups in New York, Melbourne and Berlin as well as the impacts wikiD has had thus far globally.

Location: The California Historical Society - 678 Mission Street, San Francisco, CA 94105

Admission: FREE To Members of AIASF and California Historical Society, General Admission is $10 for non-members.

Lori Brown’s creative practice examines the relationships between architecture and social justice. She is the author of Contested Spaces: Abortion Clinics, Women’s Shelters and Hospitals and the editor of Feminist Practices: Interdisciplinary Approaches to Women in Architecture. She is the co-founder and leads ArchiteXX, a women and architecture group working to bridge the academy and practice in New York City. She is Professor of Architecture at Syracuse University.

Justine Clark is an architectural editor, writer, researcher and critic. She is a co-founder of the advocacy organisation Parlour: women, equity, architecture and a former editor of Architecture Australia, the journal of the Australian Institute of Architects. Justine is an active participant in public discussions of architecture. Her work has won awards for architecture in the media and her broader contribution to the profession was recognised in 2015 with the Marion Mahony Prize. Her writing appears on both scholarly and professional press and she is co-author, with Dr Paul Walker, of Looking for the Local: Architecture and the New Zealand Modern (2000). Justine is an honorary senior research fellow at the University of Melbourne, Australia. 

We are pleased to announce the location of our 2016 EQxD Hackathon Happy Hour (5:30-7:30pm) at Smokin' Betty's, near the Philadelphia Convention Center . After [WE315] EQxD Hackathon: Architecture And the Era of Connections (Wednesday, 1-5pm) we will have a recap of the workshop, and jury results of the winners along with a networking reception to catch up with Hackathon alumni from Atlanta.

Register for WE315 EQxD Hackathon & Happy Hour

If you register for AIA National Pre-Convention Workshop [WE315] EQxD Hackathon, your admission to Happy Hour is included! Please register for it from the AIA National Convention Registration Website - the time of the event is Wednesday May 18th 1-5pm. 

Register for Happy Hour Only

If you can't join us for the EQxD Hackathon, but want to join the fun for the EQxDHackathon Recap and Happy Hour Networking Reception, you register for this event separately. Registration includes 2 drink tickets and the mouth watering appetizers of the Zagat rated popular local Philly eatery. Eventbrite Registration for the Happy Hour Only will begin on March 18th. 

Registration Fees (covers drink tickets and mouthwatering Smokin' Betty's appetizers:

• $15 for Students and EPs
• $20 AIA Members
• $30 for General Admission.

Smokin' Betty's -  116 S 11th St, Philadelphia, PA 19107

Special thanks to the generosity of our Happy Hour sponsor McCarthy Building Companies in addition to our other event sponsors - Autodesk, WRNS, HOK, and HGA.

Living Future 2016: Truth + Transparency: Celebrating a Decade of Innovation

Join Rosa Sheng for a special MasterSpeaker workshop on May 13th.

Why Equity in Architecture Matters: A new value proposition for sustainable design. 

Architectural practice is prone to lose talent to other career paths due to many factors that challenge retention; long hours, low pay, lack of transparency for promotion and work that is misaligned with career goals. Beyond sustainability of the built environment, equitable practice shapes a new value proposition. It supports the retention of human resources, as well as the creation of socially just and ecologically sound environments. The results of the 2014 Equity in Architecture Survey coupled with an interactive discussion will encourage the development of best practices for increasing diversity, expanding career opportunities with socially and environmentally conscious design.

Rosa Sheng, AIA will be presenting the Keynote at Day 1 of AIAS Forum in San Francisco - Save the date!

Rosa Sheng, AIA will kick off the 2015 AIAS Forum in San Francisco with a keynote presentation on Why Equity Matters in the Future of Architecture. 

Full Schedule Available Here

Register Online