New Members

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We are always excited to welcome new members to Virginia. The following members recently joined the ranks of AIA Virginia.

New Architect Members

William Sergison, AIA (Northern Virginia)

New Associate Members

Mashkur Abdullahi, Assoc. AIA (Richmond)
William Atkinson, Assoc. AIA (Richmond)
Dana Cook, Assoc. AIA (Hampton Roads)
Ashlyn Griffith, Assoc. AIA (Richmond)
Noor Hadi, Assoc. AIA (Hampton Roads)
Carly Harland, Assoc. AIA (Northern Virginia)
Margaret Lockhart, Assoc. AIA (Hampton Roads)
Evelyn Song, Assoc. AIA (Northern Virginia)
Benjamin Sturkie, Assoc. AIA (Hampton Roads)
Anna Bernas-Kelly, Assoc. AIA (Hampton Roads)
Shivani Bhatia, Assoc. AIA (Northern Virginia)
Sandro Cafasso, Assoc. AIA (Richmond)
James Cooke, Assoc. AIA (Central Virginia)
Tommy Jones, Assoc. AIA (Northern Virginia)
Jason Lin, Assoc. AIA (Hampton Roads)
Angela Molina, Assoc. AIA (Northern Virginia)
Irem Sezer, Assoc. AIA (Richmond)
Klodian Toto, Assoc. AIA (Northern Virginia)

Transferred In

Francis Acuna, Assoc. AIA (Richmond) from AIA Florida
Briana Allen, Assoc. AIA (Richmond) from AIA Maryland
Taylor Beaudrot, AIA (Richmond) from AIA South Carolina
Robert Braddock, AIA (Northern Virginia) from AIA Washington DC
Christopher LaMora, AIA (Central Virginia) from AIA Washington DC
Terrance Pattillo, AIA (Richmond) from AIA North Carolina
Pedro Santini, Assoc. AIA (Northern Virginia) from AIA Washington DC
Robert Smedley, (Northern Virginia) from AIA Florida

New/Renewed Allied Members

Roland McPherson, Structural Engineer, McPherson Design PLLC

View all of the AIA Virginia Allied members

O Come, All Ye Faithful – In Praise of Volunteerism

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The end of the year is often a period of transition and AIA Virginia shares in the Janus-faced tradition of this portion of the calendar.

As we celebrate the contributions of those departing the Board of Directors, we welcome the new members and anticipate all that will be accomplished during the next term. 

Our profession reminds us that the best results are achieved through a collaborative process – that principle certainly applies to AIA Virginia. We are proudly and beneficially “member-driven”.  Our organization is fortunate to have skilled, passionate, and dedicated volunteers.

Opportunities to engage and be involved abound; many of our committees and councils seek new members. They are listed, along with a description of their scope and focus, on our website here.

Join us.  We invite you to engage. If interested, you can self-nominate yourself. Simply send a brief letter of interest and resume to me at pbattaglia@aiava.org. I’d be happy to discuss possibilities and integrate you into our efforts. If this service opportunity isn’t right for you at this time, please do share it with others. Fresh voices are welcome and encouraged to serve!

Paul Battaglia, AIA
Executive Vice President
AIA Virginia

Newly Licensed

Posted on by cguske

We understand the dedication and effort required to study for and pass the ARE. Congratulations to the following member for passing their exams and gaining licensure. This is great news that thrills all of us and we are so proud to call you an architect!

Heather Casey, AIA (Northern Virginia)

Have you recently passed the ARE? Upgrade your membership to Architect using this AIA form. or send an email to your Member Services Director, Cathy Guske, cguske@aiava.org

Are you ready to get licensed? AIA Virginia has discounted 60-day Amber Book subscriptions. Read more about it here>>

Have questions about licensure? Contact AIA Virginia’s State Licensing Advisor, Gina Robinson, AIA, at gina.robinson@hdrinc.com

New Members

Posted on by cguske

We are always excited to welcome new members to Virginia. The following members recently joined the ranks of AIA Virginia.

New Architect Members

Sungjae Lee, AIA (Northern Virginia)
Chul Moon, AIA (Northern Virginia)
Nguyen Nguyen, AIA (Northern Virginia)
James Dalton Price, AIA (Blue Ridge)

New Associate Members

Aidan Brown, Assoc. AIA (Blue Ridge)
Poorva Choudhary, Assoc. AIA (Northern Virginia)
Lauren Comet, Assoc. AIA (Richmond)
Gabrielle Angelica Gaite, Assoc. AIA (Northern Virginia)
Erin Kidd, Assoc. AIA (Richmond)
Chloe Sanderson, Assoc. AIA (Richmond)
Brigithe Urgilez, Assoc. AIA (Northern Virginia)

Transferred In

Yoselim Bravo, Assoc. AIA (Richmond) from AIA Florida
Adam C. Elsea, Assoc. AIA (Blue Ridge) from AIA Oklahoma
Johnathan C. Jackson, AIA (Central Virginia) from AIA Washington DC

New/Renewed Allied Members

View all of the AIA Virginia Allied members

An Update from our Licensing Advisor

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Hello and happy autumn, Candidates, Supervisors, and fellow Advisors! I am so excited to take on the role of Architect Licensing Advisor for the Commonwealth and to help you along your career journey, no matter the season. In case you’re wondering why I’m here and what this is all about, here’s a little background on the role.

Architect Licensing Advisors are volunteers who share their time to assist licensure candidates and architects as they work toward initial licensure, reciprocity, supervision, or mentorship. Anyone can be an Advisor and most volunteer with their firms, however, some are appointed by their university or (like myself) their AIA Component. Some Advisors only serve for a few years, and others have done so for decades. The community of Advisors includes students, new graduates, mid-career professionals, educators, licensing board members, and retirees.

No matter how we came to the role of Advisor, or how long we’ve been in it, we all share a commitment to assisting current and aspiring architects as they navigate the sometimes overwhelming path ahead. This could not have been made more clear than at NCARB’s biannual Licensing Advisors Summit, held this summer in Kansas City. Attendees came from all over the US and beyond (one from as far as Guam!) to connect with others, share their ideas and perspectives, and learn about NCARB’s new initiatives, policies, and support they have to offer their members. I have already learned so much from the vast network I connected with at the Summit, and left energized and full of ideas for ways to engage with our AIA Virginia community.

It’s easy to look at a large national organization like NCARB and feel like you’re just a Record Number sending emails and frustration into the void but I promise; they, like us, are real people. And they really are invested in supporting the licensure candidates and architects that they serve. If you ever reach a point where you feel helpless, hopeless, or like you’re going backward instead of forward – that’s where your Licensing Advisor can step in. Advisors have access to our greatest resource, the knowledge and experience of others, and can crowdsource advice or solutions if an answer isn’t readily available.

Thanks to our previous Advisor Michael Hammon, AIA for setting the bar high. I’ll be sharing additional resources and guidance with you during my two-year term. Please feel free to reach out, especially if there’s a topic you’re curious to learn more about, or a resource you think would be helpful to others. Questions about AXP, the AREs, or NCARB in general are always welcome and encouraged. I’m looking forward to connecting with you and supporting your path in any way that I can.

Gina Robinson, AIA
Architect Licensing Advisor – Virginia
gina.robinson@hdrinc.com  

Introducing Irem Sezer: our AIA Virginia VASG Resiliency Fellow

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As a direct result of our ongoing and substantial strategic partnership with Virginia Sea Grant (VASG), we are pleased to welcome Irem Sezer as the AIA Virginia VASG Resiliency Fellow.

Irem received a Bachelor of Architecture from Istanbul Technical University and is licensed as an architect in Turkey. Irem graduated in May 2023 with a Master of Architecture from Virginia Tech and is now pursuing licensure in the United States.

As the Resiliency Fellow, Irem will contribute to the resiliency and sustainability activities and programming organized by AIA Virginia, VA COTE, and the Outreach Advisory Council (e.g., Resiliency Week).

Irem will also support Virginia Sea Grant’s Adaptation Design Network (ADN). The ADN looks to integrate diverse disciplinary and sector-specific perspectives to generate transformational hybrid and nature-based solutions to issues such as flooding, sea level rise, and extreme weather.

Other potential projects include working with community-based resilience and design needs emerging from the Collaboratory with Wetlands Watch, or communities participating in the Resilience Adaptation & Feasibility Tool (RAFT) initiative with the University of Virginia, Virginia Tech, and Old Dominion University.

The fellow will be a member of the VASG fellowship community with access to professional development training and cohort services that aim to enable the teamwork needed to find solutions to our climate challenges. The fellow will also work with professional mentors from within the AIAVA community.

This fellowship presents a massive opportunity for us to strengthen our continuing efforts to address issues concerning resiliency and sustainability across the commonwealth and become a significant influencer of statewide policy; an objective identified in our current Strategic Plan.

Please contact Paul Battaglia if you or your firm would be interested in collaborating with Irem on resiliency activities.

Join Me At ArchEx

Posted on by cguske

As I sit here, on this rain-soaked Saturday afternoon, I find myself thinking about the upcoming AIA Virginia event annual convention, Architecture Exchange East (ArchEx). This is one of my favorite yearly AIA Virginia events. I look forward to the opportunity to be with friends and colleagues; share stories; create new memories; celebrate with the Honors and Design Award winners;  tours; seminars; and to be exposed to and learn about new products and materials.  This event has it all. Frankly, I am always saddened when ArchEx is over.

ArchEx 2023 starts on Wednesday, November 1, with a Keynote speaker with a military background discussing teamwork, collaboration, risk management, and readiness. All terms we are familiar with but this will offer a different viewpoint.  This will be followed by our AIA Virginia Annual Meeting where we review the AIA Virginia year, look at things planned for the coming year, and elect new AIA Virginia Officers. Wednesday finishes off with a number of different workshops, seminars, and tours.

I am particularly looking forward to Thursday.  The day kicks off with Networking Coffees centered around various topics of conversation. The morning is filled out with our Firm Size and Career Stage Round Table conversations and discussions. Don’t forget to visit the Expo Hall for lunch on Thursday and a chance to check out the latest materials and trends from our vendors and sponsors. Lunch is followed by an afternoon full of great workshops and seminars. My favorite seminar occurs on Thursday afternoon…the “2023 Design Award Winners”, with thoughts and commentary by the Jury Chair. The seminar always offers interesting and sometimes curious insight into the Award winners.  This is followed by another of my “must do” events, the Connections Cocktail Party. An opportunity to relax while you mix and mingle with sponsors, vendors, friends, and colleagues.  Always a great time!!

This year the Connections Cocktail Party is a prelude to Visions; our signature Honors and Awards celebration.   Visions offers a chance to celebrate the 2023 Honor and Design Award winners.  This year, Visions will be held at the historic Hippodrome Theatre, only a short distance away from the Convention Center. The celebration offers opportunities to celebrate & connect with old and new friends, over cocktails and hors d’oeuvres.  Visions celebration is always the highlight of ArchEx. Purchase your tickets before October 23, 2023.

ArchEx 2023 wraps up on Friday with a morning packed with seminars and workshops. Seminars on risk management, collaboration, preservation, and sustainability; something for everybody.

ArchEx 2023 is an event you do not want to miss! Registration is open and the discount period ends Friday! Register today>>

I look forward to seeing everyone at ArchEx.

Mitch Rowland, AIA
President
AIA Virginia

Brian Frickie Recognized as 2023 Noland Medalist

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The William C. Noland Medal, as the highest award bestowed on a member architect, is intended to honor a distinguished body of accomplishments, sustained over time, that spans a broad spectrum of the profession and that transcends the scope of normal professional activities. For 2023, the medal is awarded to Brian J. Frickie, FAIA.

As senior principal, president, and CEO of Arlington’s Kerns Group Architects, Frickie has helped his firm earn more than a dozen design awards. Within the firm he has institutionalized a practice culture that encourages young professionals to take on leadership roles on projects, in the office, in the AIA, in the profession, and in their communities.

But it is his service to the profession at state, local, and national levels that sets him apart as a worthy recipient of the Noland Medal. As his nomination asserts, “his visionary activism and collaborative, participatory style uphold the profession’s stature, elevate the organization’s relevance, and empower individual architects.” Over four decades, Brian has worked through local, state, regional, and national AIA components and in community organizations to highlight the instrumental roles architects can have in solving society’s most pressing issues.

As president of AIA Virginia, Frickie implemented initiatives to reconnect architects in schools and firms, to rebuild relationships among architects at all levels of the AIA, and to prepare future leaders. As charter member and later chair of the AIA National Small Firm Roundtable (SFRT), Brian refined and refocused the SFRT to… “advance the mutual interests of architects practicing in small firms,” and rebranded it as the Small Firm Exchange (SFx). Within the SFx mission, Frickie conceived AIAKinetic, the SFx APP (Architects’ Professional Primer), and served as its program director and managing editor. And, while representing The Virginias on the AIA National Strategic Council, he convened the Professional Development Study Group and chaired the AIA National Strategic Planning Committee in creating AIA’s 2021-2025 Strategic Plan, which is now being implemented.

Frickie has devoted his career to preparing future generations of architects to take on the mantle of creating a better environment for society, becoming more effective leaders, and developing a better profession. His vision of a year-long leadership development academy for emerging professionals came to fruition in 2009 as AIA Virginia’s Emerging Leaders in Architecture (ELA) program, now one of the oldest and longest continuously operating leadership programs for architects in the country.

For his passionate service, Brian Frickie, FAIA, will be presented with the Noland Medal at the Visions for Architecture event on Thursday, Nov. 2, 2023, at the Hippodrome Theatre in Richmond.

Dowling is 2023 Recipient of Award for Distinguished Achievement

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Shannon Dowling, AIA, principal and learning environments strategist at Ayers Saint Gross in Richmond, will be presented AIA Virginia’s 2023 Award for Distinguished Achievement. The Award for Distinguished Achievement recognizes either a singular achievement by an architect or the work of an entire career in any of the following: design, practice, education, service as a “citizen architect,” service to the profession, or initiatives to advance social justice, equity, diversity, or inclusion.

Dowling focuses on creating research-driven and student-centered learning environments. Equipped with an extensive knowledge of educational trends and challenges, she always works with the physical and psychological needs of students in mind. She collaborates closely with educators, students, and administrators to create inspirational yet functional space in which every student feels comfortable, safe, and ready to succeed.

in 2020 and 2021, as the recipient of a fellowship from the Society for College and University Planning, Dowling worked with students to create a playbook for the planning and design of diverse, equitable, and inclusive campus environments. The playbook, including the voices of more than two dozen institutions and more than 200 students, offers student-informed design strategies to create a more supportive physical environment for historically marginalized students.

Published in 2022, Dowling’s research project entitled Peripheral Vision: Planning and Designing Diverse, Equitable, and Inclusive Learning Environments – and its accompanying playbook – breaks down simple steps that institutions and designers can take to eliminate barriers to access and make existing and future spaces more welcoming and comfortable for a diversity of student populations. Dowling has written about her research and collaboration with students in numerous national publications and presented it widely. As the SCUP leadership notes, “The project has been far-reaching and impactful, not only for our SCUP constituency but many others who are committed to equitable and inclusive design.”

Dowling’s advocacy has extended to her local community and Richmond Public Schools. She lent her graphic design support to teachers in the Support Our Schools movement, actively contributing to raising awareness about the need for improved facility conditions and better teacher pay. Shannon’s dedication to fostering diversity and equity is evident through her volunteer work with Full STEAM Ahead, introducing middle school females to STEM professions, as well as her participation in numerous Career Fairs at local schools. Additionally, she has taken the initiative to lead camps and workshops, introducing children to the profession of architecture and inspiring the next generation of architects.

For her passionate service, Shannon Dowling, AIA, will be recognized with the Award for Distinguished Achievement at the Visions for Architecture event on Thursday, Nov. 2, 2023, at the Hippodrome Theatre in Richmond.

Welcome to Delaney Ogden, Director of Education

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We are very excited to welcome Delaney Ogden to the AIA Virginia team as our Director of Education.

Delaney arrives with considerable skills and experience in program and project management, client and vendor relationships, and event planning.

We look forward to the impact Delaney will have on our current and future programs. And to the opportunity to introduce you to her in the very near future.

You can reach Delaney at dogden@aiava.org

Delaney is a Richmond native who loves nothing more than LEARNING, creating long-lasting, meaningful relationships, and serving/helping others. She spent the first fifteen years of her career in the financial insurance industry, with positions expanding from Finance, Human Resources, Marketing, and Learning & Development. Through these roles and experiences, Delaney developed a deep passion for people, relationships, learning, and events management. She then spent the next two years in the hospitality industry selling and orchestrating hundreds of seamless events leaving a lasting impression on clients and attendees alike. In her free time, you’ll find Delaney spending time with her husband Jarrod, daughter Kerris, son Beckett, and their pup Ruby, exploring Richmond’s amazing culinary and wine scene, entertaining friends + family, hiking in the mountains (her happy place), traveling for new experiences, and enjoying a fine glass of bourbon (preferably, Buffalo Trace)!