Transformative Leadership Successes in Firms | A Glimpse into the AIA Leadership Summit

On Monday, February 24, in Washington, DC, AIA Philadelphia leaders and staff had the opportunity to attend the CACE Learning Retreat and AIA Leadership Summit. CACE helps staff across all components collaborate to advance the AIA's mission and improve the member experience by sharing ideas, advocating for components, and developing programs to enhance their operations. The AIA Leadership Summit is the premier advocacy and leadership training event for AIA chapter leaders. Local leaders attending the summit include: AIA Philadelphia President Danielle DiLeo Kim, AIA, President-Elect Katie Broh, AIA, Past-President Brian Smiley, AIA, CDT, LEED BD+C, Jonathan Weiss, AIA, LEED Fellow, WELL AP, Fitwel, and Sherman Aronson, AIA, LEED AP BD+C. These leaders are members of our Board of Directors and Committee on the Environment. Brian, Jonathan, and Sherman are speakers on the session "Green is the New Gold: AIA Rewards Sustainable Design Excellence," a session on the AIA Framework for Design Excellence. We are thrilled to have great Philadelphia representation at this AIA conference.

With that, we had the privilege to listen in on a panel discussion with 2025 AIA President, Evelyn M. Lee, FAIA, NOMA, 2025 AIA President-elect Illya Azaroff, FAIA, and AIA 2025 Strategic Councilor Leah Alissa Bayer, AIA, NOMA, NCARB. We learned how AIA is empowering its members to push boundaries, challenge conventions, and forge new directions in architectural practice.

In this discussion, Illya Azaroff promoted the use of a 32-hour work week for a smarter, not harder, approach to work. Leah Alissa Bayer shared an inclusive approach to her firm by allowing fully remote work to continue as a standard following the pandemic, as it allows employees flexibility and more room for volunteerism. During the talk, we were so excited to hear AIA President, Evelyn M. Lee, highlight local firm FIFTEEN Architecture + Design in her remarks. She recognized them for their more lattice rather than hierarchical approach to their leadership structure which creates a more inclusive and innovative firm culture. FIFTEEN's approach is inclusive and dynamic, allowing for everyone's expertise in the firm to be brought to the forefront. AIA Philadelphia is proud to congratulate FIFTEEN on the national recognition!

Moreover, we would like the story of more local firms to be shared nationally. Please use this link to share how your firm is having transformative successes. https://app.smartsheet.com/b/form/6789d1948f3d453dbedc6197deb9fc5a