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A New Model for Fighting Inequality in Architectural Education

Session 2A | 11:20 - 12:20 PM

A New Model for Fighting Inequality in Architectural Education

Session 4A | 2:30 - 3:30 PM

1 AIA LU

By 2022, most White architects have attended at least one workshop on implicit bias. Despite this rise of participation, the actual changes in many White architects have remained at the intellectual level, failing to elicit the deep levels of emotional and empathetic change necessary for their own personal transformation. This in turn means that our industry is failing to build a tangible platform for systemic and permanent change. This session will go deep to explore the roots of authentic action towards diversity, equity and inclusivity initiatives. Then, the panel will share how deeper levels of self-awareness towards implicit bias led to the creation of JADE-PHL. This multi-school, multi non-profit coalition of educators, architects and non-profit leaders of multiple ethnicities is building a platform for ongoing systemic change. This session marks a departure from DEI workshops held in the past because it will turn the focus to the topics of White privilege in architecture and explore how that privilege can be transferred into an authentic ally-ship model (JADE-PHL) in the quest to build an authentic equitable community in the profession and in academia.

  1. Recognize the roots of authentic action towards diversity, equity and inclusivity.
  2. Recognize the role of intentionality and self-awareness in addressing implicit bias.
  3. Give examples of initiatives that delve more deeply into systemic change.
  4. Give examples of how privilege can be used to initiative systemic change.

Meet the Speakers

Tya Winn

A trained architect, Tya comes to the Collaborative after serving as the Director of Project Planning & Design for Habitat for Humanity Philadelphia. Her experience also includes working for the Philadelphia Housing Authority and Logan Community Development Corporation. She brings a deep understanding of the Philadelphia design and community development landscape to the work of the Collaborative, and has a deep commitment to using design as a way to tackle social justice issues.

Rob Fleming, AIA, NOMA, LEED AP, LFA

Rob Fleming is an award-winning educator, author, LEED® accredited professional, and architect. He is the Director of Online Innovation at the Weitzman School of Design, University of Pennsylvania, where he develops executive education programs focused on sustainable design. Rob is also the Chief Sustainability Officer at Ian Smith Design Group in Philadelphia, where he heads up a study on the relationship between embodied carbon, historic preservation and sustainability. In 2022, Rob will become the AIA Philadelphia President. He also serves as a board director for the Center for Architecture and Design where he co-founded the Justice Alliance for Design Education. Rob is the author or co-author of four books on sustainable design and is currently writing a book on survivability. In Rob’s former life, he was the Founding Director of the MS in Sustainable Design Program at Thomas Jefferson University.

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