April 2023 Chapter President’s letter

A personal letter from Angela Mazzi, FAIA, FACHA, EDAC on ways to shape the profession in a changing world

March—already I can feel the madness setting in and not just around basketball. As we are seeing in these surprise upsets on the way to the final four, old structures are changing. We cannot count on “the way we always did it” and fall back on the status quo any longer.

We see impacts in the arena of health and wellbeing based on the latest IPCC Climate report issued March 20. If you care about issues like this, make sure you join our newly-relaunched Committee on the Environment (COTE) for its next meeting on April 5. Register to attend.

We see the increasing value placed on workplace diversity and the unique impact it has on the way we do business. This is a recent article I read from the American Psychological Association about women leaders. If you’d like to talk more about these issues, please complete this short survey put together by our Women in Architecture Committee. This group will use your input to put together Dining Circles—a relationship-building program that provides women architects and designers with an opportunity to meet other women in the community and share experiences in a comfortable environment. As with anything, this only works if you participate (I’m looking at you, women architects of AIA Cincinnati). And we’re not done yet. Please join us for our VISION lecture and JEDI collaborative event on April 20, where guest Roderic Walton talks Equity in Black America: Where We Hope to Be in 2023.

We see the value placed on being advocates at every scale, from our neighborhoods to communities and even national impacts. Our Local Advocacy Working Group has been hosting some great workshops and their next meeting provides an update on historic preservation efforts from Cincinnati Preservation Association on April 13. Alternately, you can attend the next Urban Design Community Gathering on April 12.

You are never too young or too early in your career to be a changemaker. In fact, that’s the best time to start building your network and thought leadership cred. Meet other Early Professionals at the next planning team virtual meeting of this committee on April 10.

As a leader and Fellow in our component, I get to participate in something called the Leadership Exchange. This group represents members of the National Board who host bimonthly updates of AIA National’s agenda. Our group is hosted by Laura Lesniewski, a National At-Large Director and includes Alabama, Arkansas, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio, and Tennessee. A link to the presentation from our last call is available. Please send me your comments or agenda suggestions. I am here to represent your interests to National, so don’t make me guess about what is important to you!

Change also means leadership changes. It is officially election season for the National board. Please visit this link to learn more about the candidates and hear their campaign speeches: 2023 Annual Meeting - AIA. Then, let me know the hard questions you want me to ask them about what AIA can do for you. We are putting together a tracker form and forging relationships with leaders at other AIA components to make sure that these candidates hear from AIA members on the issues that matter most.

Nope, the status quo won’t do any longer. Our profession is changing. The world is changing. Be a part of welcoming in an era that is empathetic and responsive to the needs of all people.

Angela Mazzi, FAIA, FACHA, EDAC
2023 AIA Cincinnati President