20 NORTHERN NEVADA ARCHITECTURE .22 | 2022 | aiann.org This year marks a year of substantial change for our organization. Under the Presidency of Daniel Hart, FAIA, we welcomed Lakisha Ann Woods, CAE, as our new EVP/Chief Executive Officer; the Board of Directors committed funds and a strategy for the successful undertaking of our headquarters’ renovation at 1735 New York Ave; we witnessed our organization’s first presidential race comprised of two substantially qualified and historically underrepresented female candidates; and, with the pandemic beginning to slow, we conducted A’22, our first face-to-face organizational gathering since 2020, in the great city of Chicago and in the company of former U.S. President, Barack Obama. Through these and many other efforts in recent years, our organization’s work focuses on relevancy both within the profession and the profession itself. During 2020 – as the COVID-19 pandemic was gripping our world – AIA immediately jumped into action by providing services, knowledge, and tools to help members, components, and communities design strategies for reaching the best potential outcomes while considering the impossible situations in which we found ourselves. Special AIA task forces took action to coordinate with public officials on safely adapting existing buildings into health facilities and issuing expert guidance that was distributed by the State Department. In a series of virtual charrettes, AIA convened architects, public health experts, engineers, and facility managers for our Reopening America initiative. This is an example of the model organization, one that we should always strive to embody. We were relevant at a time of need because we engaged society where and when it needed us most and demonstrated our value instead of just talking about it. When we are relevant, we are valuable, and to me, this is how we flourish; this is how we can simultaneously do the right thing for society and for our practices and professionals. In connecting the work and direction of AIA National and AIA Northern Nevada, I must borrow a quote used many times this year by President Hart in our work together: Archimedes once said, “Give me a long enough lever and a place to stand, and I will move the earth.” As a smaller chapter, we have our fair share of difficulties and challenges but also our own unique opportunities. I think of our dedicated local volunteer members with their passion and willingness to devote countless hours to something greater than themselves as the solid “place to stand” mentioned by Archimedes. Our “long lever” is something that, due to our size, we find challenges in manifesting. To me, the resources and opportunities provided by AIA National can become this. When our volunteer efforts and national resources mix correctly, we have the power to manage any challenge we face as a local organization. Northern Nevada’s architectural community has historically struggled to attract young talent into our firms, largely because our region does not possess any professional schools of architecture. High school students in our region who wish to pursue this field must leave for their education. Truckee Meadows Community College (TMCC) and AIA Northern Nevada have long attempted to fill these gaps with a 2-year transferable associate degree as well as robust scholarship programs for financial support. While many have taken advantage of these resources, the consequence of not having a local path to licensure has led to a brain drain phenomenon within the local architectural community since the transfer students most often take advantage of opportunities near their accredited schools upon graduation. While this circumstance may have fallen on deaf ears only a half dozen years ago at AIA National, our organization is now 2022 Year in Review – AIA National NATHANIEL HUDSON, AIA, NOMA, NCARB, 2021-2023 NATIONAL DIRECTOR-AT-LARGE, AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF ARCHITECTS, BOARD OF DIRECTORS, PRINCIPAL – FORMGREY STUDIO, RENO NV
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