During the first week of June, I traveled to Washington D.C. to serve as a delegate representing my local AIA (American Institute of Architects) chapter. I joined the AIA Northern Minnesota Board of Directors in 2022 and have served in two positions: Director and Treasurer. It has been a rewarding experience thus far working to engage this community of architects and industry partners through networking events, tours, and initiatives.
AIA Minnesota Delegate Duties (Northern MN)
2024 AIA Annual Business Meeting
In the current year, our roles as delegates involved deliberating on various resolutions and proposed amendments to the AIA bylaws, essential tasks we undertook as representatives of AIA MN. These responsibilities were the driving force behind our presence at the national conference in Washington D.C.
This is the AIA Official Delegate Booklet: https://www.aia.org/sites/default/files/2024-04/aia-delegate-booklet-2024.pdf
Each state’s delegate apportionment is based on membership totals – the breakout for MN is as follows:
Delegate Apportionment
AIA Minnesota – 1 delegate
AIA Minneapolis – 103 delegates
AIA Northern Minnesota – 8 delegates
AIA St. Paul – 29 delegates
Below are the resolutions and bylaw changes that were voted on:
RESOLUTIONS
AIA Health and Wellbeing Policy
For additional context and detail pages 14-15.
Inclusion of Additional Underrepresented Groups within the AIA Strategic Plan 2021-2025’s Equity Statement
For additional context and detail pages 16-17.
Governing Body Amendment
For additional context and detail pages 18-19.
Providing Virtual Attendance Options for AIA Annual Conference and Women’s Leadership Summit
For additional context and detail pages 20-21.
PROPOSED AMENDMENTS TO AIA BYLAWS
Governance Amendments to AIA Bylaws
For additional context and detail pages 22-25.
Proposed Membership Category Amendments to AIA Bylaws:
- Motion to amend the AIA Bylaws categories of Membership related to Architect Members, Associate Members, Allied Members, and Honorary Fellows and Honorary Members
- Motion to amend the AIA Bylaws to expand AIA membership to Internationally Licensed Architectural Professionals
- Motion to amend the AIA Bylaws to expand AIA membership to Student Members
- Motion to amend the AIA Bylaws to expand AIA membership to Academic Members
For additional context and detail pages 26-34.
Candidate Caucus & Voting for Election of Officers and Directors at Large
Following the AIA Annual Business Meeting, we all attended the Candidate Caucus where we listened to the candidates’ opinions and agendas during a Q&A. Following this meeting, online voting opened up.
Candidates for 2025 President-elect/2026 President
Illya Azaroff, FAIA (AIA New York)
Ryan J. Gann, AIA (AIA Illinois)
Steven Lewis, FAIA (AIA California)
Candidates for 2025-2026 Secretary
Joshua Flowers, FAIA (AIA Tennessee)
Lester Korzilius, FAIA (AIA International)
Candidates for 2025-2027 At-large Director
Kenneth J. Filarski, FAIA (AIA Rhode Island)
Varun Kohli, FAIA (AIA New York)
Adam Viorel Pantelimon-Negrut, Intl. Assoc. AIA (AIA Canada)
Matthew Toddy, AIA (AIA Ohio)
For additional context and detail pages 34-48.
AIA Minnesota Board Member Dinner
After many days and meetings of preparation prior to the trip to DC for the AIA Annual Business Meeting, performing our delegate duties at the meeting and voting it was great to get together and celebrate. I had a wonderful time getting to know the other AIA Minnesota delegates.
Seminars
The conference provided an overwhelming amount of seminar opportunities! They had small gatherings at vendor booths, classes of 50 people all the way up to the morning keynotes where thousands were in attendance. I enjoyed seminar topics related to AI, state of construction economy, leadership, mentorship, and resiliency.
Next Year – 2025 AIA National Conference
I strongly encourage people to attend next year’s conference in one of my favorite cities in the US – Boston, MA! Overall, this year’s conference was a great experience, and I feel very privileged to have had the opportunity to step in for our President-elect, Melissa Lefebvre, and represent AIA Northern MN on voting for some important issues, by-law changes, and future AIA leadership positions.
