2022 Year in Review

Dear AIA Seattle Community,

As we close the calendar on 2022, we have so much to celebrate. In the past year, our community has adapted to a shifting work environment and embraced many of the silver linings and lessons of the past few years. Our community came together in 2022 in person and online with increased engagement and excitement.

We saw robust participation in online learning through Climate Summit and Code Series, as members and partners embraced the ability to tune in by zoom. In-person at the Honor Awards, nearly twice as many of us came together from the past year to celebrate projects which exemplify the future of the profession, and the celebration continued with individual achievement through Parti where we recognized 9 outstanding individuals and our community of newly licensed architects. Our members brought forward solutions to problems in our ten-county area by advocating for the vibrant, livable, and accessible communities we value.

As we look ahead to 2023, we are embracing three themes developed by our Board of Directors which inform our annual plan: Community, Connection, and Care. In our extended community of designers, architects, planners, and allied professionals, we have come to a consensus that we value each other’s human experience, and that we must aspire to further the profession while at the same time taking care of each other and our community. These themes are threaded throughout the year ahead of us in programming, committees, advocacy, and engagement opportunities.

We are welcoming new members, including on AIA Seattle’s staff. The mighty team in place in 2022 has demonstrated flexibility and resilience, and above all else, teamwork. We are all excited to welcome new team members whom you’ll be meeting in the months ahead.

Thank you for being a part of the AIA Seattle Community! Happy New Year, and I look forward to welcoming in 2023 focused on Community, Connection, and Care!

Melissa Neher Executive Director Headshot

Melissa K. Neher

Executive Director, AIA Seattle + Seattle Design Festival

A Look Back – 2022 Events and Programs

Our member committees created hundreds of hours of Continuing Education and other programming, serving our 2800+ members. Highlights include:

Return of the YAF+WID Happy Hour Series
Urban Design Forum’s Community Impacts of Urban Greenspace
Adaptation & Resilience’s Conversations Toward Resilience – Public Realm
SPARC’s Small Practice Design Lab Series
Mass Timber’s Heartwood Building Tour
Diversity Roundtable’s Creative Convergence: Solstice 2022
CAE’s Design Excellence in K-12 Through Progressive Design Build
SIAF’s How We Got Here & How We Thrive: Stories of Expatriate Architects
COTE’s World Environmental Day Sustainability Slam
and Northwest Washington’s WA State Building Code Means of Egress

Our staff worked with task force volunteers and members to produce 7 Major Education Programs:

Code Series: Road to Code
Post-Disaster Safety Assessment Training Program
Climate Summit Practicing Equity and Advocacy in Rapid Decarbonization
Culture Change in Practice: A Leadership Cohort
Housing Forum: Precedents & Possibilities Transforming Residential Practice
The Small Firm Series
And supported the delivery of a return to in-person AHC’s annual Spring and Fall Conferences

AIA Seattle’s Honor Awards recognized 1 5 exemplary projects from all typologies and scales, from educational facilities to residential projects.

We celebrated 9 exceptional individuals + 1 organization at this year’s PARTI.

Our Public Policy Board has continued its incredibly dedicated efforts in advocacy and public policy, utilizing our members’ expertise to address the critical issues around housing, Design Review, and Seattle’s Comprehensive Plan.

Exhibit at the Center and online – Diversity Roundtable developed this traveling display as an opportunity for underrepresented architects to showcase their work, specifically highlighting the experience and impact community involvement has on the architect of color, the design of the building, and the community in which the building resides.

In partnership with the Seattle Design Festival (SDF), we convened important conversations about how design can bring community back together, creating and strengthening the connections that can lead us to a more equitable future. The 2022 SDF saw a return of 10,800+ attendees! Check out the full Year in Review.

Thanks to all who played a role in the above! Stay tuned for 2023’s lineup of educational programming and events!

Looking Forward to 2023

We are excited to announce two updates on staff in 2023! Anthony Collins, our current Membership & Development Coordinator has been promoted to a new role – and will be stepping into the position of Sr. Coordinator of Membership Engagement in the new year. Anthony will be the primary liaison for Member Committees and is excited for his new role engaging with members more directly.

We are also looking forward to welcoming Samantha Morrow to our team in January in the Senior Manager of Policy and Advocacy role for both AIA Seattle + AIA Washington Council. Samantha is a public policy professional with substantial experience in policy development and policy coordination for elected officials – and a welcomed addition to the team. Stay tuned for more about Samantha and a return to Advocacy updates in 2023 as she settles into the role.

Join us in congratulating Anthony – and Welcoming Samantha in 2023!