Future Forward: Accelerating Change Together
AEC professionals play an important role in advancing climate action and addressing the impacts of the built environment.
However, there is a critical need for substantial and collective progress. We must apply our learning towards actionable solutions that are simple, scalable, wholistic, and forward-looking. How do we drive change and positive outcomes in our practice and communities? How do we galvanize around a shared vision of the world we want to live in? This year’s climate summit will explore practical solutions in the built environment that promote adaptation, resilience, equity, and overall well-being for communities and ecosystems now and into the future. Sessions will examine the interconnectivity of 1) nature and green infrastructure; 2) community-based practices; and 3) building-scale decision-making.
Join us online, April 15-16, 2024, 9am-2pm both days, for AIA Seattle’s 2024 (Virtual) Climate Summit: Future Forward: Accelerating Change Together!
COST
Includes online access and continuing education credit (8 LU/HSW). All sessions and speakers subject to change.
$156.00 $180.00 AIA Member/Corporate Allied Partner (CAP)/Allied Member
$156.00 $180.00 Government
$78.00 $90.00 Associate Member
$306.00 $352.00 Non-Member
FREE Student/Emeritus
Registration has closed
Early Bird Deadline: Friday, April 5, 2024. After this time, the price increases 15%. Registration Deadline: Friday, April 12, 5:00pm PT.
This is a 2-day virtual program consisting of four two-hour sessions. Participants must attend the full program in order to receive continuing education credit (8 LU/HSW). Partial credits will not be awarded. All registration and credit questions can be directed to Andrea Aguilera.
Reduced rate options are available (priority given to AIA members). Please submit the Continuing Education Scholarship / Reduced Rate Request Form via email by Monday, April 1, 5:00pm PT.
Want to learn more about the member ticket rate and other benefits associated with membership? Click here. Want to learn more about our program pricing and the other major education programs we offer? Click here.
MONDAY APRIL 15
DOUBLE KEYNOTE
Session 1 | 9:00 – 11:00am PT | Keynote Presentations & Discussion
Moderator: Jamie Stroble | Director of Climate Action & Resilience – TNC; Seattle Planning Commissioner; Founder of King County Climate Justice Framework
Baja, Senior Director, Direct Support & Innovation, Urban Sustainability Director’s Network (USDN) | Baja (she/ki) is an energy rooted in empathy, love, and compassion. She coaches, facilitates, and leads workshops, retreats, and trainings that nurture heart-centered self- and collective-liberation while supporting deeper connectivity to nature’s genius and with other species. By vocation, Baja is the Senior Director of Direct Support & Innovation with the Urban Sustainability Directors Network (USDN) and in that role is responsible for identifying, leading, and supporting innovative projects that actively transform local government processes, shifts power to community, and centers racial and environmental justice. She holds a Masters of Urban Planning and a Masters of Science from the University of Michigan and a Masters in Biomimicry from ASU. In 2016, she was recognized by the Obama Administration as a Champion of Change for her work on climate and equity. She is also a certified breath worker who supports the energetic shift into more heart-centered wisdom, liberation, and collective care.
Sudha Nandagopal, Advocate and Power Building Strategist for a Just Climate Future | Sudha, a leader with over 20 years of cross-sector experience, is a champion for climate justice and democratizing power. As CEO of SVPI and founder of Reimagine Giving, Sudha transformed a global philanthropic network to prioritize funding grassroots leadership. She founded Seattle’s Equity & Environment Initiative, fostering frontline community-led environmental decision-making. Sudha serves as the inaugural Board Chair of Sunrise Project Inc and Board member of Taproot Earth, two global entities focused on advancing a just climate future. In her leadership, Sudha champions an ecosystem approach to advancing justice amidst complexity. Her enduring vision is to create the conditions for joyful connection and power sharing, fostering systemic transformation while embodying curiosity, collaboration, and collective learning for community and personal transformation. Sudha remains steadfast in her focus on fostering audacious efforts for climate justice, power-shifting governance, and community-driven philanthropy.
FOSTERING GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE
Session 2 | 12:00 – 2:00pm PT | Panel Discussion
- Moderator: Laura Durgerian | Senior Associate, Landscape Architect & Urban Designer, Mithun
- Mami Hara | CEO, US Water Alliance
- Phillip Rodbell | National Program Lead, Urban Sustainability Research, U.S. Forest Service
- Tim Lehman | Indigenous Planning Strategist, OPCD, City of Seattle
TUESDAY APRIL 16
COMMUNITY RESILIENCE IN A CHANGING CLIMATE
Session 3 | 9:00 – 11:00am PT | Panel Discussion
- Moderator: Xio Alvarez | Designer, LMN Architects
- César García | Co-Executive Director, Lake City Collective
- Jessyn Farrell | Director, Office of Sustainability and Environment, City of Seattle
- Jim Hanford FAIA, LEED AP BD+C | Principal, The Miller Hull Partnership
- Manuel Castaneda AIA | Architect, The Miller Hull Partnership
BUILDING FOR WELLBEING
Session 4 | 12:00 – 2:00pm PT | Panel Discussion
- Moderator: Angie Scott, PhD, Allied ASID | Community Concept & Health Equity Lead, IWBI
- James Miller, PhD | Associate Professor, Urban and Environmental Planning & Policy, Western Washington University
- Kimberly Seigel | Research Manager, Senior Associate, Perkins&Will
- Lindsay Schack AIA, CPHC | Principal Architect, Love | Schack Architecture
- Teresa McGrath | Chief Research Officer, Healthy Building Network
All speakers and sessions subject to change.
ATTENDEE RESOURCES PAGE
The password-protected attendee resources page is intended only for participants of Future Forward: Accelerating Change Together. Attendees will receive the password in subsequent email communications.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
- Discover the architect’s role as an advocate in climate justice for a decarbonized, equitable, and resilient built environment that allows future generations and ecosystems to thrive.
- Explore systems change and practical solutions that strengthen collective impact at the intersection of climate action and the built environment.
- Investigate the impact of regulatory codes and policies on interconnected systems in the design and development of green infrastructure.
- Identify practical methods to integrate ecosystems and urban design that respond to current and future conditions and support community resiliency and livability.
- Examine the co-benefits of shared knowledge and community building practices that reduce climate risk, center frontline communities, and bolster environmental justice.
- Understand approaches for organizing and equipping communities and community spaces to adapt to changing climates, including resilience hubs and equitable infrastructure.
- Evaluate innovative building-scale solutions in materials and carbon reduction that support optimization, mitigate upstream and downstream impacts, and prioritize community health and well-being.
SPECIAL THANKS TO OUR 2024 SUMMIT SPONSORS
Arup | Fsi Engineers | Greenhome Solutions | Puget Sound Energy | BNBuilders |
LPD Engineering | Morrison Hershfield | Osborn Consulting Incorporated | Pella Windows & Doors of Western Washington
SPECIAL THANKS TO OUR PLANNING TASK FORCE
Justin Schwartzhoff, AIA LFA, Associate + Carbon Research Lead | LMN Architects
Emily Evenson, Sr Associate + Sr Project Architect | Weber Thompson
Sarah Moore, MEP Principal | Buro Happold
Erin Ishizaki, AIA, AICP, Partner | Mithun
Gina Ciganik, CEO | Healthy Building Network
Lylianna Allala, Climate Justice Director | City of Seattle, Office of Sustainability & Environment
Patrice Carroll, Strategic Advisor | City of Seattle, Office of Planning and Community Development
Registration or Credit Questions?
Contact Andrea Aguilera, Senior Programs Coordinator at AIA Seattle
Program Questions?
Contact Zoe Guckenheimer, Senior Programs Manager at AIA Seattle
Sponsorship Questions?
Contact Zee Mars, Development Manager at AIA Seattle
