The State and Local Government Network (SLGN) of AIA is a national network of architects working together in advocating for and helping to craft public policy that can address issues involving the built environment, public safety, climate change, affordable housing and many other challenges facing our profession and our communities.
Every year, the SLGN holds a conference known as Architects in Action. At Architects in Action 2022, attendees had the opportunity to sharpen their advocacy skills, learn about developing legislative trends, connect with a nationwide advocacy network, and be inspired to get more involved in policy initiatives through individual AIA chapters. This year’s conference was held online July 14-15, 2022, with some incredibly engaging topics and wonderful speakers. A sampling of those topics was as follows:
The opening keynote was The Future of Architecture Advocacy. This opening session included remarks by Lakisha Woods, EVP/CEO of AIA, followed by a presentation by Michael Ford, AIA, principal owner, BrandNu Design, on the future of architecture advocacy and a panel discussion with three emerging professionals on what makes them most excited about the future of the profession.
Architects SpeakUp! Relationships Between State legislators and Architects with speakers Eliza Engle, AIA and John Glenn, AIA. Eliza and John spoke about the Virginia AIA SpeakUp program in its second year. The program engages architects and state legislators to discuss issues in affordable housing, safe and healthy schools and sustainability. This program built great relationships between the legislators and architects. These architects are now a valuable resource for the legislators in policy development.
The Real Price of Cost-Savings in Project Delivery Methods with speakers Bart Korman, Chris Ball, AIA, Galen Lif, AIA, Kate Stockton, AIA, Ryan King, AIA, Sue Pruchnicki, FAIA and Kathi Harness. In this session, the speakers discussed current legislation in Missouri trying to alter existing thresholds regarding design-build and construction management and at-risk delivery methods. These thresholds are threatening to cut out the role of the architect and could potentially affect health, safety and welfare.
Overlap of Practice for Architecture and Engineering with speakers Kathleen Gordon, Assoc. AIA and Lisa H. Nice, AIA. Architecture and engineering both play important roles in the design and development of the built environment. In many instances, the statutory roles and responsibilities between the two professions can get a little fuzzy and allow for overlap. This discussion looked at a case study in Louisiana where a task force worked to change the statutory definition of “incidental practice” and how it eventually culminated in a compromise. The discussion included the history of the legislation, the process the task force went through and how this could soon affect other states.
The closing keynote was How the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law will impact architects. Mark Chambers, senior director for building emissions and community resilience at the White House Council on Environmental Quality, discussed the “once-in-a-generation” opportunity to transform the built environment offered to architects under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
In addition to the Architects in Action conference every year, the SLGN is a great resource for learning about what types of legislation are brought forward in other states that could soon come to Wyoming. Through the email chain and other online tools, I have learned a great deal about how other states advocate on issues such as licensing of interior designers, restrictions on engineers practicing architecture, universal licensure and many others. There are also webinars on many topics related to our profession and how we can be better advocates for our profession and communities.
SLGN is a great network to be a part of, and I would encourage everyone interested in making a difference through advocating and public policy development to join.
