January 13, 2025

AIA Wyoming hosted its Spring Conference in Laramie at the Wildcatter Suites in the War Memorial Stadium on April 25-27. The theme of this conference was Palimpsest (noun, something reused or altered but still bearing visible traces of its earlier form), which aimed to analyze the transformation of Wyoming’s built environment and the evolution that has led to our current landscape.

Let me start by introducing myself. I am Wyoming’s Young Architect Representative, I started in 2023 and will be continuing my third year on the Young Architects Forum (YAF) in 2025. The following information is to help anyone understand what the YAF is and how it is helping young architect’s around the nation. If anyone has any questions or wants to learn more about this organization, please contact AIA Wyoming, and they will get you in touch with me to learn more.

2024 will mark my last year as AIA Wyoming’s representative to the Strategic Council. It has been a remarkable journey. I had the privilege of working with architects from across the globe to study critical issues impacting our profession and present Wyoming’s perspective on these issues. Now that I am poised to leave the Council, I can only look forward. The issues we discussed and the thoughtful dialogue will move the Council and our profession forward.

In 2022, the Wyoming Board of Architects and Landscape Architects (WBALA) set the goal of amending the Practice Act. Sen. Stephan Pappas, AIA Wyoming, American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) WY/CO, National Council of Architectural Regulation Boards (NCARB) and Council of Landscape Architectural Regulation Boards (CLARB) were all valuable partners. Our collaborative efforts were successful in amending the Board’s Practice Act, which became effective on July 1, 2023. 

The mission of the AIA Small Firm Exchange (SFx), an AIA member group, is to advance the mutual interests of architects practicing in small firms. The objectives of the AIA SFx are three-fold: advocate for the value of small firms, the national SFx and local SFx groups, both within the AIA and to the public; curate and disseminate the most pertinent resources and information from the AIA and elsewhere that benefit small firms; and inform the AIA of current issues facing small firms and areas in which current resources/information are lacking.

For the second year in a row, the AIA Leadership Summit was held in our nation’s capital. The four-day event focused on leadership training and advocacy for both AIA and local chapters of the organization. The meetings held in the heart of Washington, D.C., at the Grand Hyatt Hotel assisted chapter leaders to enhance the potential of their local organizations, create better efficiencies in chapter management and increase membership and revenue. In addition, the event focused on involvement and interaction with national legislators.

The mission of the Government Advocacy Committee is to advocate for legislation and regulations that support the value of architecture. For 2024, the Government Advocacy Committee has been working with the Wyoming Board of Architects and Landscape Architects (WBALA) to implement the Architects Practice Act that was passed by the 2023 Wyoming State Legislature. The Architects Practice Act enables alternative paths of licensure for architectural candidates who do not have an accredited architectural degree. Depending on your level of education and office experience, the Architects Practice Act provides different levels of AXP experience in accordance with NCARB requirements that will allow you to sit for the licensing exam upon completion.

The Education & Resource Committee’s primary goals are to promote architecture to the public and provide educational resources for AIA Wyoming members, while the Membership Development Committee’s primary goal is to enhance the membership experience. By embracing the mission, the committee holds activities for members, associate members, non-members and industry partners for the two chapter conferences and provides other membership events as well throughout the year.

The Public Awareness Committee has continued to bring awareness to the public and promote architecture throughout Wyoming to help educate regarding the great projects and the impact this profession has in the public realm. Our committee is dedicated to promoting architecture, and specifically Wyoming architecture, by reaching out to the public and membership in multiple ways to keep everyone involved and educated, as well as strengthening our relationships with industry partners.