To be an impactful citizen-architect, one needs to be not only an architect (or on their way to becoming an architect), but also an engaged citizen. The most fundamental way to be an engaged citizen is to be registered to vote, and to vote.
It may interest you to know that in these days of instantaneous data analytics (and even before that), legislators are keen to know about those who request meetings. They can quickly determine who is (or is not) their constituent, and, whether or not that individual is a registered voter, and if that individual does indeed vote. They cannot tell how you voted, but they can tell if, and when and how often you voted. Advocacy can be cut off at the knees if the advocate is not a voter. I urge you not to squander an important aspect of your agency.
With special thanks to the Advocacy Advisory Council and particular gratitude to the Chair, Maggie Dunlap, Assoc AIA, we can report that the good work to coordinate and increase the effectiveness of our advocacy efforts continues.
We are supporting Community Events: opportunities for key stakeholders, including elected officials, to visit our projects and better appreciate the beneficial impact of the architectural approach and our specific expertise.
We are facilitating “off-season” (away from session) opportunities to connect with legislators and introduce them to the interests and capabilities of AIA members.
We are preparing for the upcoming session of the General Assembly. In the coming months, the Joint Legislative Committee (the JLC; joint because it is comprised of members from both AIA Virginia and ACEC-VA) will be mustered and briefed. We will keep you posted on the progress of the bills we monitor, support, and oppose; and we will invite your assistance if it should be needed.
Additional gratitude is due to the AIA Virginia PAC Board of Trustees, chaired by Eliza Engle, AIA, for their constant and continuing efforts to secure support for our PAC. And to our member colleagues who have responded to that call and invested. The value of being able to introduce ourselves, or deepen an existing relationship, at fundraising events cannot be overestimated. You can invest in the AIAVA PAC here.
Please know that if you become aware of any issues that you believe warrant our focus and attention – at any level: local, state, or federal – you are always welcome to reach out to me, Paul Battaglia.
The AIA Virginia PAC is one of the sharpest tools in our advocacy toolkit. The AIA Virginia PAC Award celebrates the engagement and commitment of a local AIA component that supports the advancement and mission of the PAC. The winning component goes home with $1,000 cash for Architecture Week/Month and the award trophy presented at Architecture Exchange East in November.
Current Leaderboard:
AIA Hampton Roads – 80 points (only Board of Directors at 100%) AIA Blue Ridge – 60 points AIA Richmond – 30 points AIA Central Virginia – 20 points AIA Northern Virginia – 0 points
Points are accrued in three areas: local component Board participation, the percentage of local component’s membership who have invested in the PAC, and the total amount of money invested by the members of the local component.
Points are allocated as follows:
Local component Board participation a. Did 100% of the Board of Directors invest in the AIA Virginia PAC? i. Yes = 20 points ii. No = 0 points
Percentage of local component members who have invested in the AIA Virginia PAC i. Component with highest % = 40 points ii. Component with second highest % = 20 points iii. Component with third highest % = 10 points
Average investment per member from the total local component membership i. Component with highest average investment/member = 40 points ii. Component with second highest average investment/member = 30 points iii. Component with third highest average investment/member = 20 points iv. Component with fourth highest average investment/member = 10 points v. Component with fifth highest average investment/member = 0 points
Scoring will be closed on Friday, October 13, 2023, at 5:00 p.m. EST.
The Board for Architects, Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors, Certified Interior Designers and Landscape Architects (APELSCIDLA) examines, licenses, and regulates approximately 35,000 individuals and related business entities in Virginia. Until just recently April Drake, AIA, and Mel Price, AIA have been serving on the APELSCIDLA board. We thank them for their service and commitment. Last week, Helene Combs Dreiling, FAIA was appointed by the governor to serve in that capacity. Helene joins Tim Colley, AIA, and Erik Bootsma, RA who continue their dedicated service on that board. Special thanks and renewed appreciation to each and all of them. Keep up the great work.
April Drake, AIA was recently honored by the APELSCIDLA board for her service by Jim Kelly, PE, current chair of APELSCIDLA.
The Board for Architects, Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors, Certified Interior Designers and Landscape Architects (APELSCIDLA Board) examines, licenses, and regulates approximately 35,000 individuals and related business entities in Virginia.
If you are interested in serving on this board, please email Paul Battaglia, AIA at pbattaglia@aiava.org
The AIA Virginia PAC is one of the sharpest tools in our advocacy toolkit. The AIA Virginia PAC Award celebrates the engagement and commitment of a local AIA component that supports the advancement and mission of the PAC. The winning component goes home with $1,000 cash for Architecture Week/Month and the award trophy presented at Architecture Exchange East in November.
Current Leaderboard: AIA Blue Ridge – 80 points AIA Hampton Roads – 60 points (only Board of Directors at 100%) AIA Richmond – 30 points AIA Central Virginia – 20 points AIA Northern Virginia – 0 points
Points are accrued in three areas: local component Board participation, the percentage of local component’s membership who have invested in the PAC, and the total amount of money invested by the members of the local component.
Points are allocated as follows:
Local component Board participation a. Did 100% of the Board of Directors invest in the AIA Virginia PAC? i. Yes = 20 points ii. No = 0 points
Percentage of local component members who have invested in the AIA Virginia PAC i. Component with highest % = 40 points ii. Component with second highest % = 20 points iii. Component with third highest % = 10 points
Average investment per member from the total local component membership i. Component with highest average investment/member = 40 points ii. Component with second highest average investment/member = 30 points iii. Component with third highest average investment/member = 20 points iv. Component with fourth highest average investment/member = 10 points v. Component with fifth highest average investment/member = 0 points
Scoring will be closed on Friday, October 13, 2023, at 5:00 p.m. EST.
Angelo Phillos of Richmond, Architect at Baskervill in Richmond has been appointed by Governor Glenn Youngkin to the Fair Housing Board.
Principal Angelo Phillos brings more than 25 years of experience to his role leading Baskervill’s Mixed-Use and Multifamily studio. Known for his attention to detail and love of purposeful material selections, Angelo’s projects are both aesthetically and functionally superior. With a solution-based approach to design leadership and a congenial teamwork attitude, Angelo is a favorite among his clients and colleagues alike. He holds a Bachelor of Architecture from Virginia Tech.
The AIA Virginia PAC is one of the sharpest tools in our advocacy toolkit. The AIA Virginia PAC Award celebrates the engagement and commitment of a local AIA component that supports the advancement and mission of the PAC. The winning component goes home with $1,000 cash for Architecture Week/Month and the award trophy presented at Architecture Exchange East in November.
Current Leaderboard: AIA Hampton Roads – 90 points (only Board of Directors at 100%) AIA Blue Ridge – 60 points AIA Central Virginia – 20 points AIA Richmond – 20 points AIA Northern Virginia – 0 points
Points are accrued in three areas: local component Board participation, the percentage of local component’s membership who have invested in the PAC, and the total amount of money invested by the members of the local component.
Points are allocated as follows:
Local component Board participation a. Did 100% of the Board of Directors invest in the AIA Virginia PAC? i. Yes = 20 points ii. No = 0 points
Percentage of local component members who have invested in the AIA Virginia PAC i. Component with highest % = 40 points ii. Component with second highest % = 20 points iii. Component with third highest % = 10 points
Average investment per member from the total local component membership i. Component with highest average investment/member = 40 points ii. Component with second highest average investment/member = 30 points iii. Component with third highest average investment/member = 20 points iv. Component with fourth highest average investment/member = 10 points v. Component with fifth highest average investment/member = 0 points
Scoring will be closed on Friday, October 13, 2023, at 5:00 p.m. EST.
The AIA Virginia PAC is one of the sharpest tools in our advocacy toolkit. The AIA Virginia PAC Award celebrates the engagement and commitment of a local AIA component that supports the advancement and mission of the PAC. The Award is presented at Architecture Exchange East. AIA Central Virginia currently holds the trophy.
Points are accrued in three areas: local component Board participation, the percentage of local component’s membership who have invested in the PAC, and the total amount of money invested by the members of the local component. The winning component goes home with $1,000 cash for Architecture Week/Month and the award trophy.
Points are allocated as follows:
Local component Board participation a. Did 100% of the Board of Directors invest in the AIA Virginia PAC? i. Yes = 20 points ii. No = 0 points
Percentage of local component members who have invested in the AIA Virginia PAC i. Component with highest % = 40 points ii. Component with second highest % = 20 points iii. Component with third highest % = 10 points
Average investment per member from the total local component membership i. Component with highest average investment/member = 40 points ii. Component with second highest average investment/member = 30 points iii. Component with third highest average investment/member = 20 points iv. Component with fourth highest average investment/member = 10 points v. Component with fifth highest average investment/member = 0 points
Scoring will be closed on Friday, October 13, 2023, at 5:00 p.m. EST.
We have a strong tradition of advocacy at AIA Virginia.
There are many agents and elements in our advocacy toolkit.
The primary agents include the Advocacy Advisory Council, the PAC Board of Trustees, the Joint Legislative Committee, and our lobbyist Patrick Cushing.
Our activities include letters insisting on compliance with (and citing violation of) established selection and procurement protocols, legislative activities, regulatory activities, service commitments such as the Disaster Assistance Committee, and gubernatorial appointments to the APELSCIDLA Board, the Fair Housing Board, etc. No less importantly, they also include the engagement and commitment provided by each of us in our role as citizen architects.
In aggregate, these efforts seek to educate others on the value of our profession, shape and inform policy, advise on the implications of regulation and legislation, improve the conditions of practice, remove unnecessary barriers/impediments, and contribute to the safety and health of our built environment.
Our pride in our past and ongoing efforts is justified. Much has been accomplished.
Indeed, our members consistently rank advocacy, which is particularly appropriate to the state-level component, as a leading factor in determining the value of their membership. It gives us great pleasure to deliver that value.
And yet the field of play is ever-changing. Challenges and opportunities emerge constantly. Conditions and circumstances emerge and recede. The force and vector of the prevailing winds shift around the political compass rose.
There is little time for celebration. There is no time for complacency. Vigilance can ill afford respite.
We also owe it to our members to continuously improve the effectiveness and impact of our advocacy efforts. We need to be more intentional in determining and coordinating the effort appropriate to each of the seasons of advocacy; to consider when to clear, till, fallow, sow, tend, and reap.
And so, Ed Gillikin, Eliza Engle, Maggie Dunlap, Nicholas Wade, Rebecca Aarons-Sydnor, Sandra Leibowitz, Stephen Weisensale, Tim Colley, and William Abrahamson, joined Patrick Cushing and myself to assess the status of each of the elements and to begin to develop a comprehensive plan to better coordinate our advocacy efforts and to identify, vet, articulate, prioritize, establish, and achieve the planks of our advocacy platform.
The specifics of those proposed programs and procedures will require effort and attention. Information will be provided as they are developed. Ultimately, each and all of our councils, committees, and members can and should contribute.
I thank those who continue to participate in our advocacy efforts and to those who collaborated in the summit. If you would like to learn more about or contribute to our advocacy efforts, please contact Paul Battaglia at pbattaglia@aiava.org
(Clockwise from lower left) William Abrahamson, Rebecca Aarons-Sydnor, Sandra Leibowitz, Nicholas Wade, Eliza Engle, Maggie Dunlap, Patrick Cushing, Tim Colley, Ed Gillikin, and Stephen Weisensale at the 2023 Advocacy Summit; not pictured: Paul R. Battaglia. Photo courtesy of Paul Battaglia.
