NAC Update

Posted on by cguske

The NAC Q1 newsbite gives a rough summary of what the committee has been up to this past quarter! 

Thank you to everyone that took the time to respond to the Associate Member Survey. Your voices truly matter and we appreciate all of the productive feedback!

Based on the survey (view results here),  Associates members in Virginia share a strong desire for professional growth, meaningful connections, and guidance on the path to licensure. While AIA Virginia continues to provide value through events, community engagement, and continuing education, these responses highlight an opportunity to further align resources with the evolving needs of Associate members. Particularly, respondents shared a need for licensure support, mentorship, and early career development. Strengthening this alignment will be key to fostering deeper engagement and supporting the next generation of architects across the Commonwealth.

We hope to take this feedback into consideration, ensuring that we can serve all of our members across the state! Thank you again for your time and input.

Aidan Brown, Associate AIA
AIA Virginia StAR

We Have Our Next StAR: Aidan Brown, Assoc. AIA

Posted on by cguske

Associates constitute almost twenty percent of AIA membership nationwide; twenty-three percent in Virginia. The National Associates Committee (the NAC) is the voice of Associate members. State/Territory Associate Representatives (StARs) serve on the NAC promoting excellence, providing information and leadership, fostering inclusiveness, representing and advocating for both mainstream and non-traditional associates, and encouraging professional development. Aidan Brown, Assoc. AIA has been appointed StAR by the AIA Virginia Board of Directors to succeed Caitlin Morgan, Assoc. AIA, who has been serving so well in that position. Gratitude to both of you. We sincerely appreciate your service.

And We Have A Winner!

Posted on by cguske

Thank you to everyone who submitted artwork for our member birthday postcard. The Member Services Advisory Council has selected 3 designs to use over the next 3 years.

1st place
Aidan Brown, Associate AIA

Greetings! I’m Aidan Brown, a Project Designer at SFCS in Roanoke, Virginia. I graduated from Virginia Tech with a Bachelor of Architecture and am currently on the path toward licensure. I’m also part of the 2025 Emerging Leaders in Architecture (ELA) program, where I’ve been enjoying the chance to explore different aspects of the profession and figure out where I fit within the field.

I submitted to the AIA Virginia Birthday Card Contest because I am an artist at heart. Finding new ways to artistically express myself outside of the office is very important to me, and I felt like this was a great opportunity to design something comical and playful. I’ve always found demolition notes unintentionally funny. When I saw the call for submissions, I thought to myself, Why not make a cake demolition plan?

2nd Place
Stephanie Smid, Associate AIA

3rd Place
Arushi Mathur, Associate AIA