AIA Leadership Summit and Hill Day 2026

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Sincere gratitude to those who attended the AIA Leadership Summit in Washington, D.C. this February. We commend you for having invested in your leadership skills and appreciate the leadership that you invest in your component and our organization.

Some of our local components were feted during the Summit. AIA Richmond was congratulated on its 50-year anniversary. Jeff Nelson, Assoc AIA, who serves as a Director on the AIA Richmond Board received the tribute on behalf of the component. At the same event, AIA Coastal Virginia President Joe Bovee, AIA accepted early recognition for their 50-year anniversary. 2026 marks the anniversary of AIA’s approval to form the chapter. As they were then incorporated in 1978, they plan to celebrate locally in 2028.

Several of us also took the opportunity to participate in Hill Day at the nation’s capital. We met with members of our congressional delegation and advocated for Design Freedom and accountability for federal architecture, the appropriate and beneficial classification of professional degree programs, the continuation of the 179D (much more in a companion article), and safe, affordable, and resilient housing. Special appreciation to those who engaged in the effort and exemplified the role of citizen architect.

Get Registered, Get Set, Vote!

Posted on by cguske

Voting is one of the most powerful ways to make your voice heard and help shape the future of your community, your state, and your profession. Citizen-Architects vote. And every vote contributes to decisions that impact us all. If you’re eligible, take a few minutes to check your registration, learn about the issues, and make a plan to vote. Whether early, by mail, or on Election Day — your participation matters.

Key Dates for the 4 NOV 2025 Elections in Virginia

  • Friday, Oct. 24: Last day to register to vote (or update your registration)
  • Friday, Oct. 24: Deadline to request voting by mail
  • Saturday, Nov. 1: Early voting ends
  • Tuesday, Nov. 4: Election Day

Additional information can be found here: https://www.elections.virginia.gov/registration/

Citizen Architect Guidebook Available

Posted on by cguske

Many of you have taken the time and expended the energy to be Citizen Architects.  For those of you who have wondered how to take this to another level, the AIA has developed the Citizen Architect Guidebook.

Within its 19 pages, it offers ideas on how to expand your individual influence by training or persuading or encouraging your colleagues to join you in influencing your communities’ futures.  I ask that you review this with your colleagues in your firm and your chapter.  You espouse important ideas on how your community can work better in the future.  If one architect advocating sound transportation, development, planning, and preservation ideas can affect the future, think what several of you could do. 

The Society has a file of current Citizen Architects throughout the state by city and county and, in some cases, by town.  These lists of boards, councils and commissions identify all members regardless of vocation.  In addition, they highlight AIA members and non-members, professional engineers, landscape architects and interior designers.  If this list could help you pull together a committee, please call or write Duncan Abernathy AIA (804-237-1776, daber@aiava.org).  If you have any questions, please call.  

Working together, architects can have a huge influence on shaping their communities’ future.

~ T. Duncan Abernathy, AIA

Citizen Architect: Hansen and Loudon Co. Design Cabinet Honored

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Al Hansen, AIA accepts the 2010 PlanVirginia Citizen’s Award

Al Hansen, AIA, and the entire Loudon County Design Cabinet were honored with the 2010 PlanVirginia Citizen’s Award.  This award is given to a group or individual who has made a notable and constructive contribution to the harmonious and orderly development of the community, region, state or nation.  PlanVirginia, who sponsors this award, is a volunteer-based nonprofit organization dedicated to furthering, throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia, public understanding and awareness of the need for excellent community planning as a means of making our localities better places in which to live, work, and do business.  

Since 2003, Hansen, who is Director of Architecture for DBI Architects, has served as cabinet chair of Loudoun County’s Design Cabinet.  The Design Cabinet promotes high quality ecological, urban, architectural, and landscape design in Loudoun County. Design Cabinet members include engineers, architects, planners, and designers who have come together in a fusion of creative community problem solving.  Collectively, Hansen and the Design Cabinet members have been actively involved by volunteering in the community, conducting design charettes and problem solving sessions, focusing on improving plans, and stimulating new ways to think about projects in Loudoun County.