Zakiya Toney, Assoc. AIA, NOMA, LEED AP, is a proud graduate of North Carolina State University (BEDA, 2015) and Morgan State University (M.Arch, 2017). She is an architectural intern at Clark Nexsen’s Roanoke, Virginia office and works primarily on federal and local public safety training facilities. Since graduating, she has been concentrating on getting licensed early in her career and encouraging her peers to do the same.
In 2017, Zakiya was awarded the AIA Fellowship of Emerging Leaders and selected for the prestigious Alpha Rho Chi Medal by Morgan State University’s School of Architecture and Planning faculty. This year, Zakiya is a scholar of the AIA Virginia Emerging Leaders in Architecture Class of 2019. Her interest in the AIA Virginia ELA program stems from her interest in how the architectural profession engages with social responsibility. She believes that “when architecture functions well, it is not a part of a campus or block, but rather an ecosystem; where it lives and dies by way of its connection to the community.” Zakiya is looking forward to this year’s class project and the opportunity that it presents for community impact.
In addition to being a member of AIA Blue Ridge, Zakiya is an actively involved member of the National Organization of Minority Architects (NOMA). As an executive board member of her local chapter, Zakiya is using her passion for advocacy and mentorship to increase awareness of the profession with underrepresented middle school and high school students through NOMA’s signature Project Pipeline Camp.