TORCH Mentorship Program – Community Engagement and Social Responsibility

Community Engagement and Social Responsibility: Learning Leadership

How do architects participate in the community outside of their firms? The fourth panel of the 2019 TORCH Mentorship program explores how architects engage in their communities and give back, from small- or large-scale community improvement and advocacy to pro bono work and business development ambitions. A panel of AIA Fellows will share their experiences before joining groups for more intimate conversations.

The TORCH Mentorship program partners emerging professionals and AIA Fellows over the course of the year to share personal strategies and paths to success in the architecture profession.

Moderator:
Pamela Jerome, FAIA, LEED AP, FAPT, FUS/ICOMOS, President, Architectural Preservation Studio

Speakers:
Heidi Blau, FAIA, Partner, FXCollaborative
Eric Goshow, FAIA, Partner, Goshow Architects
Louise Braverman, FAIA, Principal, Lousie Braverman Architect
James McCullar, FAIA, Firm Owner/Architect, James McCullar Architecture PC

Upcoming TORCH Events: 
Nov 19: Business of Architecture: What they Didn’t Teach You In School

Past TORCH Events:
January 23: TORCH Mentorship Program Launch + Happy Hour
March 19:  TORCH Mentorship Program – Career Paths: What’s Your Plan?
April 22: TORCH Mentorship Program – Laying out a Career Plan
May 21: TORCH Mentorship Program – Communicating Architecture

About the speakers:

Pamela Jerome, FAIA, LEED AP, FAPT, F.US/ICOMOS, President, Architectural Preservation Studio. With 38 years’ experience as a preservation architect, Jerome is president of Architectural Preservation Studio. She sits on the international Board of ICOMOS (International Committee on Monuments and Sites), one of three statutory-advisory bodies to the World Heritage Convention. She is a past vice president of ISCEAH (International Scientific Committee on Earthen Architectural Heritage), expert member of ISC20C (International Scientific Committee on 20th Century Heritage) and CIAV (International Committee on Vernacular Architecture). Jerome was an elected officer of the ICOMOS Scientific Council from 2006-2014 and is the US/ICOMOS liaison to the APT (Association for Preservation Technology) Board. She is a Peer Professional for preservation for GSA’s Design Excellence program. Her expertise is in masonry conservation and waterproofing. She is widely published and recognized as an international expert in cultural heritage. She has consulted on cultural-property conservation in the US, Mediterranean, Black Sea, North Africa, Middle East, and the Far East. 

Heidi Blau FAIA, LEED AP, Partner, FXCollaborative, leads large and complex teams through a design process characterized by a culture of collaboration, collegiality, and respect. Recognizing that not one single discipline would fulfill all her dreams, she understood that the convergence of her interests pointed toward architecture as the best opportunity to build on all her strengths. Blau enjoys creating pottery, the immediacy of forming something with her hands counterbalances the time it takes to create impactful architecture. Blau pursued a liberal arts education at Smith College before receiving her Master of Architecture degree from Columbia University. Since joining our firm, she has led several projects in the education and cultural sectors, including the Museum of the Built Environment in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; and the transformation of Lincoln Center. A Fellow of the American Institute of Architects, she has been recognized as leading female practitioner by organizations including the Women Builders Council and Professional Women in Construction. Blau is proud that the office is an inclusive environment that allows each person the opportunity to maximize their potential. 

Eric Goshow, FAIA, LEED AP BD+C, ENV SP, is a founding Partner of Goshow Architects. He has more than 30 years of award-winning experience in architectural design and planning. Goshow’s expertise is in the design of sustainable educational and institutional projects, reflecting his professional interest in accessible, sustainable and healthful design for all spaces. His experience extends from new construction to the rehabilitation and restoration of historically significant structures. Notably, his restoration and addition to the historic Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church (NYC) won accolades from the United States President’s Advisory Council on Historic Preservation. Recently completed projects include Nobel Halls, the new 600-bed student residence and activity center at Stony Brook University, which won a Design Excellence Award from the AIA Long Island Chapter. The project achieved LEED Gold Certification and is the first sustainable on-campus housing option for Stony Brook students. In 2011, Eric was elected as President Elect of the New York State Chapter of the American Institute of Architects New York State (AIANYS). A long-standing member of the AIA, Eric previously served as Vice President of Government Advocacy for the New York State component.

Louise Braverman, FAIA, is a New York City based architect praciticing locally and globally and whose highly focused firm is committed to building sustainable architecture of art + conscience. A graduate of the Yale School of Architecture, she established her practice, Louise Braverman Architect, to design aesthetically inventive architecture that creates an elemental connection to its community. Recent projects include Centro de Arts Nadir Afonso, an art museum in Boticas, Portugal that encourages public participation with art; Derfner Judaica Museum, an art museum in Riverdale, New York that facilitates multi-generational engagement and Village Health Works Staff Housing, an off-the-grid dormitory in the post-genocide village of Kigutu, Burundi. Her work has won over 45 design awards and been recognized by her peers, resulting in invitations to present the work of her firm at the 2018, 2016, 2014 and 2012 Venice Architecture Biennales, both at international exhibits and at the United States Pavilion.

James McCullar, FAIA, Founding Principal, James McCullar Architecture, PC. Since 1979 James has led a practice focused on the design and advocacy for affordable housing and community design. His work has been recognized by numerous design awards, the AIA New York Pioneer in Housing Award, the H. H. Richardson Award for Public Architecture, and the 2019 AIA Thomas Jefferson Award for Public Architecture. In 1999, McCullar was elected to the College of Fellows of the American Institute of Architects. As 2008 President of AIA New York, he led the chapter’s support for Mayor Bloomberg’s PlaNYC with collaborations that included the UN Forum on Sustainable Urbanization in the Information Age. From 2003 to 2006 in response to the Mayor’s housing initiatives, he led a forum that showcased housing design at the Center for Architecture. In 2010 McCullar co-founded the Consortium for Sustainable Urbanization which promotes international exchanges of best practices through conferences and collaborations with UN-Habitat, the AIA and allied organizations. He has degrees from Rice and Columbia Universities and received a Fulbright Fellowship for Urban Design in Paris. 

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