Next Gen Arch: Designing Towards an Equitable, Diverse, and Inclusive Profession

This symposium will discuss the initial findings of the 2017 AIANY Equity, Diversity & Inclusion (EDI) Member Survey and accompanying research. In 2017, the AIANY Diversity & Inclusion Committee received a Committee Excellence Grant from AIANY to fund a research study on equity, diversity, and inclusion in the architecture profession. A member survey, centered on determining education, representation, work-life balance, job satisfaction, and other data, was distributed to AIA New York members last summer.

The program will highlight strategies that organizations, firms, and individuals are implementing to improve equity, diversity, and inclusion within the profession of architecture. Discussion will center on examining the academic pipeline, the workplace, and research based stratagems for the future.

Session I: Evaluating the Academic Pipeline
• Farzam Yazdanseta, AIA, NCARB, Co-Chair, AIANY Diversity & Inclusion Committee (Moderator)
• Dr. Esteban Beita, Assistant Professor, New York City College of Technology; Adjunct Assistant Professor, NYIT
• Erika Hinrichs, Chair, Undergraduate Architecture, Pratt Institute
• NoorUl Ain, Vice President, AIAS CCNY, Spitzer School of Architecture

Session II: Evaluating the Workplace
• Kavitha Mathew, AIA, LEED AP, Engagement and Leadership Coordinator, AIANY (Moderator)
• Mary Beth Lardaro, Human Resources Director, Dattner Architects
• Joel Peterson, Chief Operations Officer, Goshow Architects
• Jennifer Anna Pazdon, PE, New York City Office Leader, Cast Connex Corporation; Chair, Diversity Committee, Structural Engineers Association of New York (SEAoNY)
• Priyanka Shah, justdesign.us, New York Chapter Co-Steward, The Architecture Lobby

Session III: Research-Based Stratagems for the Future
● Venesa Alicea AIA, NOMA, LEED AP BD+C, WELL AP, Associate, Dattner Architects (Moderator)
● Lauren Johnson, Co-Founder, QSPACE
● Juliet Chun & Zhanina Boyadzhieva, Architectural Designers, Leers Weinzapfel Associates; Co-Founders, Girl UNinterrupted Project
● Shawn Rickenbacker, Founder, Urban Data + Design; Director, J. Max Bond Center, City University of New York
● Pascale Sablan, AIA, NOMA, LEED AP, Senior Associate, S9 Architecture;Vice President, Northeast Region National Organization of Minority Architects (NOMA)

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