Closing the Skills Gap for the Future Organization

Join us for an in-person panel discussion featuring visionary leaders from design firms and the field of education. We’ll craft a roadmap for empowering students and budding professionals to better prepare for the skills needed to shine in our field. Our esteemed panelists will explore what gaps may exist in education and professional development in such areas as technology; operations—contracts, risk drivers, marketing, financial project management—as well as in the subtleties of leadership, team synergy, diversity, client service, and beyond. Together, we’ll unlock strategies to bridge these gaps, forging a path for prepared, accomplished, and innovative practitioners. 

Speakers:
Carlos J. Cardoso, AIA CPHD, Partner, Director of Construction Administration, Beyer Blinder Belle Architects and Planners
Marta Gutman, PhD, Dean, CCNY Spitzer School of Architecture
Robert Siegel, AIA, NCARB, Principal, Robert Siegel Architects

Moderator:
Jacob Reidl, AIA, Assistant Professor in Practice, Harvard Graduate School of Design; Co-Chair, AIANY Future of Practice Committee

About the Speakers:
Jacob Reidel's work examines architectural practice and seeks to redesign the way architecture is practiced today. Throughout his career he has tested the ways designers can shape space, experience, and community by embracing roles and responsibilities at times outside the traditionally-defined position of the architect. He was most recently a Senior Director at Saltmine, a technology startup creating a platform of programming, design, and space management tools, and previously he was a Senior Director at WeWork. Since 2019, he has been a member of the faculty of the Harvard Graduate School of Design, where his teaching and research focuses on practice and the architectural workplace. Jacob is co-founder and editor of CLOG, and among other publications he co-edited the OfficeUS Manual. He is a licensed architect in New York and an alum of Ennead Architects and REX.

Carlos Cardoso is a technical specialist in the world of architecture, with more than 20 years of experience in the management and execution of construction projects. Cardoso's focus on construction administration stems from a lifelong passion for understanding how things are built, which he first developed as a child through exposure to his family's construction and real estate business in Brazil, Portugal, and the US. Cardoso takes responsibility for the entire process from design through construction. He places the utmost value on collaboration among the entire project team and his gregarious, inclusive style enables him to communicate effectively with owners, consultants and contractors alike. He is also the co-creator of "LiveBBBarch," a web-based software Beyer Blinder Belle developed to facilitate project management, including real-time synchronization of project information amongst all team members. LiveBBBarch is used by 1,900 contacts, representing nearly every active client.

Marta Gutman, PhD, an architectural and urban historian, is dean of the Spitzer School of Architecture at the City College of New York | CUNY, the city’s premier public school of architecture. Expert in the history of public architecture for children and in repurposing architecture as a strategy for city-building, she studies ordinary places in cities. Through this work, she tackles power and culture in all walks of life, emphasizes the activism of women especially on behalf of children, and ties local stories to national and international histories. Gutman’s commitment to social justice has been manifest since she started her career as an architect designing housing for the New York City Housing Authority and shelters for battered women, abused children, and homeless New Yorkers. Gutman is the immediate past president of the Society for American City and Regional Planning History. She is a respected author, including A City for Children: Women, Architecture, and the Charitable Landscapes of Oakland, which won the Kenneth Jackson Award for Best Book (North American) in urban history, and is currently writing Just Space: Modern Architecture, Public Schools, and Racial Inequality in New York City (University of Texas Press).

Robert Siegel established his private practice in 1991. He has taught architectural design and building technology at Parsons School of Design, Syracuse University, the Boston Architectural Center, Pratt Institute, City College, and NJIT. He is the former chair of the AIANY Committee on the Environment and a founding member of the Advisory Board for Syracuse University’s Study Abroad program. Appointed by the Commissioner of the US Public Building Service, he serves as a National Peer Reviewer for Design Excellence in Architecture. He has achieved design success with a variety of building types including major award-winning commissions for government, university, arts, hospitality, and modern residential clients. He holds a MS in Architecture from Columbia University and a Bachelor of Architecture degree from Syracuse University.