Please join us on Friday, April 8, 2022 (12-2pm PST) for our third online session of The JE:DI Agenda in Action: Intersections of Design Justice. In this session, we will explore the evolution of Design Justice and ways establish more consistent actions in our daily and long term goals to advance JUST outcomes.

For the first part of the workshop, we will convene two notable Design Justice activists who will share a broad range of work to advance anti-racism and Justice in the built environment. In sharing examples of how they manifested their goals into sustained actions and broader impact, Wandile Mthiyane and Melissa Daniels will inspire us to reflect and take action in meaningful ways. This opening segment will be followed by a moderated panel discussion with these trailblazers to gather input on how we can be more effective in serving our communities and transforming our profession in the process.

In the second part of the workshop, we will gather in break-out groups to revisit the Frameworks for Action (introduced in the 12/3 session) to identify barriers advancing JEDI goals and to ideate and assess strategies for promoting persistence and success. Participants will have a chance to discuss current projects in a group setting to break through challenges and sustain progress.

AIA member attendees of this event will receive 2 AIA HSW learning units. Registration for this program is open at the bottom of this page.

About the Series | About the Speakers | ARE Challenge Scholarship | Sponsors | Registration

Learning Objectives

After attending this program, participants will be able to:

1. Identify what Design Justice means and the impact of the work on historically underserved communities.
2. Explore the DAP Anti-Racist Design Justice Index as it relates to designing projects for historically underserved communities and assess impacts for a range of solutions.
3. Explore concepts of Design Justice in the context of EQxD Frameworks for Action to identify and assess the potential impact of systems interventions designed to promote just and equitable design outcomes for underserved communities.
4. Commit to implementing one of these identified Design Justice strategies with the support of fellow members of Equity by Design’s Community of Practice.

AIA member attendees of this event will receive 2 AIA HSW learning units.

About the Series

Last year in the wake of multiple pandemics impacting societal and environmental challenges, we came together to grapple with the resultant shifts and compounding disruptions that have challenged how we live, work and thrive. At this inflection point, we quickly pivoted and expanded our platform to respond to the rapidly changing needs of our profession and community members. #EQxD2020 Series, The JE:DI. Agenda introduced a Justice– and Equity-driven approach to drive Diverse representation and Inclusive results at the contextual intersections of Social/Economic, Health, Environment, and Practice.

This year we will continue the next chapter with The JE:DI. Agenda in Action with an augmented series of panels and workshops that will build on the outcomes of last year’s critical discourse and frameworks. We will begin with a summary of what we learned in 2020 and build upon it with today’s evolving challenges with an overview of JE:DI frameworks for solving these challenges proposed to date across multiple organizations. Together, we will begin to co-create an intersectional “Roadmap for Action” designed to guide practitioners and firm leaders in their commitments to initiating and sustaining systemic change by dismantling systems of harm and oppression. We will propose a new paradigm for designing a just future in which the built environment cultivates dignity, belonging, agency and mutualism.

About the Speakers

Wandile Mthiyane he/him/his
Founder + Anti-Racist Chef
Instagram & Twitter: @wandileubuntu

Wandile is an Obama Leader, dynamic speaker, equity and inclusion thought leader, adjunct professor, and architect who holds a master’s in architecture from Andrews University in Michigan. He is a Resolution Fellow, One Young World ambassador, and the CEO of a social impact architecture firm, Ubuntu Design Group, The Anti-Racist Hotdog, and Ubuntu Architecture Summer Abroad Design Justice school. He was recently named one of the top 12 Black Architects Making History Today by Architizer.

Diversity and inclusion are core themes for Wandile in serving his purpose as an architect and DEI Guide, as a result of his upbringing and life experiences. He was born during apartheid South Africa, attended a high school in Zimbabwe, and then went on to complete his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in architecture at the most ethnically diverse university in the United States; Andrews University in the state of Michigan.

Melissa R. Daniel she/her/hers
Architectural Designer and Activist
Instagram and Twitter: @ArchisPolly

Melissa is an architectural designer in Maryland and the creator and host of the Architecture is Political (AIP). A 2021 grant recipient of the Black & Brown Podcast Collective and was shortlisted for the Best Podcast Awards in London, the AIP podcast is where Black and Brown folks have a conversation about architecture. Melissa is a recipient of the 2022 AIA Whitney M. Young Award and the 2018 American Institute of Architects (AIA) Associates Award. She is currently on the AIA Housing and Community Development Knowledge Community executive committee.

Architect Registration Examination (ARE) Challenge Scholarship Program

The ARE Challenge Scholarship Program recognizes that the effort and expense of the architectural licensing process as a barrier to achieving this professional milestone and disproportionately affects candidates of historically underrepresented identities in the profession. In light of the extremely challenging and economically unstable conditions that we are collectively facing, AIASF Equity by Design has established financial assistance scholarships for licensure candidates who are eligible to take the ARE exams. Submissions are due by Friday, April 15, 2022.

Selected Recipients of the ARE Challenge Scholarship will be reimbursed for three (3) ARE Exams (Value $705 per recipient), regardless of pass or fail status. Recipients will also receive six (6) complimentary registrations to AIASF ARE prep classes.

We are also seeking AEC co-sponsorship of this program to fund additional ARE Challenge Scholarship recipients; contact sponsorship@aiasf.org to learn more.

Eligibility:

• Applicants must be currently eligible to take the ARE Exams for Architectural Licensure.
• Candidates must be currently authorized to work in the United States.
• Applicants are strongly encouraged to participate in 2021 EQxD programming.

REGISTER

Scholarship Partners
AIASF Architecture Licensing Committee | AIASF Mentorship Committee | AIASF Equity by Design Committee

Program Sponsors

Silver Level

Steel Level

Bronze Level

Copper Level

Leddy Maytum Stacy Architects      Sherwin Williams Coil Coatings
Tipping Structural Engineers      Walker Warner Architects

Need-Based Complimentary Tickets

This program is welcoming and supportive of those interested in attending that are currently experiencing economic uncertainty. We will ensure that there are no barriers to access for this program.

In recognition of the compounded challenges of this time, AIASF Equity by Design will be providing need-based complimentary series tickets for those challenged with financial hardship. If you are a student, emerging professional, or practitioner who is currently unemployed or under-employed, please email info@aiasf.org to request complimentary registration for the session.