Multifaceted leadership

By Katelyn Chapin

An interview with Michael Ayles, FAIA

F. Michael Ayles, FAIA, NCARB
Ayles is Principal of Business Development at Antinozzi Associates in Bridgeport, Conn. For almost two decades, Ayles served as a national leader with the AIA, chairing the Young Architects Forum (2004) and the Center for Civic Leadership (2008, 2012). Locally, he is serving a three-year term on the AIA Connecticut Board of Directors. Since 2007, Ayles has served as an elected official in his hometown of Guilford, Conn., on its Board of Finance and was appointed Chairman in 2017.



Michael Ayles, FAIA, is a multifaceted leader, holding distinguished positions within his firm, the American Institute of Architects, and his community. He is the principal of a Connecticut-based firm, responsible for its business development strategies and human resources efforts. Through volunteer roles, he has been an advocate for the profession, a mentor to high school students and those on their path to licensure, and a leader at the local, regional, and national levels. Shortly after earning his Bachelor’s of Science in Architecture degree from Roger Williams University, he was appointed to his town’s building committee. From there, his roles have continued to expand, and he is now the chairman of the Guilford, Conn., Board of Finance. As a young architect and fellow AIA Connecticut member, I had an opportunity to interview Ayles about his career progression and how he balances his roles as a community and civic leader. What makes him the most successful in these roles? His ability to think big picture.


Katelyn Chapin (KC): Describe your background as both an architect and a community/civic leader.

Michael Ayles (MA): I started out my career in a drafting role with a large firm working on hospital/health care facilities. After a reduction in the firm’s healthcare work, I left to work for a mid-sized, 15-person firm to work on K-12 school projects. Once I became licensed, I started managing the design/construction of new and renovated branch facilities for a major retail bank client, as well as several corporate office projects. After eight years working in this capacity, I became more interested in the business aspects of the firm and profession. I directed firm operations for a couple of years before shifting into business development in 2006, yet still stayed involved in some aspects of operations such as the recruitment/retention side of human resources.

Several years after graduating, I became increasingly interested in getting more involved in my town, the same as I had been raised in. With young children in the school system and specific expertise as an architect, I asked to get involved and was quickly appointed to the town building committee. I subsequently and simultaneously served on the historic district commission and planning committees for both the town and school district. For the last 13 years, I have served in an elected position on the town’s Finance Board — the last two and a half years as chairman.

KC: How did you become involved in your current role?

MA: In late 2006, I was having a drink with a member of the finance board, who also happened to serve on the town building committee before my time. We spoke about next steps in our respective roles, and he indicated he was stepping down from his finance board position to focus on his new business. We began talking about what that role entailed. I thought about how much I could learn from being in this position in my professional life, as well as the need for architects to be more involved in the decision-making process of their local community. Upon indicating my interest, though hesitant in my knowledge of municipal finances, the Finance Board chairman supported my appointment to complete the term to be vacated — as long as I ran for election in 2007. I did, and in 2019, I was elected to my fourth term on the Finance Board. I became chairman of the board when the chairman of 23 years was elected to be First Selectman of the town in 2017, and I was unanimously appointed to take over as chair based on my diverse experience, demeanor, and the leadership I had demonstrated for 20 years in town.



KC: What’s it like balancing being a community/civic leader and an architect?

MA: It definitely has its challenges, especially when working in a city 45 minutes away from where I live. Trying to schedule meetings in both locations takes a lot of coordination to be efficient with time. You can’t do both without being committed to both. Nights and weekends can certainly be taken up with numerous work deadlines and issues, as well as community concerns and responsibilities that over 22,400 residents depend upon. Many times, I have to be fluid to address the competing needs, and that may mean working from home during the week to attend meetings, going into the office on weekends to address my “paying job,” and then there’s having a semblance of personal life. The best way to balance architect and community leader is to:

• Schedule every waking moment as best as possible.
• Make sure that your “inner circle” knows that schedule.
• When the schedule changes (because it will), don’t get frustrated as people are depending on you.

KC: How does your role as a community/civic leader impact your career as an architect, and how does your career as an architect impact your role as a community/civic leader?

MA: My community leadership role impacts my career largely when it comes to thinking about project financing, municipal funding, and a client’s need to compromise. Since my firm focuses on many municipal project types (community buildings, schools, libraries), I have a great deal more empathy on what the client, committee, board, or community leaders are feeling, thinking, and what keeps them up at night. My career as an architect impacts my community leadership role since, by nature and training, I can understand the intricacies of the town’s capital needs, collaborating on issues as a team, and being able to focus on the big picture, long term, as opposed to micromanaging issues in the short term. Leaders need to be big-picture, long-term thinkers.

KC: How does the AIA bring value to your community/civic role?

MA: From the time I joined the AIA as an associate member out of college, I have been involved in local, regional, and national efforts with AIA. I have always said that the opportunities that one can create for themselves by simply getting involved in an organization (like AIA) and becoming active in a topic or subject matter you are passionate in is all it takes to fuel the inner fire. Organizational involvement and volunteerism is incredibly important to our society, especially architecture, and there are so many opportunities to insert yourself in — and then take what you learned over time as a leader and bring it to your local, or even regional, community. My involvement as an Associate Director with AIA Connecticut, with the Young Architects Forum, and several national AIA committees promoting leadership training and advocacy as an architect has molded me to become a civic and community leader. Only being recently elevated to the College of Fellows, I expect my leadership abilities to continue to develop.



KC: What is the role of the community in your community/civic leadership role?

MA: As Finance Board chairman, I need to be aware of the needs and wants of a diverse set of residents, business owners, visitors (both recreationally and professionally), community volunteers, elected officials, and many others. Their role is of utmost importance in order to provide regular input on how our town can best provide the resources needed and wanted, in a financial sense, to live, work, learn, and play in our community. Without that input, my role is blind to their reality, and I cannot be the community/civic leader they, or I, want me to be.

KC: How is the COVID-19 pandemic impacting projects in your community?

MA: Our biggest issue revolves around the approval of a town and school budget for fiscal year 2020-2021. As a town where residents and property owners come out to vote on the town and school budgets every year, the governor mandated this year that budgets must be approved without a public vote, and that the local governing body of a municipality must assign the responsibility of setting a budget and mill rate to the highest financial governing body. That would be the Finance Board. This is a responsibility that I and my colleagues are taking very seriously, and we need to weigh the challenges all of our residents are facing with this pandemic (loss of jobs, reduction of income, maintaining expenses) and the needs of the town (public safety, education, community services). It is a bit daunting of a task, but we have instituted a process of community input that we are confident will help us make the correct decision.

Michael’s advice for young architects looking to get involved in their community:

• Find a passion, whether it is design-oriented (historic structures) or technical-oriented (codes). Find how it can be, or is, implemented in your community, and get involved. There are plenty of opportunities.
• The higher the leadership role you attain in a civic/community effort, the less people you will make happy. It’s OK — you can never make 100 percent happy. Listen to the minority and have compassion, but focus on the majority. Otherwise, you will drive yourself crazy.
• Find a mentor who has been in a similar role you want to take on or are in. You will be that person one day and will look back fondly on that mentor, just as they are doing now with you.
• We need the problem-solving, collaborative ability of architects to become civic leaders! Don’t be shy, there are hundreds of us out there to guide you!

Author Bio:

Katelyn Chapin, AIA,
Chapin is a Project Architect at Svigals + Partners in New Haven, Conn. She was awarded the AIA Connecticut Emerging Architect of the Year Award in 2014 and is the 2020-2021 Community Director of AIA National’s Young Architects Forum.