- How did you join the Leadership Group? Describe past committee work if possible.
EP: I was asked to join to Leadership Group in June 2015 to replace Amy Phillips, who needed to step down from the LG six months into her tenure in order to take on a larger role in her firm’s local initiatives. (Hi, Amy!) I was very nervous – Amy is fantastic and I knew it was a tough act to follow. At the time I was in my second year as Chair of the Communications Committee and was active on the Research Committee, in the midst of developing the Courthouse POE Toolkit survey instruments. It was a busy time, but I knew I couldn’t turn down the opportunity to serve on the LG. In hindsight, it was enormously helpful to Chair a subcommittee before serving on the LG, because I knew the ins-and-outs of working within the norms of AAJ and AIA.
- What has been the most rewarding about being involved in the Leadership Group?
EP: The most rewarding part of being on the LG...there are too many to count!
One of our tasks as part of the LG is to act as liaison to subcommittees. I’ve had the opportunity to become involved for a period of time with each of the AAJ subcommittees and, let me tell you, if you are not currently involved in a group, every one of our subcommittees is stellar. It has been such an honor to be able to observe, and support where I can, the dedication of the architecture professionals who have chosen to work in this field.
Working with AIA National has also been rewarding. Every year the LG members attend a three-day workshop hosted by AIA National and is attended by the LGs of each of the 21 Knowledge Communities (KCs). Some of the KCs are doing really innovative things, and we’ve been able to both educate other KCs on how AAJ is structured as well as our various initiatives, and learn about topics at which other KCs excel, such as fundraising, increasing member engagement, and more.
Finally, it is inevitable that you become close to those with whom you are serving time on the LG (pun intended!). Not only have my professional relationships with each of the individuals I served with grown stronger, but we’ve truly become friends. I now have a tradition with Erica Loynd to hang out at least once while we are at a conference or another event together, or if we happen to be in each other’s neck of the woods. Our group has been there for each other through exciting times and through devastating times in our lives, and this has been a special and unexpected part of being on the LG. (I’m going to miss you all!)
- How has the Leadership group changed during your tenure?
EP: We’ve done a lot of work to improve the AAJ, broadly and the LG, in particular. For the LG, we’ve restructured the yearly responsibilities so that the Chair of the LG does not concurrently manage the conference. Beginning in 2020, the year-four LG member is now the conference Chair. (Until now, it was the year-three member.) We are confident that this will allow the Chair to be more effective while in that role, and will also improve the quality of our conferences.
We’ve also worked to alleviate some of the pressure felt by subcommittee Chairs by establishing three-year Co-Chairmanships. We believe (and have heard from current Chairs) that this will alleviate pressure from single subcommittee Chairs, greatly improve productivity, and increase AAJ member participation in the subcommittees.
- What are the challenges involved in being part of the LG?
EP: It is difficult to get certain endeavors off the ground based on the inherent politics involved in our building type. The active AAJ members are an incredibly intelligent and motivated group of people, but we are restricted in our ability to act at times, which can be disappointing. One thing I’ve learned as a part of the LG is just how important it is for us to be actively involved in AAJ in order to, through AAJ, make an actual difference in advancing justice reform. There is power in numbers!
We are also constantly in need of funding to actualize our many proposed initiatives and requests from subcommittees. It’s incredibly difficult to say “no” or “not now” to the great ideas put forward. It is a priority of mine to learn fundraising strategies to help grow AAJ’s pocketbook. (Research and Justice Partners – I’m looking at you!)
- How do you see the LG evolving over the next few years?
EP: We’ve taken really seriously our unique position in the world of justice reform – why is it that so few people in the worldwide discourse on justice reform discuss architecture as a solution when it is such a focus of societal complaints about the current state of the system? Over the past several years, and going forward, I see the AAJ and the LG positioning itself as the Subject Matter Experts we are, and making a point to get the AAJ actively involved in the discussion. AAJ has been insular for a long time; we are trying really hard to become more outwardly-focused. In our continually-developing relationships with justice partners, we are striving not to just learn, but to assert our role as educators, too.
EP: I’ve been saying for months that I am going to take a six-month hiatus from AAJ subcommittees once I rotate off the LG in order to focus on my business (and finally get my license!), but I am happy to say that I will be joining Jay Farbstein as Co-Chair of the Research Committee effective January 1, 2020. The group has a lot of items on the research agenda that we would like to begin, and I am so excited to work to get these projects going.
Erin Persky is a San Diego-based Justice Facility Planner. She can be reached at erin@erinpersky.com.