1:00-1:15 Opening remarks
1:15-2:15 Toward Housing Justice: Expanded Architectural Practice and National Policy Alliances
Collaboration between architects and policy advocates is crucial in addressing the global housing crisis. To create diverse and sustainable communities, we must advocate for equitable policies. This requires architects to go beyond their traditional roles and leverage their expertise to make a significant impact. Unfortunately, architects are often overlooked in housing policy discussions, leading to a lack of knowledge about effective advocacy structures. By gaining access to information and joining broad coalitions, architects can empower themselves to contribute fully to improving the lives of those affected by the housing crisis.
In this session, representatives from the AIA Right-to-Housing Working Group and the National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC) will share strategies for promoting the right to housing through expanded design processes and collaborations with policy advocates. Participants will learn about the NLIHC's Opportunity Starts at Home campaign and gain insights into how architects can act locally and effectively communicate with legislators to advance equitable and healthy affordable housing policies.
Karen Kubey, Assoc. AIA, University of Toronto
Alex Patricio Salazar, AIA, Salazar Architect
Chantelle Wilkinson, National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC)
2:15-2:30 Break
2:30-4:00 AIA Housing & Community Engagement in UN-Habitat
This program, led by architect participants in recent UN-Habitat programs, will describe how Habitat works to promote transformative change in human settlements through knowledge, policy advice, technical assistance, and collaborative action. Participants will learn about the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which set measurable standards for improving human welfare and addressing climate change including providing adequate housing. The SDGs recognize that ending poverty and other deprivations must go hand-in-hand with strategies that improve health and education, reduce inequality, and spur economic growth – all while tackling climate change. Also discussed will be the policies recently adopted by Habitat and the UN that support this urgent call for action.
Adrianne Steichen, AIA, PYATOK architecture + urban design
Simon Ha, AIA, Steinberg Hart
Katherine Williams, AIA, Georgetown University
4:00-5:30 Building on the Reservation: Housing as a Form of Sovereignty
There is a critical need for housing on the Cheyenne River Reservation in South Dakota. There is a shortage of affordable, sustainable and culturally appropriate homes, and a lack of job force training and financial literacy. Architect Annie Coombs, AIA will discuss how the YMCA of the Seven Council Fires' Tiny Home Community will empower residents with resources to live independently, fostering workforce readiness and supporting spiritual and mental healing to build a more resilient community and equitable society.
Annie Coombs, AIA, Siris Coombs Architecture
Alli J. Moran, YMCA of the Seven Council Fires
5:30-5:45 Wrap-up
Speaker Bios
Susan Odell, Paul B. Bailey Architect
Susan Bridgewater Odell is a licensed Connecticut architect with 27 years of diverse experience, including single and multi-family residential architecture, commercial architecture and town planning. Ms. Odell is Senior Associate at Paul B. Bailey Architect in New Haven, CT, a firm that focuses on affordable housing and historic adaptive reuse. Motivated by a strong belief in the importance of sustainable housing for all, Susan is a certified Passive House consultant and strives to obtain the best energy-saving outcomes in all projects.
Karen Kubey, Assoc. AIA, University of Toronto
Karen Kubey is an urbanist specializing in housing design and social justice. She is the editor of Housing as Intervention: Architecture towards Social Equity (Architectural Design, 2018) and served as the first executive director of the Institute for Public Architecture. Holding degrees in architecture from the University of California, Berkeley and the Columbia University Graduate School for Architecture, Planning and Preservation (GSAPP), Kubey began her career as a designer of below-market housing. She has received support from the New York State Council on the Arts and MacDowell, and has completed a Fulbright U.S. Scholar fellowship at the Universidad Torcuato Di Tella in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Currently Assistant Professor of Architecture at the University of Toronto, Kubey convenes the AIA Right-to-Housing Working Group.
Alex Patricio Salazar, AIA, Salazar Architect
Alex Patricio Salazar, AIA is founding Principal of Salazar Architect, a public-interest design firm in Portland, Oregon. In 1993 he was honored with a Graham Foundation Fellowship to apprentice with NGOs in India designing housing after a major earthquake, work that connected architecture to community organizing. The experience was akin to working in a war zone -- with the links between shelter, health care, food security and sustainability laid bare. This has shaped Alex's entire career. In the early 2000s he became a founding member of the Board of Directors of Just Cause Oakland (aka Causa Justa Just Cause), a multi-racial organization focused on Housing Justice. He is also a former member of the Board of Directors of the Association for Community Design (Boston, MA) and East Bay Housing Organizations (Oakland, CA). Currently he serves on the AIA's Housing & Community Development committee and the National Housing & Rehabilitation Association's (NH&RA) Equity Diversity and Inclusion committee. Alex holds a Bachelor of Architecture from California Polytechnic State University SLO (1993) and a Master of Science in Architecture from UC Berkeley (1998). Beside practice he occasionally teaches community design studios, most recently at Portland State University and previously at UC Berkeley, University of San Francisco, University of Oregon. Salazar is a member of the AIA Right-to-Housing Working Group.
Chantelle Wilkinson, National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC)Chantelle Wilkinson came to the National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC) from New York, where she worked as a budget analyst for the state legislature and helped enact housing and transportation policies. In 2016, she worked on the Breathing Lights Campaign with the Center for Women in Government and Civil Society. The campaign highlighted the problem of dilapidated vacant housing in the capital region of New York State and spurred collaboration between artists, community organizations, neighborhood ambassadors, project administrators, and government officials. Chantelle received a BA in political science, with minors in Latin American/ Caribbean studies and Spanish, and an MA in public administration from the Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy at the University at Albany.
Adrianne Steichen, AIA, PYATOK architecture + urban design
Adrianne Steichen, AIA is a Principal at PYATOK architecture + urban design in Oakland, California, Adrianne brings expertise in permanent supportive housing, sustainability, resiliency, and affordability, as well as working with faith-based and community-based organizations to multifamily developments throughout the Bay Area. She has served on affordable and urban design award juries for the AIA, AIA/HUD Secretary Affordable Housing Design Awards, Bank of America/Merril Lynch Low Income Housing Challenge, AIA Minnesota, AIA Billings, and the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA). She has spoken widely on affordable housing and walkable design at national, regional, and local conferences and seminars for the AIA, the American Planning Association (APA), San Francisco Planning and Urban Research (SPUR), the Non-Profit Housing Association of Northern California (NPH), and the Local Initiatives Support Coalition (LISC). Adrianne is the 2023 Vice Chair and 2024 Chair-Elect for the AIA Housing & Community Development Knowledge Community, served seven years on the AIA San Francisco Board of Directors, including President in 2020, and two years on the AIA’s Communities by Design committee, and is the 2015 recipient of AIA Young Architect of the Year for her work in affordable housing. She holds a Master of Architecture from Tulane University in New Orleans, Louisiana, with a minor in Film Studies. She is a LEED BD+C and LEED Homes AP, and is a registered architect in California and Oregon.
Simon Ha, AIA, Steinberg Hart
Simon Ha is Managing Partner for Los Angeles and Steinberg Hart’s Urban Mixed-Use practice leader. To find compelling design solutions, Simon approaches his work with creativity and vision, first analyzing the physical, environmental, social, and political contexts unique to each project. With nearly twenty years of experience in urban housing and mixed-use design, Simon is comfortable approaching projects with the mindset of a developer while creating spaces that enhance the user’s life. He establishes collaborative relationships with clients to make a positive impact on communities, cities, and urban environments. Prior to joining Steinberg Hart, he was the Managing Partner at TSK-LA and a Principal at TCA Architects. When not at the office or enjoying time with his family, Simon is an engaged thought leader. He seeks to impact the challenges posed by affordability and population growth with thoughtful housing solutions. He speaks regularly on housing and homeless issues both globally and in Los Angeles. Simon is the Immediate Past Chair of the AIA Housing Knowledge Committee and led delegations to the United Nations’ Habitat III Conference and World Urban Forum. Locally, Simon is an engaged member of the downtown LA community. He is Chair of the Skid Row Housing Trust and is active on various boards including the Downtown Center Business Improvement District, and the Downtown LA Neighborhood Council. Simon earned a Master of Design Studies from Harvard University.
Katherine Williams, AIA, Georgetown University
Katherine Williams joined Georgetown in 2020. She was promoted to Assistant Director in 2022. She is a licensed architect and also has experience in real estate development and general contracting. She managed the Gaston balcony structural project, several lab and ministry space renovations. Katherine earned her Bachelor of Architecture from Howard University and her Master of Science in real estate from American University.
Annie Coombs, AIA, Siris Coombs Architecture
Annie Coombs, AIA is a principal at Siris Coombs Architecture (SCA), an interdisciplinary architecture studio based in New York City. She’s also Chairperson-Elect of the Board of Trustees for the YMCA of the Seven Council Fires (formerly the Sioux YMCA). She’s been traveling to the Cheyenne River Reservation in South Dakota for over 20 years, first as a volunteer with the YMCA and later for personal, academic, and professional visits. In 2022, SCA received the AIA Small Project Grant for the YMCA of the Seven Council Fires Tiny Home Community. Aside from her practice, Annie is currently a visiting Assistant Professor at Pratt School of Architecture. She’s worked at Diller Scofidio + Renfro, LTL Architects, and FXFowle Architects. She holds a Master of Architecture from Columbia University, and a Bachelor of Arts in Women's Studies from Wesleyan University in Connecticut.
Alli J. Moran, YMCA of the Seven Council Fires
Alli J. Moran is a member of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe – Wakpá Wašté (Cheyenne River) Lakota Nation, and also part Íŋyaŋ Woslál Háŋ (Standing Rock) Lakota. She graduated from Cheyenne-Eagle Butte High School where she became active in attending Tribal Council meetings and intrigued in tribal sovereignty. In 2012, Alli was elected as the American Indian Higher Education Consortium Student Congress President during her undergraduate career at the Institute of American Indian Arts where she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Indigenous Liberal Studies. She has since been highly active in her own Tribal communities and throughout Indian Country. Alli focuses on education and nation building. She applies her Lakota culture, values, and way of thinking into her life and work where she chooses to lead with a strong seventh generation mindset synonymous with her ancestors. Alli serves as the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, Intergovernmental Affairs Officer and the YMCA of the Seven Council Fires, Board of Directors, Chairwoman.