AIA Young Architects Forum Advances Mentoring

Washington, DC, June 26, 2007--The American Institute of Architects (AIA) Young Architects Forum (YAF) announces a strong commitment by their leadership to enhancing the mentoring process across the architecture profession. Roy Abernathy, AIA, past chair of the YAF Advisory Committee stated, “Mentoring, seen in this context as a two-way exchange of information, taps into the ability of both the mentor and the mentee to learn and grow as individuals and professionals. It is the foundation on which our profession was created, but it has eroded over time as technology has driven practitioners to work faster and more remotely. I believe the YAF is well-positioned to champion this effort to revitalize mentoring to the benefit of all generations.”

Young Architect members are those AIA members who have been licensed for ten years or less, regardless of age. An estimated 18,000 of the 55,000 licensed members of the Institute currently are young architects. The YAF was created to address the unique issues and concerns facing this wide range of recently-licensed practitioners.

YAF 15 Summit

The YAF 15 Summit brought together leaders of the architecture profession from all levels to celebrate 15 years of achievements of the YAF. The summit provided a forum for attendees to engage in dialogue about issues facing the unique demographic of young architects in today’s profession. Together, the group re-examined what AIA members are facing in the profession and developed ways to provide support and programming for the future leaders.

“The Summit provided an important opportunity to look back on our historic goals of mentoring, leadership and fellowship and to validate them for the next 15 years, assuring the YAF leadership that future programming and resources will be focused on topics of the utmost importance to our constituency,” said, Michael Meehan, AIA, 2007 YAF Chair.

ArchitectureRadio, a non-profit organization, partnered with the YAF to produce podcasts of the Summit proceedings. For more information, visit http://www.architecture-radio.org/learn/collections/20070206-YAFSUMMIT.

Outcomes

The attendees of the YAF 15 Summit developed a top ten list of issues that the YAF should address in the next 15 years. They are:

1. Mentorship

2. Human Capital

3. Leadership/Interaction Skills

4. Practice Management

5. Increasing Credibility

6. Responsibility of the Architect

7. Outreach

8. Work/Life Balance

9. Integrated Practice

10. Technical Skills

Group members chose to work together on the first six topics to develop work plans for each topic centered around the affect on the individual, the firm, the profession and the community. A detailed outcome document can be found on the YAF Web site at www.aia.org/yaf_summitoutcomes.

The YAF Advisory Committee has developed robust action plans which outline the tactics that align with the strategies outlined by the participants of the Summit. Beginning in summer 2007, the YAF will begin a national campaign to educate its members and provide knowledge resources that are of value to its constituents.

Kristine Royal, 2007 YAF vice chair and 2008 YAF chair said, “This is an exciting time for our profession. Technology is challenging architects to rethink project teams and adapt their delivery models to a more integrated practice strategy. The YAF is well-positioned to take on the soft skills training needed by all architects to be successful in this professional evolution.”

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