There has been a lot of chatter this year about seemingly serious issues with AIA national, but these issues (apart from the "typical" AIA issues) don't seem to have come up on Archinect yet. See threads below, which are hearsay but seem legit:
Is the collapse of the AIA inevitable (or possibly welcome?) Can members do anything to help right the ship or is it worth the effort at this point?
gwharton
May 23, 24 12:51 pm
AIA has been a complete train wreck for years.
Bench
May 23, 24 3:26 pm
So I'm a relatively new member to the AIA. Does the organization have a requirement to publish budgets annually? The financial aspects of these posts sounds really problematic, and it would seem that as a non-profit there would be a need for fiscal transparency?
Im also curious if @Archinect or the other major industry publications are tracking this story at all. The Punta Cana thing sounds notably problematic.
Wood Guy
May 23, 24 3:59 pm
I'm not an AIA member (or an architect) and don't think particularly highly of the organization, but a couple of years ago I was at a conference and had dinner with Evelyn Lee, the president-elect. She's very smart; she hosts the Practice Disrupted podcast and has been head of strategy and innovation at Slack, among other accomplishments. I am optimistic about her plans, as relayed by Arch Daily:
"Lee’s campaign is focused on three main areas, as she describes on her campaign website: ‘[Re]Thinking How We Practice Architecture’ to strengthen the business of architecture and make it more welcoming for future generations; ‘[Re]Designing How We Collaborate as a Profession’ to encourage the sharing of research and work across state components; and ‘[Re]Envisioning How We Create Value Beyond Practice’ to find ways to re-engage those who have chosen other career paths as advocates for architects and architecture."
Donna Sink
May 23, 24 4:35 pm
The recent antics of AIA National have been on some folks' radar. I don't engage or bother with it, though, because at this point I belong to AIA *solely* for how amazing my local section Executive Director is. He is wonderful and has a great team that is honestly working hard *for* architects in our region. So I get my CEUs and get to hang out monthly with my fellow architects at fun programs. It's all good, here in Indy.
At National, though, hoo boy.
reallynotmyname
May 23, 24 5:31 pm
My local AIA chapter has been a corrupt shitshow for most of the past two decades. It's unfortunate if AIA national is going the same way as is being alleged.
But AIA is not the only game in town.
I'm looking at going over to the Association of Licensed Architects:
I was an AIA member for quite a while. Despite the high cost of a membership I stayed on until they started to charge for AIAU this year. I decided not to renew my membership. I simply don't see any benefit to paying nearly $1,000 a year and getting almost nothing out of it.
reallynotmyname
Jun 6, 24 12:30 pm
Indeed. Aside from those blessed with a robust and honestly run local chapter, AIA membership has become pretty useless to those not chasing awards, self-promotion, or an FAIA. The AIA's ideas to expand membership to academics, interior designers, and engineers is laughable when the AIA membership value proposition is so poor. Those folks aren't going spend $500+ a year to get almost nothing for it.
reallynotmyname
May 23, 24 6:17 pm
Regarding collapse of the AIA, I don't think that's in the cards. The deep-pocketed crowd of firm principals and wealthy young people angling to be "leaders" in the profession aren't going anywhere as the crazy high dues don't bother them. AIA National will stabilize their financials by raising dues and cutting expenses.
Volunteer
May 24, 24 2:21 pm
For 200 staffers to go to the Punta Cana Resort for three days should cost about $3,000 each for airfare, lodging, and meals. That's $600,000 of members' dues. But who is counting? Nobody apparently.
logon'slogin
May 24, 24 3:05 pm
Are you sure about these numbers or are they just figments of your imagination?
Wood Guy
May 24, 24 4:13 pm
Have you ever traveled? $3K sounds about right to me. Maybe $2500 if there are good group deals and alcohol is limited. Conference rooms are not cheap--quite the opposite--so it could just as easily cost more.
Volunteer
May 24, 24 4:28 pm
The numbers are based on my trip to St. Martin several years ago and not even adjusted for inflation. They are not figments of my imagination. If the AIA President was giving the contract to an insider it was likely much more.
Donna Sink
Jun 6, 24 8:47 pm
If the contract is going to an insider, I don’t care if it cost 20 bucks, they should not have done it. But reports are that it was around $150,000.
logon'slogin
May 24, 24 4:47 pm
AIA used to offer reasonably priced health insurance to its members. Is anybody here old enough to remember that?
reallynotmyname
May 24, 24 5:43 pm
No, but it would be a welcome thing to bring back.
b3tadine[sutures]
May 24, 24 6:50 pm
National jumped the shark when they refused to deal with the Neo-Nazi Assoc. AIA member. After they were outed and fired after Charlottesville. I hope they burn in hell.
przemula
May 27, 24 8:59 pm
What's his name? This neo nazi member.
b3tadine[sutures]
May 28, 24 12:05 am
What's her name.
Donna Sink
Jun 4, 24 10:33 am
Unfortunately I don't think she was actually fired, beta. She was attending AIA national events a couple years later, with a new hair color, I recall reading on Xitter.
Chad Miller
Jun 4, 24 11:56 am
The woman was fired from the firm she worked at. I don't know if she's currently employed.
Side note: you don't have to be an employed architect, an architect in training, or an AIA member to attend an AIA event. You just have to pay the admission fee.
Volunteer
May 27, 24 10:11 am
Maybe an AIA member here could write and ask them how much the outing cost? The response, if one is even received, should be a hoot.
Le Courvoisier
May 27, 24 2:55 pm
That trip to Punta Cana hasn't been the worst thing lately. Maybe ask why we have a new general counsel or why a certain person tried to make it so officers automatically get fellow.
HipHopopotomas2024
Jun 11, 24 7:15 pm
Listen, between the DEI contractor that was brought in who is the cousin of the CEO's husband, her best friend hired as the Strategic Officer with ZERO qualifications for that 300K/year job, and this Strategic Officer's sister working there now in equity and diversity department, the CEO constantly trying to get her nephew hired, and people being fired and leaving because they want none of the nepotism and cronyism (CEO firing folks for not doing what she wants and not hiring who she wants) firing whole departments in retaliation for the fellows debacle----a fellowship elevation is decided by a jury, not the staff, but awards doesn't have staff now and is now being 'managed' by someone that has a full time job doing governance (and she is probably pretty busy right now LOL), and a Board President that wants to make all of this about her--- she is just one iota in a sea of grift and corruption) and a Board that says this trip is just fine! The pres is also busy writing about how she is being attacked and the angle also seems to be that she is entitled to elevation to fellowship just by being voted in as a Board officer. That's not how it works. The guidelines for applying to fellowship are very clear and just being put into an office is not at all how any of that works. Anyone can get examples of successful submissions. The case has to be made in support of whatever category is being applied to and all materials provided must support that---not just providing some paperwork and just saying 'hey look, I'm the first Black pres....." Yeah, there are a lot of other problems besides the trip.
HipHopopotomas2024
Jun 13, 24 11:25 am
If anyone is curious to read the court filing from the fired General Counsel in his lawsuit against the AIA, its easily searchable and is public record. The court case # is 2024-CAB-003572 and can be found on dccourts.gov. The timeline and circumstances are quite damning. And that is only just a small portion of what is going on.
b3tadine[sutures]
May 28, 24 5:31 am
Nazi
Wood Guy
May 28, 24 2:33 pm
Wow, I just googled her--good riddance and may she never work again!
Chad Miller
May 29, 24 9:52 am
Yeah, and she was on her states AIA board. :s
bowling_ball
May 29, 24 1:47 pm
There appears to still be a Heather Collins AIA on a state board, but no picture and no description
Chad Miller
May 29, 24 2:06 pm
I'm willing to bet it's not the same person. How much would that suck to share the nazi's name? Uhg.
Everyday Architect
May 29, 24 3:58 pm
If it's the Heather Collins Assoc. AIA on the AIA Sierra Valley Board of Directors (website here: http://www.aiasv.org/board-of-directors-aiasv/), I'm guessing it's just out of date. Everything else on the website is like 7+ years out of date at this point.
archanonymous
May 30, 24 7:17 am
Bruuuuh I met a guy the other day named Adolf. I don't think the other Heather Collins have it quite so bad.
Chad Miller
Jun 4, 24 11:54 am
Good point AA.
Donna Sink
Jun 5, 24 8:37 pm
Pretty damning article in The Architect’s Newspaper yesterday. Bracketed by anti-Biden tshirt ads, though, so I won’t link it here.
Bench
Jun 5, 24 9:08 pm
Donna i think those are targeted ads, what are you google'ing !
“AIA leadership takes the concerns of its members very seriously,” the AIA spokesperson said. “That is why the Board of Directors promptly initiated the external review by an independent law firm to answer questions, and address misinformation. We expect the initial review to be complete in the near future. The Board is committed to sharing the results with members.”
b3tadine[sutures]
Jun 6, 24 4:27 am
What a joke. I need popcorn.
Chad Miller
Jun 6, 24 9:59 am
This makes me glad I didn't renew my AIA membership this year. Oddly enough I was called twice by different people asking me to renew my membership.
reallynotmyname
Jun 6, 24 12:04 pm
I learned a lot from that article. It explains why the AIA documents operation has turned to shit in recent times. (the AIA sold it to somebody!)
Is it correct that Architect magazine has ceased to exist? It has sucked for years, so I'm not surprised if it's finally dead.
Volunteer
Jun 6, 24 12:39 pm
Got to love the word salad response. They hire a law firm (?) to investigate (more money wasted) but have no problem labeling something as "misinformation" before the law firm has investigated.
Bench
Jun 6, 24 12:51 pm
On the topic of word salad, I also found this section very bizarre, in the sense that it is just speaking past the issue, without actually addressing the question posed in the article (paragraph 9):
"In response to the claims, the AIA spokesperson told AN: “There’s been a lot of changes recently, which were required to keep that commitment to our members. Some of those changes were not communicated as clearly as they could have been, and we want to apologize for any confusion members may have had in the past few weeks.”
curtkram
Jun 7, 24 10:29 am
that doesn't sound like a law firm that fixes problems. it might be more of a law firm that covers up problems.
square.
Jun 7, 24 11:05 am
Centerstage in the letter was a recent staff retreat to the Royalton Bavaro in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, between March 6 and March 9—a trip that ultimately cost $152,519.07. The April 4 letter’s signatories requested an explanation for the expense given the AIA’s current $13.5 million deficit “recently identified in remarks made to [Council of Former Presidents Chair] George Miller by leadership."
and we wonder why everyone is so disillusioned, not just in architecture but everywhere... this shit is endemic in the new gilded age. also glad i didn't renew, and i don't plan to, ever.
Bench
Jun 6, 24 12:51 pm
x
Volunteer
Jun 7, 24 10:53 am
Can you imagine an AIA President, after being criticized by 22 past Presidents, not having the decency to resign for the good of the organization? And who picked the law firm? They need some forensic accountants to find out where the money went and the current President and her cronies needs to step down at until the investigations are complete.
b3tadine[sutures]
Jun 7, 24 11:06 am
Slow your roll there. The person in charge of the reported malfeasance, and possible corruption, is not the AIA President, but the CEO. My sense of the organization is the AIA President is not in control of the purse. Not saying she doesn’t have a role to play, but that she may be the patsy here.
Volunteer
Jun 9, 24 9:43 am
Thanks for the clarification. Apparently the CEO Lakish Ann Woods, was trying to grease the skids for the President, Kimberly Dowdell, to be named an FAIA member. When the board refused several board members were fired. What Kimberly Dowdell's involvement is in this maneuvering, if anything, is not known.
HipHopopotomas2024
Jun 16, 24 3:08 pm
Staff were fired in retaliation, not board members. The board is elected by the membership and cannot be fired. The board and jurors are being conflated. The jury decides fellowship---not staff--however, they were unceremoniously kicked to the curb.
monosierra
Jun 7, 24 12:06 pm
It's a great grift for an outsider - little oversight and even less institutional controls in place. Swing in and make a quick buck.
spaceman
Jun 9, 24 8:12 am
Supplementing the AN article with this Bloomberg CityLab description:
If an organization buys and sells influence, how does it differ from an NRA type of structure and corporate mentality? It is so disgusting that the 3% of the architects who contribute to architecture and society are always AIA architects decided by AIA members, corporate climbers, and their conservative executive boards. Jolly good fellows anyone? Do you think the organization that sent a letter to the newly elected Donald Trump saying "Mr. President, we are ready to work with you" really reformed itself?
archanonymous
Jun 10, 24 8:24 am
But they hired a black woman as the CEO! Reform done! Virtue signaled!
The whole organization is so fucked up and incompetent I will never give them another dollar, another kind word, or engage in their content, CEUs, "journalism" or lobbying.
If you actually want to support diversity in the profession, it clearly doesn't happen through the AIA.
Donna Sink
Jun 13, 24 11:42 pm
Archanonymous I wanna push back against one of your points. When Archinect Sessions interviewed Phil Freelon one of the things he said was that if you notice many many black architects are members of the AIA. This is because, in his mind, Black architects have had to work so much harder that they want to be in AIA to show how much they have achieved and to make sure the profession recognizes them as equals. Diversity within the architecture profession has honestly been a significant goal for AIA members for at least a decade now
Volunteer
Jun 14, 24 7:16 am
The corrupt, self-service current AIA leadership is negatively impacting all the AIA members of whatever skin color. To give these people in leadership positions a free pass on their corrupt behavior because of their skin color is racism defined.
Donna Sink
Jun 14, 24 10:09 am
Volunteer, I don't think anyone is giving anyone a pass due to skin color.
I do believe AIA membership has offered a very good opportunity for many Black architects to connect with one another over the years and more recently those opportunities have become a more acknowledged goal and benefit for the profession overall.
b3tadine[sutures]
Jun 14, 24 12:49 pm
Who is getting a free pass? The previous leaders, who decidedly played the game well, didn't upset anyone, and still had pasts in previous organizations and companies and got by without a peep, or the ones that pissed off some people inside the organization, have been handed a bunch of debt, and oh by the way are black?
Volunteer
Jun 14, 24 1:02 pm
So you shouldn't root out corruption and unethical behavior in an organization because it existed in the past? I guess the lawyer with 17 years experience in the firm is a racist because he didn't blow the whistle until the black females got hired started trashing the organization from within?
b3tadine[sutures]
Jun 14, 24 5:28 pm
No one is getting a free pass here. The people responsible for the financial crisis in the organization are, and it certainly wasn't a trip that caused it.
archanonymous
Jun 16, 24 9:44 am
That's a great point Donna! Equally I'm not sure he can speak for all black architects. My n=4 sample of close architect friends with black skin (or close enough to discuss this) is 2/4 in the AIA. One is a hardcore anarchist though so I wouldn't expect her to join anything.
Donna Sink
Jun 17, 24 1:30 pm
Thank you archanonymous. Of course you are correct; I shouldn't allow my one anecdote to stand as evidence for all Black architects. Although, when coming from as amazing a human as Phil Freelon, I definitely give it more weight!
DudleySerious
Jun 11, 24 9:52 pm
I get that the Punta Cana trip is the splashiest and seemingly most egregious thing on its face, but what about the CEO funneling cash to her friends and family? She hired her business partner/best friend as the second highest position at the AIA, and had her husband's cousin administering DEI trainings to staff multiple times a year? I would love to see an accounting of what they've paid in severance over the past two years. She's been firing people at a rapid clip, and then they have to pay them off to get them to sign the NDA's. You don't amass a 13.5 million shortfall overnight...you get there in little drips like bulk severance payments, hiring friends at inflated salaries, settling lawsuits, flashy overseas trips for the CEO and her best friend, 150k trips to Punta Cana (no way that trip was only 150k), and all of the thousand other tiny bits of extremely bad judgement and self enrichment. The board is entirely complicit in this, so I guess we have to hope that somehow members can get their attention.
archanonymous
Jun 16, 24 9:44 am
How to get their attention: don't renew.
Volunteer
Jun 12, 24 7:07 am
Apparently CEO Woods is not an architect? Like a hospital naming a Chief Surgeon who doesn't have an MD.
b3tadine[sutures]
Jun 12, 24 10:47 am
Bob Ivy got F'd 13 years after being a principal in his form. Most of his recognition, or at least how we all knew of him, was as a writer and publisher. The only thing that struck me as a CEO was his insistence on saying Social Media over and over again during the interview.
bowling_ball
Jun 12, 24 11:59 am
Volunteer, I think it's more like having a hospital president not be a doctor - they're different roles entirely. It's not like the CEO of the AIA is doing any architectural work FOR the AIA, they're an administrator more or less.
Volunteer
Jun 12, 24 2:54 pm
Well, Woods' management skills seem somewhat suspect to say the least. They would have been better off hiring a distinguished architect who runs his own firm.
b3tadine[sutures]
Jun 12, 24 2:59 pm
Architects are cowards. Do you really think they have the skin for the kind of criticism lobbed at others? Put me in there, I'll stomp the living eff out of that job. We'll be doing getaways to the Central Ward of Newark and Alphabet City.
bowling_ball
Jun 13, 24 7:40 am
95% of architects are terrible at running their businesses, and those who are successful are likely way too busy to simultaneously act as CEO of a national association (it's a full time job). So I don't think that's the answer at all.
Volunteer
Jun 13, 24 8:29 am
I was thinking of a senior architect taking leave from his firm or retiring from it to devote full time to his AIA duties. Impossible to think of a worse person in charge than what the AIA has now. Not sure it can be fixed.
Volunteer
Jun 13, 24 9:00 am
Somebody like the head of Gensler, Andy Cohen. He has a degree in architecture from the Pratt Institute. You think he couldn't run the AIA? Unless the AIA gets someone of that caliber and reputation they are finished.
bowling_ball
Jun 13, 24 12:22 pm
Methinks you're being a little dramatic. Reforms may happen but the AIA isn't going anywhere. I'm willing to bet that 90% of American architects couldn't even name the CEO
spaceman
Jun 12, 24 6:02 pm
The AIA's board issued a statement re-affirming their support of the CEO yesterday:
Interesting, but buried, statement: the outside investigation has been completed with no problems found. Wasn't there a wrongful termination claim somewhere in the mess? Quite a response to the controversy, I wonder if the bland statement of support is a bit of a distraction...
reallynotmyname
Jun 14, 24 11:38 am
@graphemic: The investigation mentioned is the Punta Cana trip procurement, of which the AIA board has decided was not improper. The wrongful termination investigation is ongoing.
graphemic
Jun 14, 24 12:23 pm
Yaya, I read the filing yesterday. Still, no refutation of the accusations? So lame.
reallynotmyname
Jun 14, 24 12:50 pm
I predict that they settle all of the HR claims confidentially and then the AIA board can declare the matter over without ever admitting fault by anyone at the institute. The AIA is basically waiting this out until it blows over. I think the incumbent people at AIA aim to survive this without meaningful change of any kind. The hiring of the crisis management consultant is very telling.
If this is not a piece of propaganda created after they got caught with their hands in the cookie jar I will eat my I-pad.
Donna Sink
Jul 17, 24 9:48 am
Is that what, like, regular network TV is like these days? Jeez. The stock images of the pencils filling in bubbles on a paper exam and the host at the end saying "IT"S TRUE YOU CAN DO WHATEVER YOU DREAM!" Jeez.
Donna Sink
Jul 17, 24 9:50 am
(To be clear, I TOTALLY support the AIA initiatives of the last few years to bring more diverse architects into the profession. My comment is about how generically slick the GMA segment is.)
reallynotmyname
Jul 17, 24 2:08 pm
This is most certainly the work of the crisis management consultant hired by AIA. It's basic a PR counteroffensive that shows the bad actors doing good, wholesome things and creating doubt about the accusations of misconduct. The critics and accusers of the current AIA regime are thus implied to be a combination of disgruntled former employees and racists.
seems to say the current AIA Board has filed an ethics complaint against AIA members who questioned spending by the Board? And that it was a "coordinated campaign" not just members asking questions?
I have knowledge of two ethics violations that were taken to the NEC: when Kieran Timberlake reported their former partner to the ethics board for allegedly embezzling money, and someone I know who reported the Nazi gal above to the ethics board. Guess which one resulted in a punishment?
curtkram
Sep 26, 24 10:28 am
it doesn't sound like the 16 member board is acting in the interest of the membership of aia. are these ethic reviews acting under the control and influence of that 16 member board, along with the presumption of unethical behavior that goes with that?
archanonymous
Sep 26, 24 10:49 am
@Donna - what does the AIA National Ethics Council do?
I am not going to go look it up because I'm not even a member anymore, but I imagine it is completely toothless and they can what - ban you from being a member of this horrible organization? Send a report to your state licensing board?
I mean, its rediculous that the current AIA Board is filing what sounds like a retalitory complaint, but the fact they are doing so in their own made-up Kangaroo Kourt makes it even more sad and pathetic.
Also: I actually have no idea which of those complaints you mention would result in a punishment. I'm going to go with the sad, misguided girl called out online for being a nazi, as the AIA has always prioritized business practices and people of power. She seems much easier to punish than a mature architect with lawyers. So I'll go with that.
Donna Sink
Sep 26, 24 10:55 am
archanonymous, you called it re: what "punishment" even means: the embezzling former partner was barred from being an AIA member ever again. Which, LOL.
Volunteer
Sep 26, 24 11:38 am
"...coordinated campaign being driven by various AIA stakeholders to publicly discredit the EVP/CEO and the wider Board. This conduct has been formally filed with the AIA National Ethics Council (NEC) for review.
Once the NEC responds with recommendations for the Board, we will act with expediency to prevent future similar destructive behavior that has the potential to negatively impact the health of our organization."
So members can't have a coordinated campaign? Can they speak, call, text, or write emails to each other?
reallynotmyname
Sep 26, 24 12:46 pm
The message here from the current AIA board is unmistakable: any dissent (or even just asking questions) among rank and file members will be punished with the most severe methods available to AIA National. Nothing less than unquestioning loyalty and acquiescence to the AIA National board and executives is acceptable.
graphemic
Sep 26, 24 1:08 pm
So bizarre that folks put so much energy into transparent power moves... it's so cringe. Why??? Are the rewards that great? We live for a short time on this soil??? Gets me in a philosophical mood. Do they not have hobbies?
Donna Sink
Sep 26, 24 1:23 pm
Volunteer, we aren't allowed to discuss fees, thanks to the consent decrees of '72/'90, so now I guess we're also not allowed to ask each other questions about how our employees (via AIA fees) spend their money, either.
It's almost like they *want* the profession to go back to being a gentlemen's hobby, done for free.
<shrug emoji>
graphemic
Sep 26, 24 2:12 pm
The board is a psy-op from the real estate/construction industry, maybe :D
reallynotmyname
Sep 26, 24 2:27 pm
Donna, that's really the sad thing here: the AIA's capitulation on the consent decrees. News flash: in 2024, anybody who spends enough money can get damn near anything they want out of the federal government. It's high time the AIA got to work on undoing these unfavorable legal outcomes in today's changed judicial environment. Just look at what Facebook, Google, etc. are able to get away with.
sansoon
Sep 27, 24 7:53 pm
the root cause of their issues is the poor quality and lack of leadership at the executive levels, what a disgrace
baby_gene
Sep 27, 24 10:12 pm
Everyone keeps complaining about the AIA and its national leadership, both appointed and elected, but nobody has been willing to make an organized effort to nominate alternative national level candidates and organize their colleagues to serve as delegates supporting those candidates. The nomination and voting process for national leadership is intentionally obscure and difficult to understand. This makes elections at the convention effectively a coronation, where a minority of the most active members have all the influence, and the vast majority do not participate. aia-delegate-booklet-2024.pdf some chapters advertise opportunities to become delegates via newsletters and e-mail lists, but local leadership has wide discretion on how to select delegates and allocate votes.
"Each component may elect to distribute its delegates’ votes among members attending the annual meeting or to have the votes all held by one individual, such as the component president"
This system is completely terrible, BUT it can be easily hacked if a couple of the large "alphabet soup" firms, each with hundreds of licensed architect members, organize to nominate and elect competent national leadership and open the door to change the rules and procedures. AIA is counting on you paying your dues and then disengaging out of frustration.
Archinect could research publish a list of the rules and procedures of major chapters for delegate section, and readers (like us) could distribute that information to our colleagues. If even 25 % of members who were not involved engaged in the process next time , it would have a big impact.
AMA dues for medical professionals are $450 per year. The AAJ (trial lawyers) has top dues of about $680. NAIOP's yearly dues for realtors my city are around $1k. My dues for AIA are over $900 yearly now - Isn't it kinda strange that these other orgs can advocate so successfully for the interests of members with the same or fewer resources? Something stinks here.
There has been a lot of chatter this year about seemingly serious issues with AIA national, but these issues (apart from the "typical" AIA issues) don't seem to have come up on Archinect yet. See threads below, which are hearsay but seem legit:
https://www.reddit.com/r/Architects/comments/1bhxkrn/whats_going_on_at_aia/
https://www.glassdoor.com/Reviews/The-American-Institute-of-Architects-Reviews-E34788.htm?sort.sortType=RD&sort.ascending=false&filter.iso3Language=eng
Is the collapse of the AIA inevitable (or possibly welcome?) Can members do anything to help right the ship or is it worth the effort at this point?
AIA has been a complete train wreck for years.
So I'm a relatively new member to the AIA. Does the organization have a requirement to publish budgets annually? The financial aspects of these posts sounds really problematic, and it would seem that as a non-profit there would be a need for fiscal transparency?
Im also curious if @Archinect or the other major industry publications are tracking this story at all. The Punta Cana thing sounds notably problematic.
I'm not an AIA member (or an architect) and don't think particularly highly of the organization, but a couple of years ago I was at a conference and had dinner with Evelyn Lee, the president-elect. She's very smart; she hosts the Practice Disrupted podcast and has been head of strategy and innovation at Slack, among other accomplishments. I am optimistic about her plans, as relayed by Arch Daily:
"Lee’s campaign is focused on three main areas, as she describes on her campaign website: ‘[Re]Thinking How We Practice Architecture’ to strengthen the business of architecture and make it more welcoming for future generations; ‘[Re]Designing How We Collaborate as a Profession’ to encourage the sharing of research and work across state components; and ‘[Re]Envisioning How We Create Value Beyond Practice’ to find ways to re-engage those who have chosen other career paths as advocates for architects and architecture."
The recent antics of AIA National have been on some folks' radar. I don't engage or bother with it, though, because at this point I belong to AIA *solely* for how amazing my local section Executive Director is. He is wonderful and has a great team that is honestly working hard *for* architects in our region. So I get my CEUs and get to hang out monthly with my fellow architects at fun programs. It's all good, here in Indy.
At National, though, hoo boy.
My local AIA chapter has been a corrupt shitshow for most of the past two decades. It's unfortunate if AIA national is going the same way as is being alleged.
But AIA is not the only game in town.
I'm looking at going over to the Association of Licensed Architects:
https://www.alatoday.org/
I was an AIA member for quite a while. Despite the high cost of a membership I stayed on until they started to charge for AIAU this year. I decided not to renew my membership. I simply don't see any benefit to paying nearly $1,000 a year and getting almost nothing out of it.
Indeed. Aside from those blessed with a robust and honestly run local chapter, AIA membership has become pretty useless to those not chasing awards, self-promotion, or an FAIA. The AIA's ideas to expand membership to academics, interior designers, and engineers is laughable when the AIA membership value proposition is so poor. Those folks aren't going spend $500+ a year to get almost nothing for it.
Regarding collapse of the AIA, I don't think that's in the cards. The deep-pocketed crowd of firm principals and wealthy young people angling to be "leaders" in the profession aren't going anywhere as the crazy high dues don't bother them. AIA National will stabilize their financials by raising dues and cutting expenses.
For 200 staffers to go to the Punta Cana Resort for three days should cost about $3,000 each for airfare, lodging, and meals. That's $600,000 of members' dues. But who is counting? Nobody apparently.
Are you sure about these numbers or are they just figments of your imagination?
Have you ever traveled? $3K sounds about right to me. Maybe $2500 if there are good group deals and alcohol is limited. Conference rooms are not cheap--quite the opposite--so it could just as easily cost more.
The numbers are based on my trip to St. Martin several years ago and not even adjusted for inflation. They are not figments of my imagination. If the AIA President was giving the contract to an insider it was likely much more.
If the contract is going to an insider, I don’t care if it cost 20 bucks, they should not have done it. But reports are that it was around $150,000.
AIA used to offer reasonably priced health insurance to its members. Is anybody here old enough to remember that?
No, but it would be a welcome thing to bring back.
National jumped the shark when they refused to deal with the Neo-Nazi Assoc. AIA member. After they were outed and fired after Charlottesville. I hope they burn in hell.
What's his name? This neo nazi member.
What's her name.
Unfortunately I don't think she was actually fired, beta. She was attending AIA national events a couple years later, with a new hair color, I recall reading on Xitter.
The woman was fired from the firm she worked at. I don't know if she's currently employed.
Side note: you don't have to be an employed architect, an architect in training, or an AIA member to attend an AIA event. You just have to pay the admission fee.
Maybe an AIA member here could write and ask them how much the outing cost? The response, if one is even received, should be a hoot.
That trip to Punta Cana hasn't been the worst thing lately. Maybe ask why we have a new general counsel or why a certain person tried to make it so officers automatically get fellow.
Listen, between the DEI contractor that was brought in who is the cousin of the CEO's husband, her best friend hired as the Strategic Officer with ZERO qualifications for that 300K/year job, and this Strategic Officer's sister working there now in equity and diversity department, the CEO constantly trying to get her nephew hired, and people being fired and leaving because they want none of the nepotism and cronyism (CEO firing folks for not doing what she wants and not hiring who she wants) firing whole departments in retaliation for the fellows debacle----a fellowship elevation is decided by a jury, not the staff, but awards doesn't have staff now and is now being 'managed' by someone that has a full time job doing governance (and she is probably pretty busy right now LOL), and a Board President that wants to make all of this about her--- she is just one iota in a sea of grift and corruption) and a Board that says this trip is just fine! The pres is also busy writing about how she is being attacked and the angle also seems to be that she is entitled to elevation to fellowship just by being voted in as a Board officer. That's not how it works. The guidelines for applying to fellowship are very clear and just being put into an office is not at all how any of that works. Anyone can get examples of successful submissions. The case has to be made in support of whatever category is being applied to and all materials provided must support that---not just providing some paperwork and just saying 'hey look, I'm the first Black pres....." Yeah, there are a lot of other problems besides the trip.
If anyone is curious to read the court filing from the fired General Counsel in his lawsuit against the AIA, its easily searchable and is public record. The court case # is 2024-CAB-003572 and can be found on dccourts.gov. The timeline and circumstances are quite damning. And that is only just a small portion of what is going on.
Wow, I just googled her--good riddance and may she never work again!
Yeah, and she was on her states AIA board. :s
There appears to still be a Heather Collins AIA on a state board, but no picture and no description
I'm willing to bet it's not the same person. How much would that suck to share the nazi's name? Uhg.
If it's the Heather Collins Assoc. AIA on the AIA Sierra Valley Board of Directors (website here: http://www.aiasv.org/board-of-directors-aiasv/), I'm guessing it's just out of date. Everything else on the website is like 7+ years out of date at this point.
Bruuuuh I met a guy the other day named Adolf. I don't think the other Heather Collins have it quite so bad.
Good point AA.
Pretty damning article in The Architect’s Newspaper yesterday. Bracketed by anti-Biden tshirt ads, though, so I won’t link it here.
Donna i think those are targeted ads, what are you google'ing !
https://www.archpaper.com/2024/06/aia-leadership-criticized-recent-staff-retreat-alleged-financial-mismanagement-cronyism-nepotism-faia-jury-controversy/
“AIA leadership takes the concerns of its members very seriously,” the AIA spokesperson said. “That is why the Board of Directors promptly initiated the external review by an independent law firm to answer questions, and address misinformation. We expect the initial review to be complete in the near future. The Board is committed to sharing the results with members.”
What a joke. I need popcorn.
This makes me glad I didn't renew my AIA membership this year. Oddly enough I was called twice by different people asking me to renew my membership.
I learned a lot from that article. It explains why the AIA documents operation has turned to shit in recent times. (the AIA sold it to somebody!)
Is it correct that Architect magazine has ceased to exist? It has sucked for years, so I'm not surprised if it's finally dead.
Got to love the word salad response. They hire a law firm (?) to investigate (more money wasted) but have no problem labeling something as "misinformation" before the law firm has investigated.
On the topic of word salad, I also found this section very bizarre, in the sense that it is just speaking past the issue, without actually addressing the question posed in the article (paragraph 9):
"In response to the claims, the AIA spokesperson told AN: “There’s been a lot of changes recently, which were required to keep that commitment to our members. Some of those changes were not communicated as clearly as they could have been, and we want to apologize for any confusion members may have had in the past few weeks.”
that doesn't sound like a law firm that fixes problems. it might be more of a law firm that covers up problems.
Centerstage in the letter was a recent staff retreat to the Royalton Bavaro in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, between March 6 and March 9—a trip that ultimately cost $152,519.07. The April 4 letter’s signatories requested an explanation for the expense given the AIA’s current $13.5 million deficit “recently identified in remarks made to [Council of Former Presidents Chair] George Miller by leadership."
and we wonder why everyone is so disillusioned, not just in architecture but everywhere... this shit is endemic in the new gilded age. also glad i didn't renew, and i don't plan to, ever.
x
Can you imagine an AIA President, after being criticized by 22 past Presidents, not having the decency to resign for the good of the organization? And who picked the law firm? They need some forensic accountants to find out where the money went and the current President and her cronies needs to step down at until the investigations are complete.
Slow your roll there. The person in charge of the reported malfeasance, and possible corruption, is not the AIA President, but the CEO. My sense of the organization is the AIA President is not in control of the purse. Not saying she doesn’t have a role to play, but that she may be the patsy here.
Thanks for the clarification. Apparently the CEO Lakish Ann Woods, was trying to grease the skids for the President, Kimberly Dowdell, to be named an FAIA member. When the board refused several board members were fired. What Kimberly Dowdell's involvement is in this maneuvering, if anything, is not known.
Staff were fired in retaliation, not board members. The board is elected by the membership and cannot be fired. The board and jurors are being conflated. The jury decides fellowship---not staff--however, they were unceremoniously kicked to the curb.
It's a great grift for an outsider - little oversight and even less institutional controls in place. Swing in and make a quick buck.
Supplementing the AN article with this Bloomberg CityLab description:
https://www.bloomberg.com/news...
If an organization buys and sells influence, how does it differ from an NRA type of structure and corporate mentality? It is so disgusting that the 3% of the architects who contribute to architecture and society are always AIA architects decided by AIA members, corporate climbers, and their conservative executive boards.
Jolly good fellows anyone?
Do you think the organization that sent a letter to the newly elected Donald Trump saying "Mr. President, we are ready to work with you" really reformed itself?
But they hired a black woman as the CEO! Reform done! Virtue signaled!
The whole organization is so fucked up and incompetent I will never give them another dollar, another kind word, or engage in their content, CEUs, "journalism" or lobbying.
If you actually want to support diversity in the profession, it clearly doesn't happen through the AIA.
Archanonymous I wanna push back against one of your points. When Archinect Sessions interviewed Phil Freelon one of the things he said was that if you notice many many black architects are members of the AIA. This is because, in his mind, Black architects have had to work so much harder that they want to be in AIA to show how much they have achieved and to make sure the profession recognizes them as equals. Diversity within the architecture profession has honestly been a significant goal for AIA members for at least a decade now
The corrupt, self-service current AIA leadership is negatively impacting all the AIA members of whatever skin color. To give these people in leadership positions a free pass on their corrupt behavior because of their skin color is racism defined.
Volunteer, I don't think anyone is giving anyone a pass due to skin color.
I do believe AIA membership has offered a very good opportunity for many Black architects to connect with one another over the years and more recently those opportunities have become a more acknowledged goal and benefit for the profession overall.
Who is getting a free pass? The previous leaders, who decidedly played the game well, didn't upset anyone, and still had pasts in previous organizations and companies and got by without a peep, or the ones that pissed off some people inside the organization, have been handed a bunch of debt, and oh by the way are black?
So you shouldn't root out corruption and unethical behavior in an organization because it existed in the past? I guess the lawyer with 17 years experience in the firm is a racist because he didn't blow the whistle until the black females got hired started trashing the organization from within?
No one is getting a free pass here. The people responsible for the financial crisis in the organization are, and it certainly wasn't a trip that caused it.
That's a great point Donna! Equally I'm not sure he can speak for all black architects. My n=4 sample of close architect friends with black skin (or close enough to discuss this) is 2/4 in the AIA. One is a hardcore anarchist though so I wouldn't expect her to join anything.
Thank you archanonymous. Of course you are correct; I shouldn't allow my one anecdote to stand as evidence for all Black architects. Although, when coming from as amazing a human as Phil Freelon, I definitely give it more weight!
I get that the Punta Cana trip is the splashiest and seemingly most egregious thing on its face, but what about the CEO funneling cash to her friends and family? She hired her business partner/best friend as the second highest position at the AIA, and had her husband's cousin administering DEI trainings to staff multiple times a year? I would love to see an accounting of what they've paid in severance over the past two years. She's been firing people at a rapid clip, and then they have to pay them off to get them to sign the NDA's. You don't amass a 13.5 million shortfall overnight...you get there in little drips like bulk severance payments, hiring friends at inflated salaries, settling lawsuits, flashy overseas trips for the CEO and her best friend, 150k trips to Punta Cana (no way that trip was only 150k), and all of the thousand other tiny bits of extremely bad judgement and self enrichment. The board is entirely complicit in this, so I guess we have to hope that somehow members can get their attention.
How to get their attention: don't renew.
Apparently CEO Woods is not an architect? Like a hospital naming a Chief Surgeon who doesn't have an MD.
Bob Ivy got F'd 13 years after being a principal in his form. Most of his recognition, or at least how we all knew of him, was as a writer and publisher. The only thing that struck me as a CEO was his insistence on saying Social Media over and over again during the interview.
Volunteer, I think it's more like having a hospital president not be a doctor - they're different roles entirely. It's not like the CEO of the AIA is doing any architectural work FOR the AIA, they're an administrator more or less.
Well, Woods' management skills seem somewhat suspect to say the least. They would have been better off hiring a distinguished architect who runs his own firm.
Architects are cowards. Do you really think they have the skin for the kind of criticism lobbed at others? Put me in there, I'll stomp the living eff out of that job. We'll be doing getaways to the Central Ward of Newark and Alphabet City.
95% of architects are terrible at running their businesses, and those who are successful are likely way too busy to simultaneously act as CEO of a national association (it's a full time job). So I don't think that's the answer at all.
I was thinking of a senior architect taking leave from his firm or retiring from it to devote full time to his AIA duties. Impossible to think of a worse person in charge than what the AIA has now. Not sure it can be fixed.
Somebody like the head of Gensler, Andy Cohen. He has a degree in architecture from the Pratt Institute. You think he couldn't run the AIA? Unless the AIA gets someone of that caliber and reputation they are finished.
Methinks you're being a little dramatic. Reforms may happen but the AIA isn't going anywhere. I'm willing to bet that 90% of American architects couldn't even name the CEO
The AIA's board issued a statement re-affirming their support of the CEO yesterday:
https://www.aia.org/resource-c...
She getting fired.
Interesting, but buried, statement: the outside investigation has been completed with no problems found. Wasn't there a wrongful termination claim somewhere in the mess? Quite a response to the controversy, I wonder if the bland statement of support is a bit of a distraction...
@graphemic: The investigation mentioned is the Punta Cana trip procurement, of which the AIA board has decided was not improper. The wrongful termination investigation is ongoing.
Yaya, I read the filing yesterday. Still, no refutation of the accusations? So lame.
I predict that they settle all of the HR claims confidentially and then the AIA board can declare the matter over without ever admitting fault by anyone at the institute. The AIA is basically waiting this out until it blows over. I think the incumbent people at AIA aim to survive this without meaningful change of any kind. The hiring of the crisis management consultant is very telling.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?...
i don't know. aren't these folks the bad guys?
If this is not a piece of propaganda created after they got caught with their hands in the cookie jar I will eat my I-pad.
Is that what, like, regular network TV is like these days? Jeez. The stock images of the pencils filling in bubbles on a paper exam and the host at the end saying "IT"S TRUE YOU CAN DO WHATEVER YOU DREAM!" Jeez.
(To be clear, I TOTALLY support the AIA initiatives of the last few years to bring more diverse architects into the profession. My comment is about how generically slick the GMA segment is.)
This is most certainly the work of the crisis management consultant hired by AIA. It's basic a PR counteroffensive that shows the bad actors doing good, wholesome things and creating doubt about the accusations of misconduct. The critics and accusers of the current AIA regime are thus implied to be a combination of disgruntled former employees and racists.
I may need help deciphering what the AIA is up to right now. The statement linked here https://www.aia.org/resource-c...
seems to say the current AIA Board has filed an ethics complaint against AIA members who questioned spending by the Board? And that it was a "coordinated campaign" not just members asking questions?
I have knowledge of two ethics violations that were taken to the NEC: when Kieran Timberlake reported their former partner to the ethics board for allegedly embezzling money, and someone I know who reported the Nazi gal above to the ethics board. Guess which one resulted in a punishment?
it doesn't sound like the 16 member board is acting in the interest of the membership of aia. are these ethic reviews acting under the control and influence of that 16 member board, along with the presumption of unethical behavior that goes with that?
@Donna - what does the AIA National Ethics Council do?
I am not going to go look it up because I'm not even a member anymore, but I imagine it is completely toothless and they can what - ban you from being a member of this horrible organization? Send a report to your state licensing board?
I mean, its rediculous that the current AIA Board is filing what sounds like a retalitory complaint, but the fact they are doing so in their own made-up Kangaroo Kourt makes it even more sad and pathetic.
Also: I actually have no idea which of those complaints you mention would result in a punishment. I'm going to go with the sad, misguided girl called out online for being a nazi, as the AIA has always prioritized business practices and people of power. She seems much easier to punish than a mature architect with lawyers. So I'll go with that.
archanonymous, you called it re: what "punishment" even means: the embezzling former partner was barred from being an AIA member ever again. Which, LOL.
"...coordinated campaign being driven by various AIA stakeholders to publicly discredit the EVP/CEO and the wider Board. This conduct has been formally filed with the AIA National Ethics Council (NEC) for review. Once the NEC responds with recommendations for the Board, we will act with expediency to prevent future similar destructive behavior that has the potential to negatively impact the health of our organization."
So members can't have a coordinated campaign? Can they speak, call, text, or write emails to each other?
The message here from the current AIA board is unmistakable: any dissent (or even just asking questions) among rank and file members will be punished with the most severe methods available to AIA National. Nothing less than unquestioning loyalty and acquiescence to the AIA National board and executives is acceptable.
So bizarre that folks put so much energy into transparent power moves... it's so cringe. Why??? Are the rewards that great? We live for a short time on this soil??? Gets me in a philosophical mood. Do they not have hobbies?
Volunteer, we aren't allowed to discuss fees, thanks to the consent decrees of '72/'90, so now I guess we're also not allowed to ask each other questions about how our employees (via AIA fees) spend their money, either.
It's almost like they *want* the profession to go back to being a gentlemen's hobby, done for free.
<shrug emoji>
The board is a psy-op from the real estate/construction industry, maybe :D
Donna, that's really the sad thing here: the AIA's capitulation on the consent decrees. News flash: in 2024, anybody who spends enough money can get damn near anything they want out of the federal government. It's high time the AIA got to work on undoing these unfavorable legal outcomes in today's changed judicial environment. Just look at what Facebook, Google, etc. are able to get away with.
the root cause of their issues is the poor quality and lack of leadership at the executive levels, what a disgrace
Everyone keeps complaining about the AIA and its national leadership, both appointed and elected, but nobody has been willing to make an organized effort to nominate alternative national level candidates and organize their colleagues to serve as delegates supporting those candidates. The nomination and voting process for national leadership is intentionally obscure and difficult to understand. This makes elections at the convention effectively a coronation, where a minority of the most active members have all the influence, and the vast majority do not participate. aia-delegate-booklet-2024.pdf some chapters advertise opportunities to become delegates via newsletters and e-mail lists, but local leadership has wide discretion on how to select delegates and allocate votes.
"Each component may elect to distribute its delegates’ votes among members attending the annual meeting or to
have the votes all held by one individual, such as the component president"
This system is completely terrible, BUT it can be easily hacked if a couple of the large "alphabet soup" firms, each with hundreds of licensed architect members, organize to nominate and elect competent national leadership and open the door to change the rules and procedures. AIA is counting on you paying your dues and then disengaging out of frustration.
Archinect could research publish a list of the rules and procedures of major chapters for delegate section, and readers (like us) could distribute that information to our colleagues. If even 25 % of members who were not involved engaged in the process next time , it would have a big impact.
AMA dues for medical professionals are $450 per year. The AAJ (trial lawyers) has top dues of about $680. NAIOP's yearly dues for realtors my city are around $1k. My dues for AIA are over $900 yearly now - Isn't it kinda strange that these other orgs can advocate so successfully for the interests of members with the same or fewer resources? Something stinks here.