A change has come to one of the industry’s oldest professional associations after The Architectural League of New York's Executive Director Rosalie Genevro announced on September 22 that she will be stepping down from the organization after more than 37 years in her post.

Genevro says she will depart next year to focus on a slate of issues connected to climate change and the construction industry. Since beginning her tenure in 1985, the League has vastly expanded its influential program to account for the onset of the digital age and radical changes in the broader currents of architecture as a professional enterprise, social endeavor, and field of academic study.

Among the initiatives she is credited with developing are the League’s award-winning Urban Omnibus publication, the Emerging Voices and Prize for Young Architects + Designers competitions, the American Roundtable discussion series, and the recent Independent Partnership Pilot Program co-sponsored by the New York State Council on the Arts.

As Executive Director, Genevro has led exhibition programs that have gravitated towards more ecological and community-focused investigations to supplement its many highly-influential design studies, which have touched on topics like Vacant Lots, housing policy, urban revitalization, the role of gender in design, and the infrastructure potential of public library spaces.

Although the League retained its focus on architecture in the Greater New York area, Genevro is credited for her pursuit of what the Times called a "quieter issue-oriented agenda focused on the civics of architecture" that "understood architects as a community of professionals and a proactive social force within larger urban communities." Billie Tsien told the Times that Genevro has "a deep sense of justice — and this has informed and animated her leadership of the Architectural League."

The California-born architectural historian thanked the community stating, "Serving the League as executive director—since 1985!—has been the opportunity and privilege of a lifetime. I have worked with remarkable people: staff and board members, the League’s community in New York and beyond, amazing architects and artists and thinkers from around the world [...] Thank you for your support and affection for our organization, and for so many friendships. I look forward to watching and admiring an exciting next chapter for The Architectural League."

The League has said they will announce the search for her successor in the coming weeks and hopes to elect a replacement before her term formally ends in June.