Around the Community: AIA

Although Maurita has been a member of the AIA for well over 20 years, this year was pretty special. Earlier this year in March, she was asked by Executive Director John Czarnecki to participate as a guest representing NOMA, on the AIA Strategic Planning Committee. Following that, Maurita was asked by the AIA Arizona President-elect, Damon Leverett, AIA, NOMA, to be a part of the planning committee for the 2022 AIA State Conference. She gladly jumped at the opportunity, as this would give her experience on another level working with the AIA. In doing so, she was given the honor to interview one of the speakers at the conference, Mr. William Bates, FAIA, NOMA. Mr. Bates is actually the second African-American to lead the AIA in its history and is also a Fellow, which is the highest designation one can receive within the organization. He was inaugurated on December 7, 2018 to serve as the national AIA president for 2019, who at that time the AIA had over 93,000 members.

Leading up to the interview, Maurita was first formally introduced to him by the aforementioned Damon and John. After that, Mr. Bates and she met about three more times leading up to the interview to get to know each other, discuss his presentation and possibly interview questions. Maurita found that they had several things in common, both being the first in their families to go to college, as well as both leading local NOMA chapters. Even more, he is from just outside of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, which, although I am technically from Ohio, is “back home” for me, since it is the nearest city to where I am from and that is the closest airport that I fly into when going back to see family. The topic of his presentation was “Making the Invisible Visible.” This zeroed in on those in the design industry that are often overlooked, like people with disabilities, special needs, minorities, and women. There are studies that show that the more diverse your team, the more creative and innovative ideas come forth.

So often people are overlooked for positions, because they may not fit the “norm” or the standard issue Architect mold, but there is value in bringing these different perspectives to the table. Maurita is so proud of our office in particular, because we have such a diverse group that happened quite organically, and we’re very fortunate to have these unique minds come together, which in turn benefits our clients.

As for the experience of doing the interview on stage at the state conference, she had to admit, she was extremely nervous. In her role, Maurita represent not only herself, but also, PHX Architecture, NOMAarizona, the AIA, and other young minority women that are emerging professionals in this field…no pressure.