Last month I had to message Martina Reilly, AIA Baltimore 2022 President-Elect, that she needed to run the July board meeting. I was in the ER with a sick kid, (who is now fine). As disappointed as I was in not being able to join my colleagues, I never worried for a second that the productive work of our board would not continue. AIA Baltimore is structured to be resilient. We have a five-year executive track that cultivates and supports our leadership moving towards a year as President of the organization. We have a fantastic board of dedicated directors and a broad network of wonderful Past-Presidents. Most importantly we have our committees, whose initiatives and programs are the core of our chapter’s vitality.

I am consistently inspired by our committees’ annual efforts to provide opportunities for architects and others to convene and learn, network, and advocate. AIA Baltimore would not be what it is without the volunteers that make up our committees and our committee co-chairs. This has never been more true than over the past few years as committees have innovated and adapted in the face of both a pandemic and significant staffing changes. There are dedicated individuals and dynamic teams behind each of AIA Baltimore’s programs and events, and there’s hardly ever a wrong time to thank them for their contributions to our profession.

Now that we have The Center for Architecture + Design, a monumental initiative representing years of work from so many in our chapter, we have an opportunity to refocus on our committees. We did that at our June committee leader and board retreat: cultivating and sharing ideas for 2023 and beyond, both at the individual committee level and potential collaborations between committees. This is truly an exciting time to be part of one of our committees.

If you are new to Baltimore, or it’s been a while since you attended a committee meeting, I encourage you to reach out to one of our committee chairs and get (re)involved. I know we’re all busy, with to-do lists a mile long and time seeming ever more precious, but the work we do at AIA Baltimore is important and doing it with like-minded colleagues is energizing. Many hands make light work. When our committee teams work together, they multiply their impact on our profession and our city.

We hope to share with you more about the great work happening in our many committees, both here in the newsletter and at events over the course of this fall. In the meantime, please learn more about our committees and consider attending a meeting in August or September. Not sure which committee is the right fit? Email me, or talk to any of our board members or amazing AIA Baltimore staff.

Laura Wheaton, AIA, LEED AP bd+c
2022 AIA Baltimore President
lwheaton@ayerssaintgross.com