First given in 2001, this award recognizes an individual or group, including an AIA or Assoc. AIA Member of AIA Seattle, for the achievement of significant community service objectives and for exemplifying the application of architectural skills, values, and dedication to the advancement of community goals.
2007: Peter Steinbrueck FAIA
2006: Jerry Q. Lee AIA, Rachel Minnery AIA
Jerry Q. Lee AIA
The broad portfolio of Jerry Lee's community service ranges from health awareness to design diversity in education and cultural institutions. As chief executive of MulvannyG2 Architecture (a position from which he stepped down early in 2005) Jerry Lee helped direct substantial resources to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation: in February 2005, the Foundation honored Jerry and Charlene Lee as the guests of honor at a "pink-tie ball" that raised more than $600,000 to advance the Foundation's work. Lee has brought leadership and support to numerous nonprofit organizations serving the community, including Homestead Capital, the Washington Education Foundation, Communities in Schools, and Children's Circle of Care. In October 2004, the Japanese Cultural and Community Center, a long-held dream of Seattle's Japanese American community, got a significant boost when Jerry Lee joined Uwajimaya CEO (and AIA Seattle Honorary Member) Tomio Moriguchi and others in a shared promise to match community donations up to $100,000 to build the Center. With others at MulvannyG2, he sponsored events of the AIA Seattle Diversity Roundtable and the Association for Women in Architecture – and in 2005, established the MulvannyG2 Fund for Diversity at UW CAUP, as part of the firm's commitment to architecture that embraces and serves world cultures.
During Gary Locke's gubernatorial term, Jerry Lee joined the Governor in numerous community projects, and accompanied Governor Locke on his last trade mission to China in 2003, playing an instrumental role in raising the reputation of Washington State's architectural services in China. Jerry Lee accepted the Governor's appointment to a 6-year term on the Washington Board of Registration for Architects. We commend Jerry Lee AIA for the energetic pursuit of community ideals.
Rachel Minnery AIA
As CoChair of the AIA Seattle Disaster Preparedness & Response Committee, Rachel Minnery has acted on her personal commitment to preparing communities for natural and human-caused disaster. Her effort has advanced the Committee's charge to equip design professionals for effective community service through training in disaster preparedness and response techniques.
Most notably, in the days when we all first knew of the devastating effects of Hurricane Katrina, Rachel took the lead in establishing AIA Seattle's Mississippi Mission, which beginning in September 2005 deployed three trained teams of design and building professionals to perform damage assessment, assisting and supporting local officials' public safety measures. She made advance contact with local architects and officials in Mississippi, convened special training sessions for Seattle-area design professionals, and coordinated arrangements for and took part in the first deployment (September 10-20), performing damage assessment in state-owned facilities in cities along the Gulf Coast – reporting regularly on the team's experiences and observations via the Mississippi Mission Journal. In Mississippi, she met with AIA Mississippi and AIA national officers, to help assure a coordinated response. Her commitment and experience have found expression at the national level, with her appointment to the AIA Disaster Assistance Committee. From her AIA service, others will continue to benefit from her example of professional commitment, learning from her first-hand experience of disaster assistance training and work in the field, and finding inspiration to join her in this and other such critical community involvement.
2005
Dr. Sharon E. Sutton FAIA
Since her 1998 arrival in Seattle as a Professor at the UW Department of Architecture and Director of the Center for Environmental Education and Design Studies (CEEDS), Dr. Sharon Egretta Sutton FAIA has advanced her lifelong effort to engage K-12 youth with the power of design. In Spring 2000, CEEDS assumed leadership of the Architecture Department's annual spring charrettes, reorganizing them as interdisciplinary, intergenerational events serving communities in the Seattle area. Her most recent book, Weaving a Tapestry of Resistance: The Places, Power, and Poetry of a Sustainable Society, derives from a K-12 urban design program she founded while at the University of Michigan.
2004
Mel Streeter AIA
Over several decades, Mel Streeter (BArch U of Oregon 1955) brought to prominence the Northwest's largest African-American-owned architecture firm. His courageous vision, unswerving commitment, and remarkable energy have made Streeter & Associates Architects a center for mentoring K-12 youth, architecture students, and emerging professionals from minority and disadvantaged backgrounds. Many young people credit Mel with helping them to overcome obstacles that continue to challenge ethnic minorities in entering the design professions. For many of them, Mel's presence and active participation in community activities puts a face on the achievement of architects of color. As a Founding Member of the AIA Seattle Diversity Roundtable, Mel Streeter shared his idealism and commitments with colleagues to help develop inspiring and effective programs to engage youth and emerging professionals in the possibilities of design and community-building.
Reference: Jerry Large in The Seattle Times 4/11/96: 'Breaking Barriers, Building Hope: He long ago proved he could succeed as a Black architect; now Seattle's Mel Streeter is helping others to do the same'
2003
Steven N. Arai AIA
As a complement to his leadership in practice (Arai/Jackson Architects + Planners) and profession (AIA Seattle President 2001-02) Steve Arai has devoted remarkable energy to civic service. As a Board member for Historic Seattle, he helped mobilize that organization's missions in public information and advocacy for historic preservation. On the Board of the Japanese American National Museum, he joined a personal hero, Senator Daniel Inouye, and others in advancing the mission of a unique cultural facility, with national programming impact. On any given day, Steve manages to squeeze organizational work - particularly persuading others to match his contributions of time, commitment, and money - into a schedule packed with work and family commitments. Such exemplars help motivate all of us to do what we can to activate our community interests.
2002
Keli Hagen Assoc. AIA
The career of this caring design professional offers an example of commitment through her consistent and dedicated work with native youth groups, giving back to the community where she found the strength of her roots. Learning from her own struggles to find her way as a design professional and the people who affirmed her in her quest, she has mentored and found support for many others to seek their expressions in design. Her work over several years on AIA scholarship initiatives at both the national and the local level has achieved significant results in serving those in need of assistance to recognize their professional destinies in design.
2001
AIA Seattle Disaster Preparedness & Response Team
In the days and weeks following the 6.8 earthquake that rocked Western Washington on February 28, 2001, the AIA Seattle DP&R Team sprang into action immediately to provide information and assistance to their fellow citizens. The years of persistence in training and preparation for such an event paid off in the mobilization of resources and experience that helped their fellow professionals, public officials, media sources, and citizens near and far to understand and respond to the immediate and potential results of the quake. We acknowledge the wisdom, dedication, and spirit of these individuals and their shared commitment to community service.
