At the end of September, the so-called "AIA Big Sibs" met in Seattle. AIA 2003 President Thompson Penney FAIA, representing our "Biggest Sib" the AIA national component 2003 and Managing Director for Component Affairs Brenda Henderson Hon. AIA joined in a productive two-day session with elected and staff leaders from our counterpart components in Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, LA (absent from this gathering), New York, Philadelphia, and San Francisco (complete attendee list at the end of this article). President-elect Kristen Scott AIA, Treasurer Peter Greaves AIA, EVP Marga Rose Hancock Hon. AIA, along with 2001-02 President Steven Arai AIA, newly-elected national Director Norman Strong AIA, Elaine Gagnon Assoc. AIA from the AIA Seattle Board of Directors, and others tuned in at various points along the way, as Miller/Hull and Mithun helped host the gathering. Both home folks and visitors enjoyed NW hospitality in the form of magnificent weather that made the beginnings and endings of our days together especially memorable, and added to the positive effect our natural and urban environment has on all of us.

In this highly influential company of professional leaders, Thom Penney challenged us to consider concepts in the key areas of the AIA strategic plan: "Knowledge, Communication, and Relationships." Common themes emerged quickly in our conversations about "thinking globally/acting locally."

Starting from a brief review of similarities and differences in the economics and mission focus of our respective components, we went on to address concepts of "discovering interdependencies." Mostly and unfortunately, we found more broken links among the levels of AIA than vital, active bonds and clear flow patterns for governance, service delivery, and communication.

•AIA and Organizational Efficiency. OK, so organizations aren't perfect; but in the AIA case, such inefficiencies not only hinder AIA from fulfilling its potential for the profession, they also place an increasingly onerous dues burden on the individuals and businesses who most need for and have the most to give to the AIA. We MUST find ways to streamline the organization, to intensify investment in what works and to take a hard look at duplication and confusion in the multi-layer system. Many of us believe that with vision and commitment and with leadership support, we can achieve positive organizational change — working upward from the local level rather than waiting for this to come down from above. As one example, coordination with the national PIAs for both "uploading" and "downloading" with local and state components makes very good sense. All in all, we came out of this meeting with more good ideas and shared commitments to work together for positive change. Happy New Year to that!

•AIA and the culture of shared information. I used to think that the transition in my own practice from designing small projects to management consulting and teaching made me unique - not so! More and more, I see around me individuals and businesses at some stage in the same continuum from "learning to learn" to "preaching what you practice." Looking at the AIA programs both locally and at the national level of PIA conferences, AIA Convention, we all can see lots of information being exchanged. Increasingly, practices have become places of learning, welcoming architecture students in to observe and assist, and also inviting "teachers" from many disciplines with fresh technical knowledge. Mostly this happens naturally and with generosity and appreciation on all sides, but occasionally all this raises issues of "who owns knowledge?" and how we as a profession understand and respect intellectual property. This might sound a little abstract to at least some of you, but if it strikes a chord I hope you'll let me know, as we at AIA Seattle strive to address this emerging dimension in our expanding Continuing Education roles.

•AIA and advocacy: As design professionals in powerful urban political districts, we have many opportunities and much responsibility in the shaping of our communities - none more important than advocacy and voting! Statewide issues like Washington's Referendum 51 as well as local issues like the Seattle Monorail ballot measure on the November 2002 ballot have commanded considerable attention, and we hope that our fellow citizens have found the AIA Seattle "design perspective on public issues," developed by the Urban Design Committee, informative and valuable.

•AIA and "the power of invitation." Big Sibs note how important it is for all of us to feel personally welcomed - and also to welcome others into all we do. Each of us probably underestimates the strength we gain by encouraging others to get involved in things we care about in common. Let's make a New Years resolution to invite someone new to join us in every AIA meeting we attend.

CLICK HERE to review report of Big Sibs meeting in New York 10/11/01.

AIA Big Siblings Seattle Meeting
September 27-29, 2002
ATTENDEES
AIA Chicago:
Jonathan Fischel AIA, President 2002
Joseph Caprile AIA, President 2003
AIA Dallas:
Ted Kollaja AIA, President 2003
AIA Houston:
Rey de la Reza FAIA, President 2001
Ray Leiker AIA, President 2002
Chris A. Hudson AIA, President 2003
Martha Murphree Hon. AIA, Executive Director
AIA National:
Thompson Penney FAIA, President 2003
Brenda Henderson Hon. AIA, Managing Director of Component Affairs
AIA Philadelphia:
Peter Brown IIDA, AIA, President
Terry Steelman AIA, President 2003
John Claypool AIA, Executive Director
AIA New York:
Leevi Kiil FAIA, President 2002
George Miller FAIA, President 2003
Mark Ginsberg AIA, President 2004
Fredric Bell FAIA, Executive Director
AIA San Francisco:
Beverly Prior AIA, President 2003
Margie O'Driscoll, Executive Director
AIA Seattle:
Rena M. Klein AIA, President 2002-03
Kristen M. Scott AIA, President 2003-04
Steven N. Arai AIA, President 2001-02
Peter David Greaves AIA, Treasurer
Carolyn H. Forbes, Managing Director
Marga Rose Hancock Hon. AIA, EVP
Boston Society of Architects:
Robert Brown AIA, President 2002
David Dixon FAIA, President 2003
Ted Landsmark, Board of Directors
Nancy Jenner, Deputy Director