100 Reasons to Attend Grassroots

AIAS > News > National > 100 Reasons to Attend Grassroots

June 23, 2016

Here’s a 100 reasons why everyone, including you need to be at AIAS Grassroots Leadership Conference this summer:

Network with peers! That person sitting 5 seats down from you, they could be the link to your next job. Get up and say hi!
Network with professionals! From architects, executives, faculty advisors, industry leaders and much more.
Join Keynote Stephen Martin as he speaks on what our evolutionary history can tell us about our brains and how we learn.
As a former AIAS National Vice President, Keynote Trinity Simons speaks on the profession after school.
As the founding director of the Gulf Coast of Community Design, Keynote David Perkes will discuss public interest and the design practice.
Recognized by the Washington Post and SmartCEO as one of the best places to work, Keynote Dan Berger, CEO of Social Tables talks about the steps to making your company a reality.
As the Mayor of Salisbury, Keynote Jake Day discusses the characteristics of visionary leadership.
Induction of your incoming AIAS 2016-2017 Board of Directors.
Get your portfolio reviewed by a professional. Sign up here.
Practice your interview skills at the Mock Interviews. Sign up here.
Get a professional headshot.
AIA BBQ. Live music, good eats, giant Jenga.
Gensler Reception
CallisonRTKL Reception
HKS Reception
FOX Architects Reception
Quad Breakouts. Meet your quad director and peers. Learn how you can work together to make the best quad!
Bid to host your quad’s conference.
Receive an AIAS Journal and all the goodies in the registration bag.
FORUM 2016 promo video
2016 AIAS Honor Awards
.ARCHI Competition announcement
Pick up AIAS Swag
Establish your Freedom by Design presence
New website launch

TRACKS

There are 5 tracks offered at AIAS Grassroots. Each track is designed to enhance your knowledge, skills and confidence.
Leadership Track: Best practices to running a successful chapter, fundraising, prospering and much more!
Freedom by Design Track: Learn the fundamentals of your program, planning projects and managing a team. You must attend if you are the rep for your schools FBD program.
Career Track: Explore and discuss tips for a successful transition from school to work and pursing licensure.
Entrepreneurship Track: Examine the intersection of social impact innovation and architecture.
Technology Track: Explore new tools for virtual reality and the innovative means of visualizing our built environment.

SESSIONS
Like a Boss: Your Plan to Excellence: What does it mean to manage a chapter, to work well as a team, and to be a leader? Delve into leadership beyond the role, but leading as an action.
Fundamentals of Freedom By Design: Are you considering starting a Freedom by Design program at your chapter or taking a leadership position in your already existing program? Come and learn the fundamentals of (financing, planning projects, running a team) getting your program off the ground.
Designing Your Future (Panel): Join NCARB and learn how the changes to IDP (AXP) and the ARE will affect you.
Designing Your Business: Join AIA CEO Robert Ivy and a panel of design-related entrepreneurs as they discuss how good design influences their business practices.
Stand Out: Create an Interactive Mobile Portfolio: Learn how to convert your projects from a static file into a stunning mobile interactive experience.
#VALUE: The Rundown on Everything Membership: Learn about what membership value means and how to convey it to architecture students.
Overcoming Obstacles Pecha Kucha: Come and learn how programs have overcome obstacles, progressed forward and inspired many!
The Next 5 Years (Panel): Emerging professionals reflect on lessons learned while working in their first full-time positions, progressing through projects, networking, capitalizing on skills and more.
Founding Social Impact: Examine the intersection of social impact, innovation and architecture.
Innovation Now: This session discusses the themes seen in the work of leading edge designers and the innovative practitioners of architecture.
#BBHMM: Best Budgets Have Money Makers: How do you sustain a chapter always in flux when it comes to finance? What are the best practices when it comes to running and benefiting from successful events?
Public Interest Design: Learn from leaders in Public Interest Design. Hear about where the “industry” is being directed and how we, as FBD, can utilize it within our programs to better our communities.
Launch Your Career! Tips for Career, Life and Landing That Dream Job: Explore and define potential career tracks as well as how to thrive regardless of ones chosen pursuits.
ICONOCLAST: Grinding Through Barriers: An interactive story about grit and “sticking to your guns.”
10 Secrets of a Great Portfolio Website: Use these tips to learn how to brand and promote yourself.
Engage, Educate and Act: Reshaping the Architectural Community: Join us as we engage with a panel of experts from AIA, NCARB, ACSA, and AIAS as we question the role of AIAS in all contexts: education, service, and the profession.
STOP, Collaborate & Connect: Learn how both Chapter Leaders and FBD Directors can work together for mutual success.
Uber, Apple, Nike. Brand YOU.: When you interact with people, both online and offline, they’ll build up an image of who you are over time. This session will help you brand yourself and be in control of all of those impressions.
Startup Success: Starting Your Firm: Hear from a professional with many years of entrepreneurial spirit and what it took to get there.
Principles and Practice of Sustainable Design: Current influential trends and aspirational visions of the future will be supplemented by methodologies on how we move our companies towards achieving goals in architecture and sustainable design.

WORKSHOPS
Listen Up: Planning the Future of Architecture: How are we, as students, leading the trends in architecture? How can we lead in solutions with bigger, broader ideas? And finally, how can you incorporate blue sky planning and discussion into your chapter planning in order to push the organization, education, and profession forward?
The Creative Community Design Challenge: A charrette with a focus on projects that create a sense of community and well being that inspire and improve lives through architectural design and service.
Shifting the Power of Lasting Change: In an interactive workshop, learn the different ways to view change, how assumptions affect our perspective, and the role we play as individuals, managers, and leaders in shaping the experience of change.
Design Startup Mini Hackathon: If you’ve dreamed of creating your own design startup one day, then this session is for you. Learn the principles for building a successful business.
Visualizing the Future: This workshop will explore new tools for virtual reality and other means of visualizing our built environment, while also testing these new tools.

EXPLORE
Storm the steps of the Capitol at the Capitol Center Visitor Tour!
Tour of the AIAS Headquarters
Tour of the AIA Headquarters
Monuments Tour with Past AIAS President
National Zoo Outing
Arlington Cemetery Outing
National Cathedral – Worship Service Outing
Smithsonian Outing
The White House
The Washington Monument
The Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial
The Lincoln Memorial
Korean War Veterans Memorial
International Spy Museum
The National Archives
The Air and Space Museum
The Newseum
The Library of Congress
Renwick Gallery
The National Gallery of Art
The Phillips Collection, America’s first museum of modern art.
Hirshhorn Museum & Sculpture Garden, leading voice for contemporary art and culture.
Food Trucks
Sushi Burritos
National Building Museum’s “ICEBERG” Installation

AIAS NETWORK
Say goodbye to your old 2015-2016 Board of Directors 🙁

AIAS President Danielle Mitchell
AIAS Vice President Joel Pominville
Northeast Quad Director Rachel Law
South Quad Director Sarah Wahlgren
Midwest Quad Director Danielle Jones
West Quad Director Ashley Kopetzky
Meet the AIAS Executive Director Nick Serfass
Meet the AIAS National President Sarah Wahlgren
Meet the AIAS National Vice President Rachel Law
Meet the AIAS Past President Danielle Mitchell
Meet the AIAS Northeast Quad Director Clayton Daher
Meet the AIAS South Quad Director Jenn Elder
Meet the Midwest Quad Director Jeremy Gentile
Meet the West Quad Director Elizabeth Rose Seidel
Meet the AIAS Director of Leadership + Career Services, Kimberly Tuttle
Meet the AIAS Director of Digital Media, Natalie Neumann
Meet the AIAS Director of Programs and Events, Lauren Fields
Meet the AIAS Director of Public Relations, Jessica Mason

SPONSORS

Take a minute to stop by and say hi to our awesome AIAS sponsors, who make this conference possible.
American Institute of Architects (AIA)
National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB)
American Galvanizers Association (AGA)
National Terrazo & Mosaic Association (NTMA)
.ARCHI
Black Spectacles
GRAPHISOFT

Network with peers! That person sitting 5 seats down from you, they could be the link to your next job. Get up and say hi!

Network with professionals! From architects, executives, faculty advisors, industry leaders and much more.

Join Keynote Stephen Martin as he speaks on what our evolutionary history can tell us about our brains and how we learn.

As a former AIAS National Vice President, Keynote Trinity Simons speaks on the profession after school.

As the founding director of the Gulf Coast of Community Design, Keynote David Perkes will discuss public interest and the design practice.

Recognized by the Washington Post and SmartCEO as one of the best places to work, Keynote Dan Berger, CEO of Social Tables talks about the steps to making your company a reality.

As the Mayor of Salisbury, Keynote Jake Day discusses the characteristics of visionary leadership.

Induction of your incoming AIAS 2016-2017 Board of Directors.

Get your portfolio reviewed by a professional. Sign up here.

Practice your interview skills at the Mock Interviews. Sign up here.

Get a professional headshot.

AIA BBQ. Live music, good eats, giant Jenga.

Gensler Reception

CallisonRTKL Reception

HKS Reception

FOX Architects Reception

Quad Breakouts. Meet your quad director and peers. Learn how you can work together to make the best quad!

Bid to host your quad’s conference.

Receive an AIAS Journal and all the goodies in the registration bag.

FORUM 2016 promo video

2016 AIAS Honor Awards

.ARCHI Competition announcement

Pick up AIAS Swag

Establish your Freedom by Design presence

New website launch

TRACKS

There are 5 tracks offered at AIAS Grassroots. Each track is designed to enhance your knowledge, skills and confidence.

Leadership Track: Best practices to running a successful chapter, fundraising, prospering and much more!

Freedom by Design Track: Learn the fundamentals of your program, planning projects and managing a team. You must attend if you are the rep for your schools FBD program.

Career Track: Explore and discuss tips for a successful transition from school to work and pursing licensure.

Entrepreneurship Track: Examine the intersection of social impact innovation and architecture.

Technology Track: Explore new tools for virtual reality and the innovative means of visualizing our built environment.

SESSIONS

Like a Boss: Your Plan to Excellence: What does it mean to manage a chapter, to work well as a team, and to be a leader? Delve into leadership beyond the role, but leading as an action.

Fundamentals of Freedom By Design: Are you considering starting a Freedom by Design program at your chapter or taking a leadership position in your already existing program? Come and learn the fundamentals of (financing, planning projects, running a team) getting your program off the ground.

Designing Your Future (Panel): Join NCARB and learn how the changes to IDP (AXP) and the ARE will affect you.

Designing Your Business: Join AIA CEO Robert Ivy and a panel of design-related entrepreneurs as they discuss how good design influences their business practices.

Stand Out: Create an Interactive Mobile Portfolio: Learn how to convert your projects from a static file into a stunning mobile interactive experience.

#VALUE: The Rundown on Everything Membership: Learn about what membership value means and how to convey it to architecture students.

Overcoming Obstacles Pecha Kucha: Come and learn how programs have overcome obstacles, progressed forward and inspired many!

The Next 5 Years (Panel): Emerging professionals reflect on lessons learned while working in their first full-time positions, progressing through projects, networking, capitalizing on skills and more.

Founding Social Impact: Examine the intersection of social impact, innovation and architecture.

Innovation Now: This session discusses the themes seen in the work of leading edge designers and the innovative practitioners of architecture.

#BBHMM: Best Budgets Have Money Makers: How do you sustain a chapter always in flux when it comes to finance? What are the best practices when it comes to running and benefiting from successful events?

Public Interest Design: Learn from leaders in Public Interest Design. Hear about where the “industry” is being directed and how we, as FBD, can utilize it within our programs to better our communities.

Launch Your Career! Tips for Career, Life and Landing That Dream Job: Explore and define potential career tracks as well as how to thrive regardless of ones chosen pursuits.

ICONOCLAST: Grinding Through Barriers: An interactive story about grit and “sticking to your guns.”

10 Secrets of a Great Portfolio Website: Use these tips to learn how to brand and promote yourself.

Engage, Educate and Act: Reshaping the Architectural Community: Join us as we engage with a panel of experts from AIA, NCARB, ACSA, and AIAS as we question the role of AIAS in all contexts: education, service, and the profession.

STOP, Collaborate & Connect: Learn how both Chapter Leaders and FBD Directors can work together for mutual success.

Uber, Apple, Nike. Brand YOU.: When you interact with people, both online and offline, they’ll build up an image of who you are over time. This session will help you brand yourself and be in control of all of those impressions.

Startup Success: Starting Your Firm: Hear from a professional with many years of entrepreneurial spirit and what it took to get there.

Principles and Practice of Sustainable Design: Current influential trends and aspirational visions of the future will be supplemented by methodologies on how we move our companies towards achieving goals in architecture and sustainable design.

WORKSHOPS

The Creative Community Design Challenge: A charrette with a focus on projects that create a sense of community and well being that inspire and improve lives through architectural design and service. ­­­

Shifting the Power of Lasting Change: In an interactive workshop, learn the different ways to view change, how assumptions affect our perspective, and the role we play as individuals, managers, and leaders in shaping the experience of change.

Design Startup Mini Hackathon: If you’ve dreamed of creating your own design startup one day, then this session is for you. Learn the principles for building a successful business.

Visualizing the Future: This workshop will explore new tools for virtual reality and other means of visualizing our built environment, while also testing these new tools.

EXPLORE

Storm the steps of the Capitol at the Capitol Center Visitor Tour!

Tour of the AIAS Headquarters

Tour of the AIA Headquarters

Monuments Tour with Past AIAS President

National Zoo Outing

Arlington Cemetery Outing

National Cathedral – Worship Service Outing

Smithsonian Outing

The Phillips Collection, America’s first museum of modern art.

Hirshhorn Museum & Sculpture Garden, leading voice for contemporary art and culture.

Food Trucks

Sushi Burritos

AIAS NETWORK

Say goodbye to your old 2015-2016 Board of Directors 🙁

Meet the AIAS Executive Director Nick Serfass

Meet the AIAS National President Sarah Wahlgren

Meet the AIAS National Vice President Rachel Law

Meet the AIAS Past President Danielle Mitchell

Meet the AIAS Northeast Quad Director Clayton Daher

Meet the AIAS South Quad Director Jenn Elder

Meet the Midwest Quad Director Jeremy Gentile

The Creative Community Design Challenge: A charrette with a focus on projects that create a sense of community and well being that inspire and improve lives through architectural design and service.