The AIAS has a great track record of inspiring and accomplished keynote speakers, so you are always sure to be meeting some of the best and brightest in the architecture and design community when you come to an AIAS conference! There are so many other people who you should also be looking forward to meeting, so before we announce our keynote and session speakers for Grassroots 2022, we wanted to highlight some of the cool people who will be at the AIAS’s leadership conference this summer. Go figure, they are the current leaders in the world of architecture and design!
2021-2022 AIAS Board of Directors
“AIAS Grassroots empowered me with the skills to advocate for emerging professionals at all stages of my career and served as a launching pad to finding my voice as a leader. I can draw a straight line from attending AIAS Grassroots to where I am today! The leaders that will shape the future of the AIA are forged at AIAS Grassroots; AIA Advocacy starts at AIAS Grassroots!”
– Ricardo Rodríguez De Santiago, Assoc. AIA, LEED-AP, AIA Liaison to AIAS Board
“I was fortunate to attend Grassroots in 2016 as President of NCARB and was struck by the sheer numbers of students attending! I also realized that many of the students were hearing about the path to licensure for the first time. Hello from NCARB, if this is your first time, and I look forward to meeting you in the profession!”
– Kristine A. Harding, FAIA, NCARB Liaison to the AIAS Board
“Grassroots is the event of the YEAR for us to come together to celebrate YOU — our beloved students, change makers, movers and shakers, and design leaders of the future! I am thrilled to represent ACSA during this much anticipated and exciting time for AIAS and the allied organizations. Counting down the days!”
– Beth Lundell Garver, AIA, NCARB, ACSA Liaison to the AIAS Board
“Nothing beats summer in DC! Okay.. well maybe summer at the beach does… BUT nothing beats being at an incredible conference with friends (new and old) in the summer in DC! Cannot wait to see you all and make so many new friends!”
– Jessie Cart, AIAS South Quad Director
“Grassroots has always been a way to energize and connect our members for the new year. I am really looking forward to RE-connecting with old friends and meeting new people at this year’s conference!”
– Elizabeth Caccavano, AIAS Northeast Quad Director
“I can’t really say what I’m looking forward to most about Grassroots because I’m so excited for the whole experience! Like many of our members, this will not only be my first in person Grassroots but my first in person National conference ever! For the organization as a whole and so many of our long-term members, this RE-Union is being RE-Imagined, but I’m right there with everyone who has never really experienced what GR was like before the pandemic. I’m really excited about all of the ways AIAS is considering the changes in the world and making sure AIAS keeps pace. I can’t wait to experience GR for the first time and be a part of these exciting changes for the organization!”
– Baili Null, AIAS Midwest Quad Director
2022-2023 AIAS Board of Directors
“I’m so excited to get back together with the AIAS fam after two and a half years apart! The fam will look different than it did then, but that’s one of the best things about the AIAS. There are a couple of things I’m particularly excited about for Grassroots 2022; the Past President’s Monuments Tour, an annual tradition which will take place after the Block Party on the 29th, and the Leadership & Committee Q&A, which is just where anyone can ask the old and new Boards questions about AIAS leadership, committee work, and other involvement. That’s also where I decided that I definitely wanted to run for the Board of Directors, so I can’t wait to meet some future AIAS leaders there this year!”
– Scott Cornelius, AIAS President
“It’s my first Grassroots so I’m really excited to experience it. I can’t wait for the opportunity to meet so many AIAS members and chapter leaders. It’s the first time for the AIAS family to be together face-to-face in a few years, so how could you miss it?”
– Larry Hoffer, AIAS Executive Director
“Grassroots is one of my favorite times in the year for the AIAS. Seeing our members and chapter leaders come together, ready to start a new year with their chapters is always so inspiring. After two years of virtual Grassroots I’m so excited to close out my time on the AIAS Board of Directors reuniting in DC with our members for Grassroots 2022.”
– Erin Conti, AIAS Past President
“I really cannot wait. I miss the hugs. I miss running across the AIA Courtyard to embrace friends I haven’t seen all year- and in this case 2-3 years. Grassroots has always been a beginning and an end for the AIAS each year. We celebrate the recent graduates and leaders moving on in their journey, that have shaped our lives and friendships, and we welcome a new generation to lead us forward, equipping them to take us to new heights and letting them know we will always be there for them. Moving forward is at the essence of Grassroots, and I cannot wait to join in the reunion, and witness it first hand for first time in many years, and the last time as an AIAS member.”
-Shannon DeFranza, Vice President
