Last Friday, the American Institute of Architects (AIA) Christopher Kelley Leader Development Program (CKLDP) hosted the inaugural class of the Indiana chapter at RQAW’s Fishers location. The session explored AIA CKLDP’s concept of “Expanding the Definition of Practice.” The year-long program helps develop architecture leaders by focusing on skills such as management, collaboration, negotiation, industry trends, client growth, and entrepreneurship. Program attendees are emerging professionals who will be the next generation of leaders in architecture. RQAW’s Victoria Templeton, AIA and Elevatus Architecture’s Todd Adams, AIA planned April’s session by coordinating speakers and sponsors for the event. Some of the speakers included: Matthew Bartlett, AIA RID, Director of Small Projects and Internal Design at Indiana University and Co-founder of the ACE Mentoring Program; Justin Ferguson, PhD, AIA NOMA, Assistant Dean at Ball State University and mentor with Project Lead the Way; and Richard Belbutoski, corporate volunteer outreach and engagement coordinator at Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Indiana. These speakers focused on the need to mentor the next generation of architects. Additionally, Dustin Headley from Turf, spoke about trending alternative architectural career paths, and Jason Shelley, Executive Director of AIA Indiana, discussed how AIA impacts our everyday practice and ways we can advocate for architecture. Each discussion led by the speakers encouraged participants to reflect on their career path and inspired them to focus on the future of architectural leadership needs.
