My previous experience, involvement, and impact with NOMAColumbus helped motivate me because I would get the opportunity to continue to collaborate alongside a leadership team dedicated to its members and our community. I am inspired to help lead and champion such a position in NOMAColumbus because I believe in the foundational importance & power of being an example of what NOMA’s mission is aiming to champion. I recognize the value of leadership being inclusive in representation and thought. Therefore, I am humbled and excited to be able to provide my perspective, skillset, and experiences to help the advancement of the chapter.

For the past 2 years as a NOMAColumbus board member, I believe I have been able to exemplify the national organization’s foundational mission, while contributing to the goals and future aspirations of the local chapter. Being an active board member allows me to contribute not just my time, but also my experience, perspective, and skillsets to better grow and prepare for today, tomorrow, and the future. An effective board should be built upon a team that truly champions and respects each other, the core mission and progress while honoring what historically got us here. NOMA is an incredible organization that I am proud to be a part of as an African American Woman in architecture. I am compelled to the responsibility and duty to help create safe spaces, educational programming, mentorship, and professional development that is dedicated towards amplifying its members, our community, and their voices.

As the Chair of NOMAColumbus’ Project Pipeline, I was able to build upon a multitude of leadership roles and responsibilities. Which translated into organizing and running a committee and its initiatives for the local chapter. Example chair responsibilities consisted of directing, managing, and budgeting for all its programming and events. I prioritized the committee's objectives, goals, and processes, while creating a fun and collaborative team atmosphere. As chair, it allowed me to continue to understand and champion the fact that everyone brings various perspectives and skillsets to the table, but all contribute towards the overall success of the committee & the NOMAColumbus chapter.

In addition, I have also contributed to other boards and volunteering opportunities in my collegiate & professional career. During graduate school, I was a part of Washington University in St Louis’s GAC (Graduate Architectural Council) board. Prior to that, I was involved with the University of Cincinnati’s DAAP Camp programming (Design Architecture Art and Planning Youth camps). Participating in dozens of programs over the last decades, and traveling the world, has broadened my perspective and ability to connect with others. I also intentionally chose to volunteer in non-design focus events and organizations such as Big Brother Big Sister, Habitat for Humanity, mental health initiatives, food pantries, homeless shelters etc. All of these experiences presented challenges, lessons learned, and moments of growth that overlap and have helped translate into my architectural career and personal life

Outside of my previous experience and involvement on the NOMAColumbus board, my willingness to demonstrate respect, strong communication skills and the ability to connect with a diverse group of people is uniquely something I can bring to the board. My efforts towards advocating for our members, creating programming & community engagement that directly serves the NOMA mission-- is and should always be a priority.

I foresee NOMAColumbus contributing to the design community through increased representation, educational growth, increased accessibility to resources, and diverse opportunities that help curate, prepare, and respect the current and next generation of design professionals. These efforts are driven by NOMAColumbus understanding and maximizing on how we can expand our resources. There is a rich history of many minorities in our local communities and architecture industry that have been paving the way for decades and we must continue the journey. Acknowledging their journey will help provide a foundation that allows us to appreciate and embrace any opportunity to occupy and design inclusive spaces and environments.

As Chair of Project Pipeline, I worked alongside an exciting group of team members full of ideas and perspectives. I was able to hone in on different communication methods and leadership skills to help move everything forward. This required creating and communicating a clear schedule, goals, and milestones for our team. One solution was through several design thinking workshops and committee meetings that created a space for open dialogue. These workshops helped establish clarity on the objective, its needs, and goals. The next step involved developing multiple concepts, its challenges, and solutions to then implement. This process also involved analyzing the areas of improvement and disconnect to ensure an effective and successful outcome. In running these workshops, I had to adapt to change, experiment with new ideas and organize the group & community discussion points, into actionable items.

I have and will always be an advocate for how we can engage, elevate, and educate those around us to be more inclusive and equitable. My passions will continue to grow and ideally help develop and improve the design community’s perspective, leadership opportunities, and involvement within underrepresented and marginalized communities.

If elected, I plan to help contribute to the advancement of minorities in licensure and development of leadership roles/skillsets in architecture and adjacent design professions. This involves expanding our presence in the AEC (Architecture, Engineering and Construction) industry, mentorship opportunities, and providing helpful licensure resources to those pursuing this pathway. We must understand that this process is not linear for us all and it doesn’t have to be a challenge faced alone. Pursuing licensure and increased leadership roles in firms and organizations involves a collaborative and mentorship effort from local chapters, firms, and the design community.

Secondly, as Vice President and past Chair of Project Pipeline, I hope to continue the expansion of Project Pipeline programming. By NOMAColumbus becoming a resource and platform that provides a safe space and support system for those involved, and/or inquiring, at any stage of their design career—we must continue to help inspire students of all ages. Being able to expand on Project Pipeline initiatives involves further engagement in local school districts, universities, increased involvement in the local community, and of course continuing to provide design camps, activities, and design workshops that all align with the mission of the chapter.

A common misconception is that Project Pipeline is only about its youth design camps-- which is incorrect. Design Summer Camp is an essential part of introducing architecture to our youth and diversifying the pipeline. Being the Chair and director of our very first chapter 2023 Design Summer camp was an honor and exciting moment that set the foundation to build upon. The Project Pipeline initiative provides programming and efforts that expand throughout the entire journey of becoming a design professional. When engaging our emerging professionals, we must continue to increase their access to professional development, mentoring and educational opportunities that help provide safe spaces for minority architects and architecture and design students to thrive in.

I look forward to seeing the growth of the chapter, membership, community engagement and Project Pipeline. It was an honor to hold the positions held the past two years and I truly think this chapter has the potential to make waves in an industry that needs diversity in representation and thought. This should be the norm -- as our design choices and decisions have physical, societal, systematic, and cultural implications.