One of the best parts of my role is seeing the extraordinary work AIA members are doing. In recent months, I’ve experienced that work firsthand. At the New England Architecture Awards, hosted this year by AIA Western Massachusetts, 24 projects were recognized, including a Vermont library playground designed and built by students and faculty from the Norwich School of Architecture + Art. 2026 President-elect Yiselle Santos Rivera, AIA, also helped recognize some of Oregon’s best work as jury chair for the AIA Oregon Architecture Awards. Now it’s your turn. AIA Awards applications are open through November 3. One application gets you considered for multiple awards.Celebrating design excellence is only one part of our work together. The rest of it is guided by the 2026-2030 strategic plan, Setting the PACE. Here’s how we’re putting those priorities into action. 

Practice We launched a new AI hub with guidance and resources for members and firms from the AIA AI Task Force.In early October, 167 participants joined our first Firm Management Symposium to build critical skills in firm leadership, operations, and business performance. 

 Advocacy AIA continues to bring architects’ expertise into the policy conversations affecting firms, communities, and the built environment. At Climate Week NYC, President Illya Azaroff, FAIA, and AIA Board of Directors and Strategic Council members joined elected officials, mayors, and climate leaders to make the case for the architect’s role in creating a more resilient built environment. We’re also advocating directly for architecture firms. AIA is working with the Office of Federal Procurement Policy and congressional partners on proposed changes to the FAR Part 15 rule to help protect fair and reasonable profit in federal government design contracts. We opposed a Small Business Administration change that would dramatically increase the small firm size standard for Architectural Services from $12.5M to $135M, putting small architecture firms in direct competition with substantially larger companies for small-business set-aside contracts. We’re bringing architects into national conversations about the profession’s future. President-elect Yiselle Santos Rivera, AIA, spoke on a panel at the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Leadership Conference and we partnered with Rep. Janelle Bynum (OR-05) to co-host a session at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s Annual Legislative Conference. 
 
Climate AIA is advancing new approaches to resilience and regenerative design. Our October 13 Regenerative Design Summit explores how design can restore natural systems while strengthening communities. We partnered with the U.S. Conference of Mayors to publish the Disaster Reduction and Resilient Cities Report, highlighting how mayors and architects work together to protect lives, strengthen community bonds, and prepare for disasters. We launched the Disaster Risk Reduction and Resilience Pledge, a framework for advancing resilience through design and client engagement. Learn more at our October 15 webinar. 

 Equity Architecture Week reached 29,800 K-12 students this year, introducing the next generation to architecture and design. We’re already working with state and local chapters to expand that impact in 2027.  Women’s Leadership Summit heads to Kansas City, November 1-3, featuring a keynote by marathon swimmer Diana Nyad and an Executive Leadership Lab hosted by executive coach Jane Walton. 

Putting PACE to work locally Our board leaders and I continue to meet with members and chapters, including visits to AIA Pittsburgh, AIA Kansas, AIA Tennessee, AIA Lower Rio Grande Valley, and AIA Oregon, as well as the Custom Residential Architects Network^® (CRAN) Symposium.  These member conversations matter. You helped shape our strategic priorities, and your experiences will continue to inform how we put them into action and measure our progress. This year, we’ve awarded more than $475,000 through the Chapter Activation Fund to help chapters advance PACE in their communities. We’ll continue to share our progress with you each quarter and provide a broader look at our impact in AIA’s annual report. I welcome your thoughts, ideas, and feedback—please don’t hesitate to reach out. Together, we can shape a stronger future for our profession.  
 We are all AIA.  

Carole Wedge, FAIA, LEED AP, NOMA AIA Executive Vice President and CEO