The PALM Mentorship Program
The PALM (Promoting Advocacy & Licensure through Mentorship) Program, facilitated by the AIA Pennsylvania Emerging Professionals Committee (EPiC), aims to create a dialogue between licensed architects, aspiring architects, and architecture students.
The mentorship program is intended to engage members and students at all stages of their education and careers with a focus on encouraging and supporting licensure candidates on their path to becoming an architect and highlighting the importance of advocacy in speaking up for professional development and the collective interests of the profession.
“PALM is a great way to interact with different people in the licensure process. It was great to hear about people who have been practicing for years vs people who are newly licensed. As a student, I was able to ask questions and connect with the people in my group.”
- Nina Ferrante | 2023
Connect with a mentor or mentee
Statewide Mentorship
Open to members and architecture students in Pennsylvania.
The program’s statewide virtual format, introduced in 2021, is a unique opportunity for you to connect and build relationships with a pool of mentors, peers, and mentees from across Pennsylvania.
To kickoff the program, EPiC hosts a virtual meeting for all registrants. From there, mentoring groups or pods are formed to include a mix of students, emerging professionals, mid-career professionals, and seasoned professionals.
Each group’s leader or liaison is responsible for scheduling and holding a minimum of three program meetings, averaging every 3-4 weeks, for at least one hour. Meeting topics and suggestions are offered to help structure and guide discussion.
Local Mentorship
Connect with your local chapter or EPiC representative for opportunities
The PALM Program was piloted in 2015 as an initiative of the AIA Pennsylvania Emerging Professionals Committee (EPiC) and implemented locally by representatives of the committee to the local AIA chapters in Pennsylvania. Several chapters continue to offer local rounds of the program, while others seek member volunteers to spearhead mentorship in their chapters.