AIA Intl - J.E.D.I. in Practice: Designing a Culture of Belonging in your Firm
Event Description
How can firms design for inclusion? What does an equitable practice look like? What can firms do to empower the next generation of leaders? In today's world, we can leverage our differences to create innovation and challenge each other. Building a culture of celebrating our team members can build a culture of belonging with your firm. In this presentation, Yiselle will share her knowledge on how to build a firmwide Justice, Equity, Diversity, & Inclusion “People-First Framework” within AEC firms.
CES: Estimated 1 LU/HSW for AIA Members
Speaker
Yiselle Santos Rivera, AIA, Principal and Global Director of Justice, Equity, Diversity, & Inclusion at HKS, Inc.
Moderator: Amrita Raja, AIA, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion chair, AIA International
Yiselle Santos Rivera, AIA, NOMA, LSSYB, WELL AP, LEED AP, is a Principal and the Global Director of Justice, Equity, Diversity, & Inclusion at HKS, Inc. With national and international experience on a broad range of design projects, she thrives on inclusive community design, building belonging through equitable practices, and empowering the next generation of leaders in the AEC industry. As member of the AIA COVID-19 Health Impact Task Force, Ms. Santos led the creation of the Ethnical Diverse Additional Considerations section of the AIA Alternative Care Site Preparedness Assessment Tool V2.0. Currently, she is the AIA DC Chapter Board Vice President and NOMA Chair of Research and Development. Yiselle is a speaker, featured author in the book “Latinas in Architecture”, an advocate and storyteller. She is a 2015 Christopher Kelley Leadership Development Program Scholar, recipient of the 2018 AIA Associate Award, and 2019 AIA Diversity Program Recognition Award honoree.
Moderator: Amrita Raja
Born in Mumbai, educated in the US, and having lived and worked in Europe and the UK, Amrita happily identifies as a global citizen. She holds Bachelors of Interior Design and French from Virginia Tech and a Masters of Architecture from Yale University, and has over 6-years experience in international practice.
Amrita is currently Lecturer in Architecture at Birmingham City University. She was previously a Senior Associate at Woods Bagot, where she led mixed-use projects in the UK and Europe. She previously worked at the London offices of Kohn Pedersen Fox, and in the US at various practices including Knight Architecture, Shepley Bulfinch and Perkins + Will. Her professional portfolio includes a 77-storey luxury residential high-rise in Downtown Dubai, the recently completed Floral Court residences in Covent Garden, London, the refurbishment of and 11-story addition to Southbank Tower, the refurbishment of Louis Kahn's Yale Centre for British Art, and a £175-million mixed-use district in Bristol, UK.
Amrita has served on the Board of the AIA UK Chapter since 2015, in various guises, including Sponsorship Chair, Student Charrette Chair, and Design Awards Chair. As the 2018 Vice President and 2019 President, she championed a focus on diversity and inclusion to celebrate the chapter's members and their work, and offer more varied opportunities for member participation.
Amrita also conducts design research with Katharine Storr under the moniker SLAB and has been a guest critic at the Architectural Association, University of Newcastle, and Virginia Tech, and a teaching fellow Yale University.
