Episode 120: Season 6 Finale, a Moment for Change

What does it mean to be elected the 101st President of AIA National, the largest design organization globally?

On this episode of Practice Disrupted, co-host Je’Nen Chastain interviews fellow co-host Evelyn Lee in her first interview after being elected the 2024 First Vice President / 2025 President-elect of the AIA, and why they see this election as a moment of change within the profession.

Evelyn answers all the questions that individuals asked during the campaign, opens up about what it takes to run a campaign for AIA National, and talks about what she hopes to accomplish during her one-year term. 

While it is the end of a race, it is just the beginning of the work that the industry has ahead of it, and it will take a community to continue the momentum that this election has started. 

Co-Hosts:

Evelyn Lee is the Global Head of Workplace Strategy and Innovation at Slack Technologies, and Founder of the Practice of Architecture. She integrates her business and architecture background with a qualitative and quantitative focus to build better experiences for the organization’s employees, clients, and guests. She is widely published, wrote a monthly column for Contract magazine for over three years, and is now a frequent contributor to Architect Magazine. Evelyn has received numerous industry awards, including 2016 40 Under 40 award for Building Design + Construction and the 2014 AIA National Young Architects Award. She served as the first-ever female Treasurer to the AIA National Board in 2020-2021.

Je’Nen Chastain, is the founder of Apostrophe Consulting, a practice focused on helping architects and next-gen leaders strengthen their teams and businesses. In addition to consulting with firm leaders on practice management issues, she mentors architects on career development, leadership, and strategy. She specializes in facilitating conversations that engage multi-generational teams and has designed, developed, and presented dozens of training programs that inspire next-gen leaders. Je’Nen received the 2017 AIA National Associates Award, an Associates Award from AIA California in 2012, and an Emerging Professionals Award from AIA San Francisco in 2017. She served on the AIA National Board in 2010.

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