Jason Tapia, AIA was elected by his peers in the profession to a two year term as a Director in the Miami Chapter of the AIA.
Statement of Intent
The South Florida region has a number of unique challenges that will be amplified in both the short and long term. Population growth, the need for urban densification, and climate change mitigation are just a few issues that architects in our region will need to address. This will require the profession to put forth a concerted effort at the level of public policy, private development, and civic investment. However, an obstacle to consensus building within the practice is membership participation. There are approximately 1200 registered architects in Miami-Dade County, but only 450 or so are members of the AIA. Our capacity to confront this region’s challenges hinges on our ability to inspire the next generation of architects to stay engaged, informed and relevant.

Given the opportunity to become a Director in the AIA Miami Chapter, I would devote my time to developing opportunities to build stronger ties between the Chapter and its future members. The AIA defines the latter group as:
1) Students and recent graduates (emerging professionals).
2) Young registered architects under 40 years of age.

Both groups will need distinct strategies of engagement. I will work closely with Committee Chairs, Chapter members and the local academic institutions to develop programs, activities and events that will recruit and retain Young Architects and Emerging Professionals. The goal will be to demonstrate the value of membership and the need for the profession to be an agent in confronting our region’s unique challenges.