Hello, I am Alex Morales. I’m joining you from Houston, Texas, and I currently work for AISC, the American Institute of Steel Construction. I do have the privilege of serving on both local and state AIA positions. Locally, I’m happy to serve as the Associate Director for the AIA Houston Board of Directors and will be the incoming chair in 2024 for the Texas Society of Architects EDI committee.
I’m super thrilled to see Evelyn’s candidature and in great support of her candidature for AIA President.
Where did we meet? That’s a really good question. So I believe that the first time I met Evelyn, it was probably through the social sphere, I think we’re all really connected through media, technology, and various platforms. And I believe it was through the Practice of Architecture podcasts that I stumbled upon, and I just thought to myself, who is this amazing person that’s talking about architecture in a very compelling way and is really speaking to me as someone who went through a non-traditional career path, but at the same time someone who really advocates for the profession. So I think that was the first time I quote unquote, met Evelyn and had the pleasure of meeting her through various run-ins at industry organizations and conferences such as the AIA conference, and she was just as spectacular in person as she was on the practice of architecture podcast.
I really believe in this dynamic individual. Evelyn is not only a talented architect, but she is very embracive of different perspectives that do have an effect and an impact on the profession. She has shown an abundant inordinate amount of work through volunteerism at the AIA for a long period of time.
And I think the record really speaks for itself. I think you could Google her and find her serving at various positions throughout her career. And as a testament to that, I would point to her initials, FAIA, to show her dedication to the profession to show how folks could really talk and get together to figure out where does architecture go from here?
What is the future of architecture, especially here in the United States, and what does that look like? Borrowing from not just traditional architecture practice. But from outside as well. I think probably one of the key cornerstones for me is that architecture does not just have to change or make changes within, but also outside.
As someone who was individually thankful to Evelyn and someone who has personally seen how inclusive she is of people that want to chime in talk about architecture provoke change she’s been quite spectacular in that regard.
