Connection
by Jennifer Christiaansen, AIA, AIA Minnesota President
Hello fellow member of AIA Minnesota – I am thrilled to serve as your president this year. I see my role as a facilitator of the values and vision of this organization in the context of the work we all do each day. AIA Minnesota has three focus areas: Connection, Advocacy and Value, and this year I encourage the overlay of three mindsets: CLEAR, CURIOUS and BOLD. I look forward to communicating the work of AIA Minnesota to all membership through these lenses throughout the year. I hope that at the end of this year all will feel more connected, more empowered to make change, and more agency to elevate the value of our profession.
This first Matrix article focusing on Connection is intentional. I see our professions, and our lives, as an ecosystem of relationships. As an architect practicing between a variety of aspects of our profession, I have come to the understanding that for us to have impact, we must start with strong relationships with our peers, our clients, our consultants, the construction industry and community leaders. Connection is the starting point of our roles and I believe we can always be seeking stronger, more authentic, more meaningful and more loving connections with one another. Love, a word not always used in a professional setting, is also intentional choice. If we connect with love in mind it leads to more generous relationships, more patience, more trust and, of course, better design outcomes for the communities we serve. In the spirit of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., let’s create Beloved Community as the collective members of AIA Minnesota.
Already in January I have taken real actions on your behalf, with a focus on Connection. I have met with the Council of Firms Knowledge Community to hear the challenges local firms are dealing with, most of which focused on fees, supporting our talent, delivery models, and a squeezing market for our work. I facilitated a meeting with a diverse group of AIA Minnesota members with the Minnesota Builders Exchange, which led to a dialogue on the future of delivery models as well as opportunities to connect our next generation of architects and contractors. I am working closely with the advocacy team at AIA Minnesota and attended the DFL Caucuses and Annual Chamber of Commerce dinner to speak with state legislators on behalf of our organization, ensuring our voice is hear around issues important to all of us: climate change, housing, and codes. As a write this, I am preparing for our 2025 Board Orientation and look forward to these partnerships as we begin a new year.
Connecting all members, with love, to the ecosystem of work done by AIA Minnesota is work I am thrilled to do.
Once again, I am honored to represent you and this great architecture community.