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Riding the Vortex wins 2022 AIA Whitney Young Award


The Riding The Vortex collaborators are honored to accept the 2022 The American Institute of Architects Whitney M Young Jr Award. This award recognizes our over 15 years of work to inspire, motivate and support Black women, those currently working in the profession and those on their way to becoming architects. We thank our nominators and we thank the organizations who have hosted Vortex sessions over these many years. We have tremendous gratitude for the women who have been panelists, the many attendees, and those willing to share their experiences with Vortex since 2007.

AIA Announcement

Press
Architect Magazine
Archinect
High Profile
Residential Design

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2021 BWA Brunch Recap

The 2021 BWA Brunch was an amazing gathering of over 60+ Black women architects and supporters. We held a virtual program and had some wonderful firms and individuals that hosted in-person watch parties.

First-time BWA Brunch attendee, Linda Clark, wrote the following recap and perspective of the 2021 BWA Brunch.

Black Women in Architecture Brunch 2021
Linda Clark

Throughout my educational and professional career in the building industry, I have always been a minority, and in most cases one of two, but more commonly the only black woman in my architecture classes or firms. So being able to join a community of other black woman architects connecting over shared experiences and a common mission to help create more representation and exposure in the architectural community is an invaluable experience. I was honored to share this experience with so many black woman architects, locally in the DC area, but also nationally with the virtual platform that was used this year.

Continue reading “2021 BWA Brunch Recap”

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2021 BWA Brunch – event info

Save the Date

We are currently working to plan the
2021 Black Women in Architecture Brunch.
Save the date for October 24, 2021 for our Virtual+ event.

Learn more about the event HERE.

We look forward to networking with you in the fall.

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DVC Scholarship Supports Architecture Exam Takers

Scholarship Supports Architecture Exam Takers

WASHINGTON, DC. (February 22, 2021)—For the fourth year, The Desiree V. Cooper (DVC) Memorial Scholarship Foundation will award outstanding candidates a scholarship toward the cost of their expenses for the Architecture Registration Exam (ARE). The year with increased financial support the committee increased the amount and number of awards.

Read about the winners here

Read the Press release 2021 DVC Memorial Scholarship winners Press Release.

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Black women in architecture to gather for Sixth Annual Brunch

Black women in architecture gathered for Sixth Annual Event in Washington DC

Washington, DC – On October 18, 2020, over 100 black women and other architecture professionals gathered for what has become an annual networking event. The event was virtual this year with women attending from across the country.

Organized by a team of volunteers, this annual event is an opportunity for black women to gather and network with each other to foster working relationships, build future partnerships and support each other. In the profession, black women make-up only 0.4% (497) of the over 116,000 licensed architects in the United States. The event serves to connect women who could easily be working in environments where they rarely see another black woman.
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500 African-American Women Architects!!


2019 BWA Brunch attendees Photo by Harry Connolly

Number of Living, licensed African-American Women Architects Tops 500

Washington, DC – On October 18, 2020, the Directory of African American Architects (blackarchitect.us) added its 500th living, licensed African-American woman architect. African-American women make-up only 0.4% of the over 116,000 licensed architects in the United States.

The National Organization of Minority Architects (NOMA) relaunched the directory in 2020 and manages the database, a responsibility formerly performed by the Center for the Study of Practice at the University of Cincinnati since its inception. The directory was originally published as a book by professors Brad Grant and Dennis Mann in 1991.

The milestone was marked by the Black Women in Architecture Network which held its annual brunch on the same day. The virtual event provided a venue for over 100 Black women and others to celebrate and encourage participants to continue the collaborative effort to increase the number.
Continue reading “500 African-American Women Architects!!”

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NTA: Riding the Vortex

Riding the Vortex was presented September 23 at NTA 20/20, the annual national conference of the National Technical Association.

Moderated by Katherine Williams
Panelists: Kathryn Prigmore, Katherine Williams, Melissa Daniel, Devanne Pena

Learn more about NTA, a 90-year ord organization founded by Black, architects, engineers, and technical professionals. Mission: “to diversify the practitioners of science by providing programs to encourage under-represented minority students in middle school, high school, and college, to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and math.”

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NAACP CESBS: Riding the Vortex

NAACP CESBS – Black Women in Architecture: Riding the Vortex Presentation

Vortex_Strip of headshots_BW

August 12, 8 pm EST

For many CESBS (Centering Equity in the Sustainable Building Sector) Initiative members, a number has remained lodged in our minds from the Launch Summit in August 2018:

0.4%

That is the percentage of architects who are Black women. There are nearly 500 licensed Black women architects in the entire country.

You are invited to an incredibly unique storytelling presentation consisting of a panel of women, exclusively Black, in architecture, sharing their experience in the industry and offering a place for other people to share their stories, connect, and have discussions.

Five speakers to offer their remarks to the NAACP CESBS Initiative.

What are your questions for these Black women architects?
Please share them here so we can help shape their talks and our time together to reflect this community!

This was a Zoom Meeting. Recording will be posted when available.

Facebook Event Page

Speakers
Melissa Daniel, Assoc AIA, NOMA
Katherine Williams, NOMA, AIA, LEED AP
Kathy Dixon, FAIA, NOMAC, LEED AP+, NCARB, CDT
Kathryn (Tyler) Prigmore,FAIA, NOMAC, NCARB, CDT, LEED AP BD+C
Roberta Washington, FAIA, NOMAC, LEED AP BD+C