I’m delighted to be celebrating two years as CEO of the Australian Institute of Architects. Working alongside National and Chapter Councils, the Board, our members and our staff, we have achieved an incredible amount during this time.
I’m proud of our swift response to the Covid-19 pandemic. In March we created the Lean In series; our free, twice weekly webinars for members to connect virtually when you couldn’t meet in person. We launched our online CPD program later in 2020 and presented the Prizes, Chapter Awards and National Awards virtually for the first time, ensuring that the show could quite literally go on as we celebrated your achievements.
Another key moment was the rollout of Community, your member-only online networking platform. It’s great to see members using this resource; if you haven’t checked it out yet I urge you to log on and join the conversation and I look forward to chatting with you on the many discussion boards.
The overwhelming response from members to Architects Donate, our 2019/2020 fundraising initiative to support fire-affected communities, and Architects Assist, was another stand-out moment for me as CEO. As was overseeing the reform of the Constitution, a much-needed exercise that has ensured the viability of the Institute and strengthened our ability to support members.
There were many other successful initiatives throughout the past two years, particularly in the advocacy and member services spaces. Reflecting on the 2019 Annual Report and my 2020 wrap up message, it’s hard to believe that so much was accomplished in such a short amount of time.
Thank you to all our Committees, members and our Chapter and National teams and to Immediate Past National President Helen Lochhead and National President Alice Hampson for all your work over the last two years. Together we have a strong vision for the Institute, and I look forward to many more years as your CEO as we advocate for architects and great architecture across Australia and beyond.
Regards,
Julia Cambage
CEO
