https://ararchitects.ca/

Provide a brief summary of your practice experience.

I consider myself very fortunate to have worked for several decades in different design sectors including architecture, some interiors and a bit of landscape architecture; designing for a variety of occupancies including commercial, industrial, manufacturing and multi-family and single family custom residential as well as some schools and university facilities; exploring, researching and applying diverse building materials and technologies; administering construction contracts for different project delivery methods in new construction as well as renovation and adaptive reuse, in small scale to large multi-building mixed use developments, primarily in the GTA but also in New York and San Francisco; providing professional guidance as advocate architect; preparing rezoning applications, providing representation at Committee of Adjustment and Site Plan approval hearings; and providing select building code opinions.

Typically, I have acted as prime consultant to our clients and engaged engineering consultants directly, from early needs assessments to occupancy and post construction reviews. Initially gathering experience in large international firms and medium sized firms, I then founded my own practice and have now been working within the context of a smaller practice for more than 25 years.

I am pleased to work as a generalist in architecture, with a preparedness enhanced by the cross pollination of experiences. I have further developed skills and understanding through continuing education opportunities with different foci, including completing the University of Alberta's Indigenous Canada 12 week credit course.

Provide a brief summary of your previous governance experience (boards, councils, committees, advisory groups, etc.).

While maintaining an ongoing practice, I have chosen to try to support emerging professionals and address the emerging challenges of practice through a commitment to volunteerism. Among these:

1. OAA Council Member 2024-2026 (2026 Senior Vice-President -Treasurer, Finance & Audit Committee (chair); Governance (chair); Executive and Education Committees;      2024-2025 Experience Requirements Committee (chair); 2025 Finance & Audit Committee)
   
2. ProDemnity Insurance Company 2025-2026 Interlocking ProDemnity Board member (2026 PD Finance & Audit Committee member, 2025 PD Conduct Review, Governance and Nomination Committee member)
   
3. Director, Canadian Architectural Certification Board (2021-2023) as OAA nominee, jointly appointed by ROAC & CCUSA (Executive Secretary & member of Executive Committee, Chair of Governance Committee, Chair of Training Committee, member of Research Committee and Strategic Plan Subcommittee; member of Accreditation Visiting Team 2022)
   
4. OAA Complaints Committee member 2021-2024;
   
5. OAA Interns Committee 2018-2020;
   
6. OAA CAUSE Committee-Blind River ON

In addition, I feel it is valuable for architects to engage in the broader community and offer their unique perspectives. Personally, I have learned much while contributing as Parent School Council Chair, bringing diverse groups together in conversations, activities and strategic planning as well as on school building committees, many amateur and several elite youth sports teams and events.

Why are you interested in serving on Council at this time?

I'm interested in continuing to serve on Council to support architects and licensed technologists to develop and demonstrate their competencies in service to the public, support essential responsibilities of self governance of our profession, support public education on the benefits and value of architecture, strengthen practice standards and continue to liaise with our professional liability insurer and dialogue regarding contemporary practice.
Continuing to contribute to oversight of our multi-staged Act modernization project would be my honour. Similarly, I am motivated to collaborate to identify a new Strategic Plan with a clear vision and highlighting priorities towards the future, gathering insight from members and the public and offering any benefits of my strategic planning experiences.

Beyond these, serving on Council may present opportunities to introduce improvements to better welcome more diverse peoples safely into the spaces we design; and, within the context of the Architects Act, to support education and empowerment of the public for self advocacy towards better designed spaces; and for the association to embrace becoming a resource for the broader community as well as the membership; to encourage QBS.

We know architecture can support and inspire people’s physical and mental wellbeing and enable measures to help reduce the rate of climate change. People tell us, individually and collectively, that they value these simply stated goals in the design of their spaces and places. I hope to continue serving on Council, reinforcing the ability of the architectural profession to provide that vision and those services for the public's benefit.

What do you believe are the key challenges or priorities for Council over the next one to three years?

Briefly, Council’s role is to provide oversight and governance to the association to fulfill the regulatory requirements of our Act. Development of the new strategic plan will be a key process and priority, resulting in an important tool to guide Council and operations for several years into the future.

One overarching challenge will be to improve agility and responsiveness whilst maintaining diligence on regulatory matters. This is required to address multiple challenges in regulation and the practice of architecture it governs:

• implications of unsettled and rapidly changing economic and business environments;
  
• AI;
  
• agglomerated firms and ownership structures and their impact on architectural services being delivered;
  
• political parties’ agendas at all three government levels and lobbyists’ influence on policies, legislation and procurement;
  
• the impact of settling claims against architects, the resulting diminished range and qualities of services and documentation, to the public’s impoverishment;
  
• nuanced changes in membership demographics;
  
• the ongoing global need to improve climate action responses for human and planetary wellbeing, social and economic health;
  
• continuing efforts to support meeting TRC recommendations, advancing understanding of indigenous cultures;
  
• sustainability of business practices in architecture and education resources that support our membership in delivering a full compendium of quality services and designs to the public.

Another overarching challenge in such a dynamic, pluralistic ecosystem is the ability to clearly prioritize in a meaningful, effective manner and challenge the deconstruction of the profession, clearly manifesting the regulator’s role by supporting creative, constructive initiatives, and defending the public’s right to good architecture.

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