As a past OAA councillor 1st term from 2021 to 2023, I was appointed as vice president of practice, and I am pleased to once again offer my time and energy to serve on Council for the next 3-year term 2025-2027 for our OAA Association.

My focus is on fostering a greater awareness in the issues that affect our times. Promoting the advocacy for awareness in climate change, sustainability of architectural design / zero carbon material selection/detailing, as well as regulating a common mandate to make our OAA members fully conversant with professionalism and best practice standards and code knowledge in the updated NBC & OBC 2024 (which comes into effect in January of 2025).

Over the past 39 years post-graduation, I have gained valuable experience at several prominent Toronto architectural firms and post-secondary institutions. A holder of a certificate of practice specializing in health care and commercial projects. Have previous experience at TMU - Toronto Metropolitan University (FMD) Facilities Management Department as Project Manager & Code Compliance (for TMU projects across campus- 2017 - 2023) and at George Brown College (IwB – 2016-2017) Institute without Boundaries / (BSI - 2024) Brookfield Sustainability Institute as a researcher for Sustainable Carbon Neutral Buildings and a charette energy efficient and sustainable housing project using Mass Timber design for BSI.

I served as the RAIC Student Representative (1983-1985) for the University of Toronto and participated in an OAA CAUSE in Parry Sound, Ontario. Other memberships and committees have included Peel Science Fair Committee and SOCAN.

OAA and MRAIC member since 1989 and a graduate from the University of Toronto’s School of Architecture with a Bachelor of Architecture degree (1980-1985 Honors + Distinction). AIA full member since 2021 and licenced in the state of Texas and AIA International member from 2018 to 2021. Member of AIA Canada Society in British Columbia (BC).

Served on a number of OAA Committees & positions:

• OAA Vice President of Practice in 2022
  
• OAA Executive Committee member in 2022
  
• OAA Trustee (2021-2022)
  
• OAA Registration Committee (2023 chair) + as OAA member (2006-2020)
  
• OAA Practice Resource Committee (PRC) 2022
  
• OAA Building Committee (2021-2022)
  
• OAA (TIF) The Intern’s Forum Committee – as OAA member (2013-2015)
  
• OAA Experience Requirements Committee – as OAA member (2014-2020)

Professional Associations can develop strong relationships with their provincial schools of architecture. In Ontario for example, in the last forty years all three schools of architecture have undergone enormous program + degree changes as well as name rebranding. Good news, the list has grown from three to five schools of architecture in Ontario with the addition of TMU and Laurentian University.

1) Azrieli School of Architecture – Carleton University
2) McEwen School of Architecture – Laurentian University
3) Department of Architectural Science – Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU)
4) John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture – University of Toronto
5) School of Architecture in Cambridge – University of Waterloo

In closing my interests for my 2nd term as an OAA Councillor is to tackle 5 initiatives in the Public Interest:

1. Promote fair RFQ’s & RFP’s for publicly funded projects Promote competitive RFQ / RFP’s initiated by Public Sector institutions and government to allow emerging firms to be allowed in what has been over the past a very restrictive small group of firms that have pre-qualified based strictly on past projects of the same type and size in the last five years. Since these projects are all funded by taxpayers, in my mind in the public interest the qualification of consultant teams ought to be opened to firms including young emerging firms that have the capacity, size to do these projects but fall short on the RFQ firm’s similar project requirements marking points / ranking system, that only same 3-4 firms in Ontario can qualify. This in my mind is anti-competition and should not be allowed. This goes for School Boards, University and Colleges and in most cases Governments of Ontario and Canada. In my opinion this is in the Public Interest to allow more competition based on quality of architecture, sustainability, and proactive initiatives to deal with climate change rather than the old status quo!
   
   
2. Build Partnerships with the 5 Ontario schools of Architecture
   
   
3. Planning Approvals & Building Permits– During COVID, all building departments have closed their physical brick & mortar offices and have suspended most services to the public. While taking a hands-off approach to do inspections and have tried to download responsibility to consultants. OAA had to issue several Bulletins to deal with the matter. Secondly, initiate a study to assist Ontario Architects in closing out long outstanding permits dating back as far as 1985 in all Ontario municipalities but more so in the GTA.
   
   
4. Re-envision Practice Regulations - Given COVID, it is now more difficult to run a practice with all staff present in one physical location. Most Ontarians are working remotely since March of 2020 and continues to this day including architectural and engineering offices. The concept of a “brick and mortar physical office” needs to be re-envisioned.
   
   
5. Pension Plan - Initiate a TASK force to study the possibility of offering OAA members and intern architects the long overdue opportunity of joining a Pension plan. I would be pleased to be re-elected to OAA Council and ask for your vote and support to serve both the Public Interest and our membership at large.

Questions and Answers