J.E.D.I

The J.E.D.I. section is designed to highlight the people, companies and organizations that are implementing principles to further justice, equity, diversity and inclusion in their workplaces and communities.

AIA Names Whitney M. Young Jr. Award Winner

Washington – The board of directors and the strategic council of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) recently honored RIDING THE VORTEX (VORTEX) with the 2022 Whitney M. Young Jr. Award, which annually recognizes an architect or organization that champions a range of social issues.

For more than a decade, VORTEX, a collaboration of African-American women representing the entire spectrum of practice, had endeavored to increase the number of people of color licensed to practice architecture in the U.S. Following its 2007 launch at the AIA Conference on Architecture in San Antonio, VORTEX has directly responded to Whitney M. Young Jr.’s observations on the disheartening history of American architecture.

VORTEX’s key collaborators are architects and design leaders Kathryn Tyler Progmore, FAIA; Kathy Denise Dixon, FAIA; Katherine Williams, AIA; and Melissa R. Daniel, Assoc. AIA. The late Barbara G. Laurie, AIA, was also a critical member of the organization. The collaborators’ primary engagement medium, RIDING THE VORTEX: African-American Women Architects in Practice, was a prime-time program when it debuted at the 2007 AIA Conference and repeat performances occurred in 2008 and 2009. It was also a crucial element of NOMA’s 2008 conference in Washington, D.C.

VORTEX has made a direct impact on the increased number of AfricanAmerican women architects, which from 2007 to 2020 has risen from approximately 175 to more than 500, according to the Directory of AfricanAmerican Architects.

2022 Whitney M. Young Jr. Award Recipients: Kathy Dixon, Katherine Williams, Kathryn Prigmore, and Melissa Danie Photo courtesy of Ti-Ka Wallace

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