AIA|LA COVID-19 Town Hall: Diverse City, Shaping the Future

Featuring Kimberly Dowdell AIA, NOMA, NCARB, LEED AP BD+C – President, National Organization for Minority Architects (NOMA) & Director of Business Development, HOK

As our 6th in our series of AIA|LA virtual town hall forums, AIA|LA’s President, Greg Verabian, AIA will moderate a discussion with the 2019 – 2020 National President of NOMA, Kimberly Dowdell AIA, NOMA.  She will discuss ideas for how we can ensure greater social equity, inclusion, and diversity as we respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Diverse City: Shaping The Future”

“As we begin to wrap our minds around a post-COVID world, we must consider the trends that were already beginning to take shape, which will now be accelerated. From further embracing technology and automation to enhanced social justice efforts, we are embarking upon a series of shifting paradigms. I will discuss how the discoveries that are unfolding today can potentially jettison us into more diverse, healthy, and resilient cities around the globe moving forward.”

Kimberly Dowdell AIA, NOMA, NCARB, LEED AP BD+C – President, National Organization for Minority Architects (NOMA) & Director of Business Development, HOK

Kimberly collaborates with other members of the leadership team in HOK’s Chicago studio to develop and implement strategic business development and marketing initiatives. In addition to cultivating and maintaining relationships with clients and partners, she is a frequent speaker at industry conferences and events and a mentor to HOK’s emerging leaders.

Kimberly is the 2019-2020 National President of the National Organization of Minority Architects (NOMA). She won the 2020 AIA Young Architects Award honoring individuals who have demonstrated exceptional leadership and made significant contributions to the architecture profession early in their careers.

Kimberly is a member of the Detroit Developer Roundtable and the Urban Land Institute. She initiated the concept behind Social Economic Environmental Design, an organization that she cofounded in 2005, and was a Crain’s Detroit Business “40 Under 40” honoree. In 2019, Kimberly delivered the 19th Annual Dunlop Lecture at the Harvard Graduate School of Design.