Dear AIA Members,

2024 is going to be a great year for our chapter. I am honored to serve my fellow architects as the 2024 AIA Utah President and to follow many great past presidents who laid a strong foundation for us. I couldn’t be more excited about the fantastic groups of current leaders that make up our board and executive leadership team. The chapter should also be extremely excited about the strides Angie Roberts made in her inaugural year as executive director and the wonderful staff dedicated specifically to AIA Utah. It is clear they want to see the chapter grow and sustain a high-quality organization through positivity and problem-solving. We have the right team in place to do a lot for you. Below are some priorities I have for the chapter this year:

Serving Members: The strong leadership in place sets the stage for wonderful opportunities to serve our members. We’ve got great ideas, but need to see and hear from you. Please join us at business leadership summits, educational conferences, and interdisciplinary and membership events. Get the most out of your membership by engaging and telling us what you need.

Outreach: I also feel strongly that architects need to communicate with our partner AEC community and the public. People should see the value of architects clearly. We have an opportunity to improve our efforts on this front. We aim to connect across disciplines and promote collaborative partnerships in our market. The chapter, working alongside the Utah Center for Architecture, can also create more opportunities for outreach starting with K-12 programs, social outreach, and participating in municipal planning and public forums. We need support from our membership to make this happen. If this is your passion, please reach out to the chapter!

Advocating for the Practice: AIA Utah can also support local architectural businesses’ abilities to create the best teams by creating a welcoming community for a diverse pool of talent. We need to ensure that we also help our state create messages and regulations that are supportive of increasing a firm’s access to the most talented students, graduates and professionals.

I am so excited to serve in this capacity. I hope to hear from you all soon!

Chamonix Larsen