april 29 lunch + learn 2.0 - Navigating an Arch. Practice in COVID-19 Environment

When

4/29/2020    
12:00 pm - 1:00 pm

Event Type

Navigating an Architectural Practice in the COVID-19 Environment
1 LU 

Sheltering-in-Place and social distancing may be with us for an extended period in some form. Learn what other firms are doing successfully to navigate their practices through these challenging times. During this panel discussion, we’ll explore:

  • Leading your firm virtually: Policies and communication tools in a remote working environment.
  • Marketing and business development in a COVID-19 and rapidly changing economic environment.
  • Moving projects forward in the new landscape of permitting, inspections and public meetings.
  • Construction Administration: Safety and Standard of Care During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Moderated by Douglas Hilberman, AIA, Principal AXIA Architects, AIARE Pres. Elect, the following panelists will be offering insight and guidance:

Natasha Espada, President, Boston  Architects (organized the creation of the BSA COVID-19 Best Practices Guide)

Jennifer Kretschmer, AIA CA representative, AIA Silicon Valley President Elect

Susie Smith, Director of Marketing at Blitz, President SMPS San Francisco Bay Area Chapter

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82990360386?pwd=ZXBLSHRSM2xtUnM0TFJpMzErekZxdz09

Meeting ID: 829 9036 0386
Password: 000656

Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/khfkDeCtI

Natasha Espada, AIA, NOMA, LEED AP is the founding Principal of STUDIO ENÉE, a women and minority-owned design firm with an expertise in architecture, urban planning, and interior design. She has over 25 years of design and construction expertise in both renovation and new construction of institutional, civic, and commercial buildings and has a special interest in design excellence and sustainability.  The majority of her projects are for Colleges and Universities and Public Institutions, which require innovative planning and design, creative solutions, limited budgets, an extensive community process, and successful user/client/team collaboration.

Ms. Espada is the 2020 President of the Boston Society of Architects/AIA. Among many initiatives, her focus is on Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion in the profession and in making Boston a Design City by promoting the value of architecture, design, and art equitably to all of the neighborhoods in Boston. She is a mid-career mentor for Women in Design and an adjunct professor at Northeastern University. As a Puerto Rican, she is dedicated to helping rebuild Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria as a collaborator with ResilientSEE and she serves on the board of the Town of Needham, Massachusetts’ Permanent Public Building Committee.

Jennifer Kretschmer, AIA, NCARB, LEED Green Associate, founded J. Kretschmer Architect in 2003, specializing in single family, multi-family residential and commercial projects under 10,000 square feet. Her firm has been a virtual office since 2008 which she has operated primarily from her home in the Silicon Valley area of California with workers located in different geographical areas in the United States.  Jennifer was a speaker at the AIA’19 Conference on Architecture and 2019 CRAN Symposium bringing valued information, inspiration and training to architects on operating a virtual office with remote workers. Awarded AIA National Associate Member of the Year, 2002. She is the founding CRAN chairperson of the AIA Silicon Valley (2016-present) and is the 2020 AIASVC Vice President/President-Elect.

Susie Smith is the Director of Marketing for Blitz, a full service architecture and interior design firm, specializing in commercial, retail, and hospitality design with studios in San Francisco, Los Angeles and Denver. She has an extensive background in strategic marketing and business development in professional services as well as marketing and branding consumer products. She is future forward, helping her colleagues think and act differently. Susie is the current President of the SMPS San Francisco Bay Area Chapter and a certified Professional Services Marketer.