CALL FOR NOMINATIONS
AIA Ohio Early Professional Director
AIA Ohio Representative to the Young Architects Forum (YAF)
Deadline for candidate submissions: Aug. 29, 2025
AIA Ohio is soliciting nominations for the position of AIA Ohio Early Professional Director and the Ohio Representative to the Young Architects Forum (YAF).
AIA Ohio Early Professional Director
Per the AIA Ohio Bylaws:
6.011 Early Professional Directors: There shall be two (2) Early Professional Directors, from two different Ohio local components, on the AIA Ohio Board. The Early Professional Directors shall be members of AIA Ohio and shall have graduated from a NAAB-accredited program no more than ten (10) years prior to their election. The Early Professional Directors shall be elected by a simple majority vote of the Board. The election shall take place at the September board meeting. The Early Professional Directors shall serve for a staggered term of two (2) years each, or until a successor is chosen. The Senior Early Professional Director shall have one (1) vote. In the absence of the Senior Early Professional Director, the Junior Early Professional Director shall carry the Early Professional Director vote.
The current Senior Early Professional Director, Mark Hensler, AIA, was elected for a term of Jan. 1, 2023-Dec. 31, 2024. The current Junior Early Professional Director, Zach Herbst, AIA, was elected to serve a two year term, from Jan. 1, 2024-Dec. 31, 2025. Nominations and declarations of candidacy for the open Early Professional Director position should be made by sending a letter of intent from the candidate, a letter of support from the candidate’s local AIA component, and a list of qualifications to AIA Ohio by August 29, 2025. Candidates for the open position cannot be from the same local component as the current Junior Early Professional Director, which is AIA Cincinnati.
Information for each nominated or declared candidate shall be submitted via email to:
Kate Brunswick at Kate@assnoffices.com.
Nominations or declarations will be forwarded to the AIA Ohio Board for review prior to the September 25 AIA Ohio Board Meeting. Candidates should plan to be available to attend this meeting, which will be held at 10:00 a.m. at the AIA Ohio offices in Worthington, Ohio, in order to be interviewed by the Board.
AIA Ohio Representative to the YAF
Per the AIA Ohio Bylaws:
6.06 Representative to the Young Architects Forum (YAF): The Ohio Representative to the YAF shall be an architect registered for ten (10) years or less and a member of AIA Ohio at the time they are elected. The Ohio Representative to the YAF shall be elected by a simple majority of the Board. Candidates from the current Ohio Representative to the YAF’s local component shall not be eligible. The election shall take place at the September board meeting. The Ohio Representative to the YAF shall serve a term of two (2) years. The Ohio Representative to the YAF shall be an ex-officio member of the Board and in this role may take part in deliberations but shall not vote.
A candidate will be selected to replace Alex Oetzel, AIA, Columbus, whose two-year term will be complete on Dec. 31, 2025. Representatives to the Young Architects Forum serve as the voice of recently licensed architects and advocate for issues of particular relevance to them. The AIA Ohio Representative to the YAF serves as an ex-officio (advisory, non-voting) member of the AIA Ohio Board of Directors. For additional information, click here.
AIA Ohio Representative to the YAF Eligibility
The Ohio Representative to the YAF shall be an architect registered for ten (10) years or less and a member of AIA Ohio at the time they are elected. Members of the current Representative’s local component (AIA Columbus) are not eligible.
AIA Ohio Representative to the YAF Election
Candidates will be interviewed by the AIA Ohio Board at the AIA Ohio September board meeting, taking place on Thursday, Sept. 25, at 10:00 a.m. at the AIA Ohio offices in Worthington. Following candidate interviews, the board will vote to elect the next Ohio Representative to the YAF by simple majority, for a two-year term, beginning Jan. 1, 2026.
AIA Ohio Representative to the YAF Submission
Candidates shall submit to AIA Ohio a letter of intent stating their contributions and qualifications no later than Aug. 29, to the attention of Kate Brunswick, Kate@assnoffices.com.
Questions
Questions can be addressed to:
Kate Brunswick – Kate@assnoffices.com
Mark Hensler – mark.hensler@bbcodesign.com
Zach Herbst – zherbst@msaarch.com
Alex Oetzel – alexoetzel@gmail.com