Evelyn Lee has been elected the 2025 president of the American Institute of Architects (AIA). Lee will first serve as the 2024 AIA First Vice President/2025 President-elect, before beginning her one year term as president in 2025.
Lee has served the AIA in numerous capacities in the past, including as AIA California’s vice president of Communications & Public Affairs from 2011 to 2012 and as first ever female Treasurer to the AIA National Board in 2020 to 2021. She was also the only Fellow who has received both the National Associates Award and Young Architects Award and the only member to have served as the chair of the National Associates Committee and Young Architects Forum.
“We have the training our society so desperately needs to solve its most pressing challenges,” said Lee in a statement. She ran for president last year and decided to run again because “the desire for transformation in our industry is so great, and I believe I’m the right leader to empower our members to meet the moment.”
Outside of her tenure at the AIA, Lee received her Bachelor of Architecture in 2002 from Drury University with a minor in Global Studies. In 2003 she received her Masters of Architecture from the Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc). Most recently, in 2012, Lee finished a dual Masters Public Administration and Masters Business Administration in Sustainable Management from the Presidio Graduate School. She then went on to be the first Head of Workplace Strategy & Innovation at Slack Technologies, founder of the Practice of Architecture, and co-host of the Podcast, Practice Disrupted.
In addition to Lee, two other major positions were elected by the AIA. Philip-O’Neal, the principal and owner of HPP International was named the 2024–25 Treasurer and the 2024–26 At-large Director was chosen to be Latoya N. Kamdang, the Director of Operations at Ennead Architects in New York.
Lee will be inaugurated as the First Vice President of the AIA in early 2024, when she will replace Kimberly Dowdell.
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