by: Camila Schaulson Frenz
On 06.28.14 at the 2014 AIA Convention in Chicago, AIA delegates elected new national leadership for 2015 through 2016, including two members from New York State. Russell S. Davidson, FAIA, of AIA Westchester Hudson Valley, will serve as the 2015 first vice president/president-elect and 2016 AIA president. Francis M. Pitts, FAIA, of AIA Eastern New York, and William J. Bates, AIA, of AIA Pittsburgh, will serve as vice presidents, and John A. Padilla, AIA, of AIA Santa Fe, as the Institute’s secretary.
A managing principal at KG&D Architects in Mount Kisco, NY, Davidson earned a degree in architectural aesthetics from Union College in Schenectady, NY, and a M. Arch from Rensselaer Polytechnic in Troy, NY. He served as president of his local chapter in 1999 and as president of AIA New York State (AIANYS) in 2007. Davidson joined the AIA National Board in 2009, serving as AIA vice president from 2012 through 2013.
Pitts has served his local chapter in many leadership positions, including secretary, treasurer, and president. He was AIANYS president in 2010, and served as AIA Regional Director from 2011 to 2013. His firm architecture+, founded in 1984, has garnered more than 30 design awards. He received a Bachelor of Building Science degree and B. Arch from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
Bates began his AIA leadership tenure in 1988 when he was elected president of AIA Pittsburgh. He was president of AIA Pennsylvania in 1991 and again in 2011. Bates is currently the vice president for real estate for EPHG. He holds a B. Arch from the University of Notre Dame.
Padilla has held AIA leadership positions for more than 16 years. He served as the president of AIA Santa Fe in 2002, and as AIA New Mexico president in 2004. Padilla also served as regional director on the AIA National Board from 2007 through 2009, and was elected AIA National vice president from 2011 through 2012. He is a senior associate at SMPC Architects, and attended San Antonio College and University of Houston.
The leadership elections were also accompanied by a vote to adopt a new board structure. The bylaws will reduce the size of the AIA National Board of Directors from more than 50 to 16 or fewer members, and augment its governance structure through the creation of the Strategic Council, which will inform Institute bodies on important professional issues, including public policy, communications, and operations.
We congratulate the newly-elected AIA leaders and wish them the best of luck as AIA works to improve the Institute’s governance to better serve its members!