Yesterday afternoon, a press statement from AIA Board of Directors was sent to AIA members alleging “a coordinated campaign being driven by various AIA stakeholders to publicly discredit the EVP/CEO and the wider Board.”
Details about the plot, including who might be leading it, were not provided.
“The AIA Board is concerned about the coordinated effort that we have become aware of to discredit our leadership team this year,” AIA president Kimberly Dowdell told AN. “We are focused on advancing the AIA’s mission and are delegating this matter to the National Ethics Committee for a thorough review. Our objective is to prevent further damage to AIA and the profession.”
The statement reaffirmed the Board’s confidence in AIA EVP/CEO Lakisha Woods: “Based on the results of the independent review, and considering other key performance indicators, the Board, again, unanimously approved a strong vote of confidence in CEO/EVP Lakisha Ann Woods, CAE, and her ability to lead the organization with integrity and highly specialized association expertise. We trust that Woods is exactly who we need in this position to forge a stronger future for AIA.”
The “conduct has been formally filed with the AIA National Ethics Council (NEC) for review,” the statement continued. The NEC, according to the bylaws of the AIA, has the “authority to interpret and enforce the AIA Code of Ethics.” The council consists of AIA members appointed by the AIA Board of Directors and only has jurisdiction over the actions of AIA members. Recently, the NEC has released few disciplinary actions, including one in 2022 and three in 2020.
The AIA statement is available to read in full here.
How Did We Get Here?
This update comes on the heels of layoffs at AIA headquarters, as recently reported by Zach Mortice for Architectural Record. This month, 28 AIA employees were fired, constituting 16 percent of AIA’s workforce of 175. Mortice’s article also revealed that the week after the layoffs, “AIA’s board and senior leadership decamped to the Salamander Resort and Spa in Middleburg, Virginia, for a board meeting,” according to an anonymous AIA staffer. (Mortice, who previously worked for AIA, is also a regular contributor to AN.)
This development also arrives months after 22 former AIA presidents issued a separate letter to current AIA leadership about myriad concerns related to “finances and management,” “potential misspending, nepotism, cronyism, and the pursuit of personal gain” within AIA leadership. Just after the 2024 AIA conference, the Board released a statement of support for EVP/CEO Woods and her team.
Miller & Chevalier, a Washington, D.C.–based law firm, later found no wrongdoing by Woods in relation to a claim made against her that she financially benefited from a staff retreat to the Dominican Republic.
The announcement by Miller & Chevalier was published shortly after former AIA general counsel Terrence Ona sued AIA for $2 million, claiming both “economic damages and mental anguish” due to his termination in April. The lawsuit between Ona and AIA is ongoing.
AN will continue to follow this developing story.
