Join us and Volunteer
Discover volunteer opportunities and learn how you can impact causes you care about, our mission is to inspire people to value architecture, empowering all to create a better Los Angeles: one student, one building, one community at a time. See our committees below and contact any that resonates with you!
Committees
Community Engagement
We partner with neighborhoods and communities on events that can promote the value of design.
K-12
K12 Initiative is dedicated to inspiring and empowering K-12 students and their families through inclusive educational programs.
2x8
Designed to support next generation designers, "2x8" introduces student work to architectural firms, architects, and the public while recognizing exemplary work by awarding scholarships
Design by Diversity
Focuses on raising public awareness regarding the role of architectural design and creating outreach programs within student communities.
Why I volunteer for ACLA. Voices from our board
Director of Communications Committee
Tibbie Dunbar, Hon. AIA|LA
"I volunteer for ACLA because there is power in Angelenos knowing more about our designed and built environment. ACLA is a resource for discovering this power."
Director of Political Outreach
Tracy A. Stone, AIA
"I am a firm believer in the importance of service – the concept of giving back was ingrained in me from an early age when my mother enlisted me each year to walk the neighborhood for UNICEF.
I have continued to volunteer throughout my adult life; focusing on giving back to my city, my neighborhood and the communities around me.
The ACLA, with its outward focus on inspiring students and empowering neighborhoods, is a perfect fit, and I am proud to volunteer with this worthy organization."
I have continued to volunteer throughout my adult life; focusing on giving back to my city, my neighborhood and the communities around me.
The ACLA, with its outward focus on inspiring students and empowering neighborhoods, is a perfect fit, and I am proud to volunteer with this worthy organization."
Past President
Ingalill Wahlroos-Ritter, FAIA
"At ACLA, I have found a group of people who love what I love: the optimism of architecture, the transformative power of education, the value of community outreach, and the joy of giving back.
Above all, we share a love for the extraordinary complexity that is Los Angeles. Through our every initiative, ACLA aspires to make our city even better. The wonder of being an architect is the capacity to make places more equitable, more sustainable, and more beautiful for all. Through programs that inspire students to enter careers in architecture and empower citizens to engage in community-driven decision-making, the people of ACLA activate architecture to build a better city: one student, one building, one community at a time"
Above all, we share a love for the extraordinary complexity that is Los Angeles. Through our every initiative, ACLA aspires to make our city even better. The wonder of being an architect is the capacity to make places more equitable, more sustainable, and more beautiful for all. Through programs that inspire students to enter careers in architecture and empower citizens to engage in community-driven decision-making, the people of ACLA activate architecture to build a better city: one student, one building, one community at a time"
Treasurer
Pooja Bhagat, AIA
"ACLA is a platform to collectively bring awareness on the power of thoughtful design and be a resource to our community and children.
Thoughtful design has the power of profound stimulation.
Architecture is not just brick and mortar and wood and drywall- it is a reflection of human culture and if designed thoughtfully, it has the opportunity on common ground to bring joy, hope and the community together. Spaces that we design between buildings and within buildings have a profound effect on how we organize ourselves and everything we collect and need.
Even the location of the bus stop on the street and the way a street is designed can have an impact on the journey we might take as a pedestrian or metro commuter. The experience of walking through a street under a row of shaded trees with benches, street art or a communal library will enhance your mood when you enter another well-designed space for whatever you want to accomplish.
For me, ACLA is an opportunity to come together with the wider community and share the value of what we architects do and can do.
Please join us in making ACLA stronger and sharing the value and joy of good design."
Thoughtful design has the power of profound stimulation.
Architecture is not just brick and mortar and wood and drywall- it is a reflection of human culture and if designed thoughtfully, it has the opportunity on common ground to bring joy, hope and the community together. Spaces that we design between buildings and within buildings have a profound effect on how we organize ourselves and everything we collect and need.
Even the location of the bus stop on the street and the way a street is designed can have an impact on the journey we might take as a pedestrian or metro commuter. The experience of walking through a street under a row of shaded trees with benches, street art or a communal library will enhance your mood when you enter another well-designed space for whatever you want to accomplish.
For me, ACLA is an opportunity to come together with the wider community and share the value of what we architects do and can do.
Please join us in making ACLA stronger and sharing the value and joy of good design."
Director of Academic Outreach - Higher Education
D. Michael Hamner, FAIA
"With nearly 40 years of Practice and Teaching, including 25 years as Chair of the 2-year Architecture program at East Los Angeles College, an area of my focus became access to our profession. Access to an architectural education has become an unknown commodity.
When the ACLA was formed, I became one of its first Board Members as Director of Higher Education, with an objective to outreach more to the Community and Local Schools to enlighten and promote our profession. To inform the qualities of an architectural education and the career options students will develop.
My “ripple effect” is underrepresented former students, now young practicing architects, as well as instructors and mentors, leading the way for the future generation of architects. The more engaged we become, the more examples, such as mine, we can engender."
When the ACLA was formed, I became one of its first Board Members as Director of Higher Education, with an objective to outreach more to the Community and Local Schools to enlighten and promote our profession. To inform the qualities of an architectural education and the career options students will develop.
My “ripple effect” is underrepresented former students, now young practicing architects, as well as instructors and mentors, leading the way for the future generation of architects. The more engaged we become, the more examples, such as mine, we can engender."
Secretary
Francisco Arias, Assoc. AIA
"I like to think that I am the product of many volunteers who at one point took the time to offer me guidance in life and my career.
Their selflessness and passion for the profession helped shape me into the person I am, and at the same time their influence ignited a special flame in my heart.
That flame burns bright. It is what gets me up in the mornings and soothes me during those days that my mind can runs wild. That same flame burns with a desire to pay it forward….to have a similar positive impact in someone’s life and career………it burns with a desire to positively shape our built environment for the many to come….and most importantly it burns with a desire to help bridge the gap between communities and the profession.
I volunteer to honor those who volunteered before me.
Their selflessness and passion for the profession helped shape me into the person I am, and at the same time their influence ignited a special flame in my heart.
That flame burns bright. It is what gets me up in the mornings and soothes me during those days that my mind can runs wild. That same flame burns with a desire to pay it forward….to have a similar positive impact in someone’s life and career………it burns with a desire to positively shape our built environment for the many to come….and most importantly it burns with a desire to help bridge the gap between communities and the profession.
I volunteer to honor those who volunteered before me.
