Grassroots Leadership Conference

GR Group

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The AIAS presents the 25th annual Grassroots Leadership Conference to be held in Washington, DC on July 23-26, 2009. The Grassroots conference offers instruction on how to be an effective leader, how to run a successful AIAS chapter, techniques to motivate and organize students and the opportunity to meet student leaders from across North America. The conference is designed for the chapter presidents. Every chapter is expected to be represented.

The conference offers more than leadership development programs. The attendees will also participate in the governance of the AIAS when they meet as the Council of Presidents (COP). During these meetings, the delegates participate in the governance of the AIAS and are informed on important issues and ideas relevant to students, architectural education and the profession. This discourse sets the future direction for the organization.

Registration will be available in the Spring. For more information, please contact the AIAS at 202.626.7472 (9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. ET) or mailbox@aias.org.

Financing Your Participation
There are several funding sources you should explore that may support your attendance:

Chapter Support - Many chapters fund their representatives to attend Grassroots. If not already in your budget and alternative sources of funding do not exist, make sure it is an item included for next year.
Department Support - Your architecture department might have funds at the end of the fiscal year that they can contribute toward this leadership conference. Many departments already include this expense in their annual budgets.
University Student Activities - Many campus student governments have funds reserved for leadership training opportunities for their student associations. You need to request funding NOW.
Local AIA Chapter - This is a good way to partner with your local AIA chapter, or strengthen your ties. The AIAS Grassroots conference is similar to AIA Grassroots, which is something the leaders of your local AIA should be familiar with and understand the benefits of such a conference.
Local Construction Industry Leaders - Here is an opportunity to create a line of communication outside the architecture industry. Every industry is interested in and is constantly seeking leaders in their own field as well as related fields.