For the last 16 years, it has been my privilege and my honor to serve as Executive Director of the Architecture Foundation of Oregon. Great organizations, like good people, must continue to grow and evolve, to embrace the future, to stay fresh. Following significant growth and development in recent years, afo is now poised to move to the next level of achievement in pursuit of its mission. It is time for new leadership, new energy and new ideas.

I will retire by the end of 2017, with full confidence in the highly talented professional staff and dedicated, passionate board of directors who I have worked with through three strategic plans, 64 board meetings, 16 Honored Citizen dinners, scores of Dine & Design evenings, the growth of Architects in Schools from 800 to 4,500 students, and numerous special projects like our Look Around public awareness campaign, the William Wurster exhibit at UO Portland, and the eye-opening Crossing The Columbia forum with PDXplore at Pacific Northwest College of Art.

It has been an invigorating and rewarding chapter in my career. I treasure the friendships and professional relationships made. I will continue to be a strong advocate for Oregon’s designed environment and expect to stay connected through the many lectures, exhibits, tours and celebrations that help keep our community so vital.

A committee of afo board and community members, chaired by Anne Monnier of KPFF, will conduct a search for my replacement. A position announcement will be posted around the first of April. I look forward to eagerly and enthusiastically supporting the next chapter!

Let’s save our good-byes for later, as there is plenty of work to be done in 2017. I hope you will join me in doing all we can to support afo in sharing design’s role in shaping our future.