What We Do:

Community
Working with Selby Community Development Corporation, the Assembly participated ina forum aimed to establish the community's vision for Selby Avenue in Saint Paul. The Assembly assisted Residents and others with skectching visual renderings for public infrastructre, design and beautification improvements along the comercial corridor. Through thes on-going efforts the Assembly has expereinced a very visible and significant relationship with Community Leaders this has lead to more purposeful planning and design discussions amongst Community Stakeholders.

Other organizations we have partnered with are Public Art Saint Paul to assist with the faciliation of a visioning charette, for Western Avenue in Saint Paul. Similiar to the Selby project the goal was to bring Community Leaders and Stakeholders together and provide a froum to foster awareness of what some viewed as a "forgotten" area.

Fundraising
In keeping with our mission and vision, in 2002, the Assembly established an annual event called Braza. The Brazaa wihich means "gathering" in Swahili is an evening affair that allows Assembly members to showcase their achievements and contributions to the greater community. The event is also used as a fundraiser to raise fund for the jay Tyson Memorial Scholarship, named after and African American architect who contributed over forty years of service to the Twin Cities.

The Assembly partnered with Architecturals youth Program (AYP) to develop the scholarship criteria, AYP also assisted with identifying our first scholarship recipients. This partnership with AYP will continue as we look towards hosting our 2011 event this fall.

Mentoring
In 2006 the Assembly of Architects created a youth outreach program; this ourteach program is a partnershp between the Assembly, Benjamin E. Mays and Mary DeLaittere (University of Minnesota Professor and Environmental Literacy program Developer) the Assembly will introduce an Environmental Literacy Program: Neighborhood Based learnign for Youth, at the Benjamin E. Mays Magnet School, with the objective of educating third grade students about architecture and planning and the proposed light rail project on Univrsity Avenue. The students will actively participate in creating designs for aspecific transit stop along the corridor.

In the spring of 2006 the Assembly of Architects organization serveds as Sponsor to a group of St. Thomas graduate students in conjunction with a semester long project management class.

The concept for the sponsorship was developed by Dr.Ernest Ownes (University of St. Thomas Professor); the objective was to have teams of students work with a "sponsoring"non-profit organization to hone thier collective skills ona "real life" project experience. Assembly members worked closely with Professor owens to identify three projects, the teams were divided into three groups.
Both the Assembly and the St. Thomas students will benefit from this relationship for years to come, it was an opportunity not only for the sutdent to hone their project management skills, but it also gave them exposure to the non-profit world and even more importantly it exposed them to a diverse group of talented individuals.

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President’s Message:
First, I need to commend the Assembly of Architects’ Board of Directors and professional volunteers on their faithful dedication and commitment to our organization.  I’d also like to thank our community and corporate sponsors, and the many non-profit partnerships for collaborating with the Assembly of Architect volunteers on making positive changes for our communities in both Minneapolis and St. Paul.  Our joint ventures demonstrated the benefits of quality relationships achieving common goals.

Next, I’d like to take a moment to talk about quality.  Our organization is comprised of people-of-color engaged in the process of creating quality buildings, both locally and nationally. They are the most qualified professionals today participating in the design of education, healthcare, public and cultural institutions. They bring a unique cultural perspective to the design aspect of our urban communities. They represent business owners in minority business enterprises, partners and principals in majority firms, architects, designers, facility managers, construction managers, urban planners, developers, artists, educators and community activists.

I would also like to commend the Assembly for an extraordinary year in 2009.  We fulfilled our mission in a number areas:  1) continuing our platform of advocating for professionals of color 2) we furthered our mission by continuing to participate in career fairs and presenting to secondary students the benefits of entering the profession, the Assembly presented or had a booth at a number of inner city schools during the spring semester of the school year.

Finally, I have heard references to “we cannot find an architect-of-color” on several occasions.  I would like to state, unequivocally, there are over 30 professional partners in the Assembly of Architect, who represent the highest quality professionals of color in the region. They continue to leave a positive mark on our communities through their talents and creative contributions.  On that note, it is my hope that our work in the Assembly of Architects, which includes building talent and capacity, will change the perception of available personnel, and create many hiring opportunities for years to come.

My sincere and best wishes to each and every partner on your personal and professional pursuits.

Very truly yours,

Nathan Johnson