Summary: In July of each year, the American Institute of Architectural Students holds its grassroots conference at which the officers transition their incumbency. Since, in every sense, they represent the future of the profession, AIArchitect asked 2009-2010 AIAS President Je’Nen M. Chastain, Assoc. AIA, and Vice President Brett Roeth, about themselves and their vision for the coming year.

“I’ve known and worked with Je’Nen and Brett for all the years they’ve been in AIAS leadership positions,” said AIAS Executive Director Michael Geary, CAE. “And, as we watch the 2008-2009 officers—President J.W. Blanchard and Vice President Deana Moore—move on in their professional careers and Je’Nen and Brett come in, I have to say, I am amazed and invigorated working with these young and highly motivated individuals, along with the AIAS Board and components they lead. I encourage all AIA members to get to know the AIAS chapter in your area. You will be the richer for it.”

President Je’Nen M. Chastain, Assoc. AIA
Je’Nen Chastain recently graduated from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte School of Architecture with a BArch. Upon her graduation in May, Chastain moved to Washington, D.C., where she began her term as the 51st AIAS president, elected to the position by more than 700 of her peers at the annual AIAS gathering, FORUM 2008, in Denver. As president, Chastain currently serves about 7,000 AIAS members and nearly 35,000 design students across North American.

Previously, she held active leadership roles within AIAS at UNC Charlotte and has been an engaged emerging professional within her community. Taking on a leadership position during her third year of school, she helped the chapter grow nearly 33 percent. It was during that time that Chastain realized that AIAS truly is giving students a voice within her institution among both faculty and peers. She decided to run for chapter president for the 2007–2008 academic school year and helped increase the membership of her chapter an additional 25 percent. The increased membership came as a result of several new programs Chastain added to the chapter to help strengthen professional development, studio culture, and community service.

In addition to her commitment as chapter president, Chastain also organized a regional conference for the AIAS South Quadrant in Charlotte that saw more than 80 students attend from other programs of architecture in the south. Throughout 2008 Chastain was also given the opportunity to participate in her local AIA Charlotte chapter, as she served on the monthly board of directors meetings as the student director, a direct link between the School of Architecture and the profession.

At the 2007 AIAS FORUM in Milwaukee, Chastain was again driven by the idea to serve architecture students, but this time on a national level for the AIAS. She ran for and was elected to the regional position of director for the South Quadrant. The AIAS South Quadrant region includes more than 40 AIAS chapters affiliated with architecture programs in 11 states and Puerto Rico. Responsibilities as director include helping to coordinate the fall and spring regional conferences, serving on national committees, serving on a NAAB accreditation team visit, and leading AIAS national initiatives and policies.

Chastain notes that she has also been exposed to a diversity of working environments throughout her collegiate career. While working during the spring semester of her third year, she was introduced to construction administration as an administrative assistant for Clayco on a $275 million mixed-use construction site in uptown Charlotte. During the summer of 2008, she worked with Perkins + Will as a summer intern gaining knowledge about healthcare and sustainable design, as well as office and project management. At that time she began her NCARB IDP record.

Chastain notes that she is dedicated to leadership development within the profession and is an advocate for social responsibility. “I am constantly inspired by the membership of the AIAS and their vision of the future of architecture and its place within society,” she says. “Through leadership, service, and educational programming I firmly believe that the AIAS remains a primary contributor to growing strong emerging leaders for this profession.”

Vice President Brett Roeth
Brett Roeth received his BA in architecture from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, in May 2009. While attending Miami, Brett studied in London and participated in a summer workshop at Arcosanti, the experimental urban environment in Arizona designed by Italian architect Paolo Soleri. Roeth also spent a summer in Chicago as an intern at Farr Associates Architecture, Planning, and Preservation, and as a volunteer for the nonprofit organization Friends of the Parks, researching planned developments at the Chicago Department of Planning and Development.

His professional and research interests focus on the connections between architecture, natural landscapes, sociopolitical constructs, and human societies. He is committed to exploring the positive social and environmental impacts of environmental design, with a desire to encourage the creation of sustainable, healthy, and livable places, he says. “I maintain an optimistic mindset about the power of architecture to effect positive social change,” he says. My vision is to live in a diverse, sustainable, and healthy city that I helped shape.”

For his year as vice president, Roeth will be dedicated to developing member value in the AIAS and continuing to advocate for socially and environmentally responsible design, studio culture, and progressive action within the discipline of architecture.