Today’s moment of joy:
I went to the NVHC Qeshet Sunday Torah Study and Discussion group. During the conversation I realized that for a brief 2 hour window I for once got to experience what it felt like to be in a group where I, as a Queer Jew, was not a minority. It was liberating.

One timeline correction:
My efforts started in 2017, not 2018.

Also, between COVID and last summer I didn’t completely lose focus, I still submitted a panel which was accepted for the AIA VA conference, but my drive was lacking.

8/
On Thursday 2/18, from 5-6 PM eastern, we have a zoom session planned called:
Legal Concerns for Queer Architects: A Conversation
More information and signup can be found here:

aianova.org/event/legal-...

Please consider attending or spreading the word to folks who may be interested.

7/
Tonight’s board meeting made us an official part of the organization, which is a huge milestone and deserves to be recognized, but it’s just the start of our plans:

6/
Additionally, we are in a unique position as (as far as I can tell) the first non-urban core chapter to form an Alliance. Because of this, we can help set the standard of what an LGBTQIA+ Alliance looks like when it is not solely serving a dense urban area.

5/
Together we started developing plans to launch our own alliance here in Virginia. I took the lead and worked with AIA NOVA to put together a roadmap of what we needed to do to become a committee.
This committee is intended to serve our local chapter, the DMV region, and the state as a whole.

4/
Cue to June 2024; the AIA National Conference occurred in DC and had Queer positive content every day. There was even a symposium that Saturday.
At this conference my passion was reignited and for the first time I made connections with folks who were (semi)local and interested in engaging.

3/
Then COVID hit and I lost steam and focus. Others thankfully did not and during that time other folks laid the ground work and started creating LGBTQIA+ Alliances in their AIA chapters and worked on other projects addressing this community.

2/
This panel was the first session we could find on record that discussed LGBTQIA+ architects and our issues in the profession.
This led to some great connections with folks who were also working towards making our community visible with the bigger architecture world.

1/
I’ve been working with folks on developing some sort of LGBTQIA+ architecture group since as early as 2018. This effort has gone through multiple starts and shifts along the way. Through it we presented a panel at the AIA National Conference on Architecture in 2019 (A’19) on LGBTQIA issues.

🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍🌈I’ve been looking for what I call “Moments of Solace” since November. Today I just had a “Moment of Pride.”
As of tonight, the AIA Northern Virginia LGBTQIA+ Alliance is an official committee of the organization, and no longer just an interest group. 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️
(Continued in the comments)

Anyone else have that thing where someone stops responding to you out of the blue & so instead of just moving on you spend hours of your life obsessing over what you did & why they stopped responding; even when you can’t find a reason you are still convinced it’s your fault?
Thanks Trauma Response!

Hello World.

Staking my claim on this bit of virtual real estate.