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Fellowships
An Opportunity for Career Development
At the Architecture Foundation of Oregon, we believe that design should consider diverse points of view, and reflect these views, in a built environment that provides access and equity for all. Our two fellowship opportunities, the Van Evera Bailey Fellowship and the Pat Sanchez Women’s Fellowship, exist to inspire design and building professionals to deepen their understanding of design’s role in creating an Oregon where everyone can thrive.
Fellowship applications are open. Apply by Sunday, October 27, 2024 to be considered
2024 Van Evera Bailey and Pat Sanchez Women’s Fellows
Join us in congratulating our 2024 Van Evera Bailey Fellow, Marta Petteni, our Pat Sanchez Women’s Fellow, Lisa Sato, and our Pat Sanchez Honorarium Recipient, Sarah Vaz! Keep scrolling to learn more about our Fellows.
Marta Petteni
2024 Van Evera Bailey Fellow
Marta is an Italian licensed Architect, freelancer designer, and the Co-Director & Program Manager at AfroVillage PDX. Building on her expertise at the intersection of design justice, research, and transportation, Marta will conduct research and produce a comprehensive How-to Guide to advance train repurposing as a scalable model for social justice and sustainable development throughout the region.
“This proposal is grounded in the reality that TriMet will retire 26 MAX Trains in 2024, and more than 100 in the next decade. While trains offer an incredible placemaking opportunity and communicate publicness in a unique way, there is currently no local precedent or guidelines for implementing train repurposing as a model, with 24 trains heading to the landfill just this year.”
In 2020, the AfroVillage team won the People’s Choice Award at TriMet’s MAX Reuse Design Challenge. The design envisioned converting three retiring trains into the “AfroFuturism Oasis” – a sanctuary space for Black and Brown communities to rest, collaborate, and access critical services. With a site in Portland’s historic Black community, the team is now partnering with TriMet, PBOT, BPS, PSU, and many others to make this vision a reality.
The Fellowship will support Marta in investigating local and international case studies, while advancing and documenting the AfroFuturism Oasis project into a comprehensive How-to Guide. This will serve as a valuable roadmap for local stakeholders interested in repurposing trains for the common good, while advancing this model across the region to promote more just and sustainable futures.
Lisa Sato
2024 Pat Sanchez Women’s Fellow
Lisa is a Project Designer at Carleton Hart Architecture. With this fellowship, Lisa will develop her skills to become a better leader, mentor, supporter, and advocate for BIPOC professionals, especially women. She will use the fellowship funds to attend two conferences – NOMA and AIA Women’s Leadership Summit – as well as enroll in a course on leadership and public speaking. Ultimately, her goal is to leverage what she’s learned to help empower BIPOC women in our industry.
Sarah Vaz
2024 Pat Sanchez Honorarium Recipient
Sarah is a Senior Associate at Holst Architecture. She intends to use fellowship funds to attend ILFI’s Living Futures Conference 2024 and become an ILFI member. This will allow her to explore the human-centered approach to sustainability that is at the core of the Living Building Challenge, and to better correlate sustainability practices with principles of harm reduction and wellbeing that are key to trauma-informed design.
Van Evera Bailey Fellowship
The VEB Fellowship has been doubled to $50,000 per award. Learn more about the recent increase in funding.
Since 2001, AFO has partnered with The Van Evera and Janet M. Bailey Fund of Oregon Community Foundation in awarding the $50,000 annual Van Evera Bailey Fellowship to advance the professional development of design and building professionals and encourage greater contributions to their profession and community.
This Fellowship is an opportunity for professionals in the field to examine not only what they think, but how they think. The intention is to provide time for creativity, reflection, and a pursuit of deeper understanding of ideas that will result in lasting value to the applicant, the profession, and/or the greater community. The Fellowship honors the original benefactor’s dedication of a grant “for the preservation and betterment of the art and science of architecture.”
Fellowship projects follow a variety of paths. The most compelling projects propose work that can have an impact on communities as well as individual professionals. Examples of eligible activities include, but are not limited to:
- Sabbaticals for study of innovative architectural design to be applied in Oregon
- Teaching engagements that promise enhancement of the applicant’s and students’ creativity in architectural design
- Collaborations between architects and others to implement new projects
- Preparation of public education projects
- Research and writing on a specific design-related topic
Eligibility
Eligibility for the Fellowship is flexible. Favorable emphasis will be given to applicants who are based in Oregon who are looking to deepen and expand their impact in the built environment. Fellows build on their experiences, inquisitions, and observations in their professional and personal lives to explore new ways of thinking. Often, Fellows take the opportunity to explore a passion that has developed through their years in the community that they have not had the time or resources to pursue.
The Fellowship is intended to promote dissemination and application of ideas. Support may be requested for stipends, travel, lodging, materials, and other relevant needs. Projects must include follow-up activities that share the results of the Fellowship with the professional community and general public. Fellows will be asked to provide information to document their experience. At the end of the Fellowship, AFO and the Fellow will collaborate on a short presentation highlighting their work and findings at the annual Fellowship Reception in the year following the Fellowship completion.
Applicants may apply jointly for a Van Evera Bailey Fellowship. For example, if an architect and an urban planner see potential for an innovative project that requires unusual research, they might apply jointly for stipends or support of travel and other expenses in order to examine relevant work in other communities, states, or countries; consult with professional peers and leading thinkers; formulate detailed plans; and produce articles or public education programs.
Current members of the board of AFO are not eligible to apply or to receive Fellowship funds indirectly as a partner in a proposed project.
Application Requirements
Applicants submit proposals electronically through the online platform Submittable. You will be asked to make a free account, which will allow you to save drafts as you work through the application and allow you to access your submitted application at any time.
(1) Greatest scoring weight will be given to the application essay prompts outlined below:
- Describe your proposed project and a clearly articulated thesis statement that will guide and frame your work. (500 word limit)
- Describe the impact of the project, including the documented need to be addressed by the Fellowship. Explain who the project is designed to impact: the applicant, the building profession, and/or a specified community. (250 word limit)
- Describe any challenges you feel you might face. (250 word limit)
- Explain your experience and qualifications to address the topic at hand – including but not limited to your academic, civic, professional, and lived experience. (250 word limit)
- Describe how you will make your project results available to the public for the benefit of the professional community. Examples: Posting your results on your personal or professional website, creating a public exhibition, including your fellowship story in a public-facing final project. Note that your AFO Fellowship Reception presentation can fulfill this requirement. (250 word limit)
- Explain or list your schedule/timeline/work plan for the completion of the project. See examples here.
(2) Additional Attachments:
- Resume of the applicant(s)
- Itemized budget for the entire Fellowship. If other sources of support will be used to complement Fellowship support, please identify them and whether they have been secured. IMPORTANT NOTE: The award of a VEB Fellowship is taxable income. Applicants must plan and budget accordingly.
- Two to three letters of support from a variety of perspectives indicating why the proposed Fellowship is important to the professional community. Examples: Other design professionals, architectural organizations, or representatives of other fields, References should address personal capabilities of the applicant and value of the project.
- Brief design portfolio of materials that illuminate the applicant’s work and its relevance to the proposed project.
Process and Timeline
Applications will be reviewed by a committee of design and building professionals in collaboration with OCF and AFO. Applicants may be asked to submit further information or to speak with representatives of OCF and AFO to clarify their proposals. The review committee will make recommendations to the board of Oregon Community Foundation. OCF reserves the right to approve Fellowships at its sole discretion.
Invitation for Proposals will be announced in August with an October deadline. The VEB Fellowship will be awarded by OCF through the Architecture Foundation of Oregon and will be announced publicly by December with a Fellowship Reception hosted by AFO early the following year. The year-long Fellowship period begins January 1 of the following year.
Apply Now
Deadline: Sunday, October 27, 2024, 11:59pm
Van Evera Bailey Fellowship Info Session
A virtual information session and panel discussion to learn more about this fantastic opportunity for career development and how to prepare your proposal for submission.
The discussion includes:
- An overview of the VEB Award
- Changes we’ve made to the application this year and why
- What makes a strong application
- Advice and inspiration from past VEB Fellows
- Transparency on the selection process from members of the Selection Committee
- Q&A with past Fellows and AFO Staff – bring your questions!
The 2024 info session has passed. Watch the recording below to learn more.
2024 Info Session Recording
Advice from Former Van Evera Bailey Fellows
Pat Sanchez Women’s Fellowship
In honor of Pat Sanchez, retired Principal and Business Manager at Opsis Architecture, AFO has partnered with Opsis Architecture to award the Pat Sanchez Women’s Fellowship, beginning in 2022.
Pat retired after 21 years as the business manager at Opsis, helping to shape the direction and values of the firm. She has long been a strong advocate for women in the profession, especially tied to common barriers that women experience. Pat worked tirelessly to find creative solutions to support staff, including establishing Opsis’ paid family leave policy, flex schedules, and creating opportunities for professional development.
About the Fellowship
The fellowship is available to women who are mid-career and looking to expand upon their work and professional development. The up to $3,000 monetary award can be used to attend professional conferences, local college course work, or specialty seminars focused on various aspects of the industry including design, firm management, building enclosure design, business development, leadership, etc.
AFO and Opsis encourage Oregon women who are practicing in the field of architecture to apply for the Pat Sanchez Women’s Fellowship. The candidate should demonstrate a strong interest in advancing specific aspects of their career. Applicants should submit a professional resume and written proposal, outlining both the candidate’s plan for utilizing the scholarship funds and how the experience will be used to further their personal career development.
Eligibility
All Women who meet the following criteria are welcome to apply:
- Currently practicing within the architecture profession
- Minimum professional experience of 5 years in the architecture profession
- Licensure is not required
- Oregon Resident
Application Requirements
Please submit the following to support@opsisarch.com; subject line include “Pat Sanchez Fellowship”
- 500 word (maximum) proposal: Clearly outline the candidates professional background and interest in the identified area of study. Include an itemized breakdown of the candidate’s proposed use of fellowship funds – identifying specific classes, workshops, seminars or conferences this will be applied to. The proposed use of funds could be a combination of classes/events and can include related travel expenses. The awarded funds should be utilized between the dates of January 2024 and December 2024.
- Professional resume
If you are not able to submit your application electronically, please print and mail it to Opsis Architecture, 920 NW 17th Ave, Portland, OR 97209. We will accept mailed applications postmarked by the deadline.