I WAS ASKED TO STAND Architect-activist Pascale Sablan champions women and diverse design professionals by documenting, curating, and elevating their work. The objective: to create a just profession, bring social awareness to the built environment, and empower communities through design. "I Was Asked to Stand" is a unique discussion that empowers the audience to engage in the dismantling of injustice by highlighting the disparity of lack of representation, documentation, and acknowledgment of the great works of diverse (women and BIPOC) designers and architects. Speaking to the past: the historical infrastructure of oppression; the present: the programs and initiatives that fight for justice; and the future: aspirations for collaborations to achieve a world and built environment eradicated of racism, sexism, and all forms of oppression.

PASCALE SABLAN is an Associate at Adjaye Associates, with over 13 years of experience, and has been on the team for a variety of projects around the world. Pascale is the 315th living African-American woman registered architect in the U.S. She is an activist architect who works to advance architecture for the betterment of society, bring visibility and voice to the issues concerning women and BIPOC designers. She founded the Beyond the Built Environment organization positioned to uniquely address the inequitable disparities in architecture. Pascale was awarded the 2021 AIA Whitney M. Young. Jr Award for her advocacy efforts and ascended to the AIA College of Fellows, the youngest African American to reach that honor. In 2020, Pascale was voted President-Elect of the National Organization of Minority Architecture (NOMA), the 5th woman to hold this position of leadership.

www.beyondthebuilt.com