Elected to the AIA Strategic Council: A New Chapter of National Service

Darguin Fortuna, AIA, has been elected the 2027–2029 At-Large Representative to the AIA Strategic Council, the American Institute of Architects' national body charged with long-range thinking on the future of the profession. He will serve the term alongside fellow At-Large Representative Jeff Jeno, AIA.

The Strategic Council advises AIA's Board of Directors on the long-term direction of the Institute, giving Council members a direct hand in shaping national policy and priorities for the architecture profession. The election caps a campaign period that ran July 15 through August 2, 2026, with voting held August 3–4 and results announced August 5.

This new role builds on Darguin's long record of AIA volunteer leadership, including his current term as Chair of the AIA Small Firm Exchange and years of service on committees supporting small firms and young architects. It's national recognition for a voice that has always argued that the concerns of small, independent, and minority-owned practices deserve a seat at the table — and now that seat is his.

It's been a full year of national service taking shape at once: alongside the Strategic Council seat, Darguin has spent 2026 chairing the AIA Small Firm Exchange and, this fall, joining the ALX100 Class of 2026. Taken together, the throughline is the same one he brings to every table — architecture works better when the people practicing it, and the firms they build it inside of, actually look like the communities they serve.