BNIMer, Carleigh Pope, attended this year’s NOMA Unplugged International Conference held in Nashville from October 26th – 30th. As the 51st Annual Conference, NOMA invited over 1,000 designers from across the nation to the in-person event in Nashville, and even more designers joined virtually to celebrate the advancements of the community and their impact on the future of architecture and design.

The theme of this year’s conference was intended for designers to ‘unplug’ from their day-to-day work lives. Carleigh participated in four days of seminars, learning about what designers around the country are creating, and how their research and experience have shaped their contributions to the built environment. Carleigh attended key highlights of the conference, including the NOMA & AIA Presidents Panel – where past and future Presidents discussed the relationship between their two organizations – and was able to watch Pascale Sablan take over her role as the new President of NOMA.

“I took part in four days of seminars where there were deep conversations about how we create equitable space, address the past, and move forward. An invaluable part of the conference was access to the range of research being done around the country, and how that knowledge is being translated to the betterment of specific projects and our profession” – Carleigh Pope, Assoc. AIA, NOMA

Following the conference, Carleigh took over the Beyond the Built Instagram account, sharing her story as a young architect and the people and places that have had an impact on her experience in the architectural industry. Beyond the Built is a platform founded by Pascale Sablan, that aims support and advocate for diverse environments by addressing the inequitable disparities in the industry.