The panel session will explore the design process that followed the removal of Christopher Columbus status in Columbus, Ohio and how the voices of underrepresented communities have developed a new design process for an unknown outcome. Panelists will share how the inception of a cultural competency committee, representing these diverse communities, spearheaded an engagement process that designed multiple avenues for communities to share their stories, pain, and wishes. The lessons learned from the Reimagining Columbus project offer a new framework for social justice projects, one that replaces a linear process with a circular one more reflective of equitable community engagement and indigenous practice.

Emily will be joined by Amanda Golden, Managing Principal at Designing Local, Tamarah Begay, Design Principal at Indigenous Design Studio + Architecture, and Kimberly Brazwell, CEO and Founder at KiMISTRY.

Learning objectives include:

• Thoughtful and purposeful design of an engagement process to connect with a community represented by diverse groups and inform design direction, specifically indigenous cultural customs and practices.
• Utilizing a community engagement process to define project needs, program, site, and scope.
• Providing an example of a design process to re-contextualize historic monuments and structures to engage multiple perspectives.
• Design that facilitates community healing associated with historic trauma through social engagement which shares values across multiple cultural perspectives.

The panel discussion will be held on the last day of the conference, Friday, May 9 from 3:30 – 5:00 PM.