Advocating for Yourself - Judith Vazquez AIA, NOMA, NCARB
Project Architect III with BKV Group

Sponsored by
AIAWHV 2025 Latinos in Architecture

Date:  October 16, 2025
Time:  1:00 pm - 2:00 pm
Venue: Zoom
Price:  AIA Free || Associate AIA Free || Students Free || Non member Free, Registration Required.

The course is intended to help the audience learn about hesitation, when to say yes, when to say no, and pushing through to ensure you're doing the best for yourself within the professional world. They will learn to advocate for themselves.

Learning Objectives

Career path - Learn what different options there are within the industry and realize you don't have to choose immediately. It can be overwhelming but finding the right mentors and learning more about what makes you excited and curious will be key.

Finding the right opportunities - Once you realize what you want to do, it's time to do some research. There are databases for events within AIA, NOMA, local architecture organizations - but consider industry events and other opportunities not related. We intersect with consultants, contractors, and other industries all the time. We can learn from them just as equally as they can from us.

Promote yourself - Being Latina, we are taught to be humble and respect our elders. Both of these things work against us in the professional world. Obviously, always have respect for your superiors, but speak up. It's not the same as not being able to say no to your abuela. You need to be able to find your voice and showcase your talents.

Grow your audience and community - Keep in touch with your friends and community often. Make calendar reminders to grab lunch or coffee with them a few times out of the year so you never lose track. When you meet someone while networking, do the same. These connections and instances will be a good habit to keep and something they will eventually remember and look forward to.

Judith Vazquez Smith is a licensed architect from Dallas, Texas with a combined 10 years of experience. Originally from the Rio Grande Valley in South Texas, Judith went on to receive a Bachelors in Art from Baylor University and a Masters in Architecture from the University of Pennsylvania. She currently works as Project Architect III with BKV Group and holds the position of Chair of Latinos in Architecture in Dallas. Through LIA Dallas, she has been able to be a speaker at the Texas Society of Architects Conference, presenter at various AIA Dallas' events, and participant in workshops within AIA National and Texas Society of Architects. As chair, she has been working to champion the local community and engage Latino leaders to be more involved within the architecture organization and within their own local firms, while advocating to bring up the next generation of leaders. Out of architecture, she is involved with local AEC groups, such as Ladies in CRE, CREW, and most recently - Toastmasters (led by TEXO - Texas Chapter of the Associated Builders & Contractors).