AIA Tennessee’s Early-career Professional Friendly Firm Award Program recognizes firms from across the state who are not only implementing best practices when it comes to supporting emerging professionals and young architects but who are intentionally cultivating environments for personal and professional growth and creating solutions tailored to their firm’s needs and values.
This year’s jury is made up of individuals from across the country, each bringing their unique experiences and insights to the process. Our jury includes:
- Mi Zhang, AIA, Director at the New York City School Construction Authority
- Gabriella Bermea, AIA, NOMA, Senior Associate at Perkins Eastman in Austin, Texas
- Cara Wagner, AIA, Architect at M1DTW Architects in Detroit
- Tanya Kataria, AIA, Project Architect at INTEGRUS in Seattle
- Yangsun Lim, Associate AIA, Architectural Designer at Circular in Brooklyn, New York
The trend of the past few years continued, with our jury having a difficult time selecting the award winners from such an excellent group of participants. The deciding factors came down to a firm’s active engagement of early career professionals in the development of firm culture and programs, dedication to expanding and supporting a diverse talent and leadership pipeline, intentional mentoring, and clear paths for career advancement and professional growth.
2026 Outstanding Early-career Professional Friendly Firms
2026 Early-career Professional Friendly Firms
