Mary Fitch was working as a DC city planner 16 years ago when a friend was leaving a job running the American Institute of Architects' DC chapter and suggested Mary take over. Since then, she has grown membership 50% and the organization’s community visibility has increased, with educational programs and celebrations like Architecture Week. Some of Mary’s favorite DC buildings include the German Embassy, the US Capitol, and her Adams Morgan house pictured here.

Part of AIA|DC’s transformation started with moving the HQ from a quiet Dupont Circle brownstone to a store front two blocks from the Verizon Center in 2011. Mary says it’s been a gathering spot for members and people curious about architecture. The building also houses the District Architecture Center and classrooms where people take French. Non-architects are lured to the organization with free programs.

One of AIA|DC’s annual community projects is Can-Struction—sculptures of food cans displayed at the National Building Museum that are then taken to Capital Area Food Banks during September when supply is traditionally low. Mary, a San Francisco Bay-area native, says the architecture industry is recovering from the recession and firms are hiring and diversifying. She moved to DC a day after graduating from Berkeley to be with her husband who was working for Congress. Her jobs after landing in DC included selling “free” government documents, working in advertising for Legal Times, and doing city planning for Rockville.