CKLDP St. Louis Mission Statement: Empowering architects through a peer-led leadership development program that cultivates the sharing of experiences, knowledge, and skills, while promoting the growth and advancement of each individual as a leader in the region.
Overview: Beginning in 2013, the AIA|DC chapter undertook an initiative to develop a program which would help train and nurture the next generation of leaders. With the success of the program in DC and other AIA Chapters, the Christopher Kelley Leadership Development Program expanded to St. Louis in 2021.
The year-long CKLDP program consists of nine individual half-day sessions attended by a competitively selected group of 16 emerging professionals (an emerging professional is defined as someone who has graduated from college with an architecture degree and is within 10 years of their first licensure). Prospective participants must go through an application process for selection, where proven career success, community involvement, and the individual’s firm/agency support will be considered.
Curriculum: The curriculum focuses on core professional skills such as entrepreneurship and firm management; negotiating skills; client development; community leadership; understanding trends within the industry; and developing your future within the practice. The selected scholars to the leadership program are responsible for planning and participating in each of the individual sessions. The program begins with a “Boot Camp” session to introduce the participants to each other, the program and to kick-off the curriculum for the year.
Sessions will be held monthly from 12:00pm – 5:00pm, September through May. For a list of tentative session dates and topics: Click Here
Tuition: Tuition for AIA Members is $460; non‐AIA member tuition is $560. AIA St. Louis may choose to offer tuition assistance to individuals that may be from small firms that would otherwise not be able to participate. The amount and number of tuition assistance will be at the discretion of the Selection Committee. If you require tuition assistance, please see instructions in the application link below.
To pay your tuition online: Click Here
AIA Membership: While a preference will be given to applicants who are AIA St. Louis members, AIA membership is not mandatory for scholars and we encourage all emerging professionals, regardless of membership status, to apply.
Required Commitment to the Program: The program’s success is directly related to the attendance by the participants and therefore attendance is mandatory. Fees or expulsion will result from absenteeism. All participants must review, sign, and upload the CKLDP Attendance Agreement Form during the application process. To download the form: Click Here
AIA Continuing Education: It is intended that this program will have AIA CE credit made available for its participants. A minimum of 16 CEU’s will be provided.
Application Process: Individuals may be nominated by their firm or can nominate themselves and will be selected on the basis of a written application, recommendations, and resume. The sixteen (16) successful applicants will represent a diverse group of emerging professionals that demonstrate a strong potential as future leaders in our region. The application process is not intended to be exhaustive, but is intended to be competitive and should not be taken lightly. Throughout the application process, candidates are encouraged to emphasize their previous leadership experience, explain what expertise they intend to provide to the program, and clarify how they intend to utilize the skills learned through the program.
Application Details
- Call for Applications: Applications open at 11:00 (CT) on May 1st, 2025
- Application Workshop and Happy Hour (optional): This will be held June 5th, 2025 from 5:30-7:00PM at The Resource Center @ AIA St. Louis located at 911 Washington Ave #100, St. Louis, MO 63101. This workshop will be hosted by members of the CKLDP Committee and allow candidates to ask questions about what to include and what not to include within their application. Interested candidates are encouraged to attend this event. Attendance at this event is NOT mandatory for applications and will hold no merit on acceptance into the program.
- Application Deadline: Applications with associated letters, forms, and resumes must be submitted by
July 11th, 2025 EXTENDED to July 18th at 6:00PM CT to be eligible. - Zoom Interview: Selected applicants will participate in a 15-minute virtual interview with the selection committee to discuss in more detail their interest in the program.
- Notification of Acceptance: Candidates will be notified of their selection to participate in the program by August 8th,2025.
- All accepted scholars are encouraged to attend the welcome happy hour on August 21st, 2025.
- List of required documents to be uploaded with application
- Letter of Interest – all candidates are asked to submit a letter of interest stating why they are interested in participating in the program and what they hope to gain from the experience
- Letters of Nomination/Recommendation – candidates may be nominated by others or be self-nominated. If an applicant is nominated by someone else, the letter of nomination may count towards the recommendation requirement. Each application must include a minimum of one and maximum of three, letter(s) of recommendation. It is in the best interest of the applicant to provide only strong letters of support/recommendation.
- Personal Resume – including applicant’s education, employment history, organizations or activity involvement, and honors and awards. Resumes should be no more than two pages and uploaded in PDF format.
- Agreement Form – completed, signed, and uploaded in PDF format. To download the form: Click Here
Click here to access the application
We suggest that you review the application and the requirements before filling it out. There is the ability to save your form for editing later as well.
Honoring Christopher Kelley: Christopher Kelley, AIA was an active member of the DC architectural community and suddenly passed away in May of 2012. He was a respected leader within the Institute as well as within Gensler’s Washington office. Through his volunteer efforts, he participated and contributed to initiatives and programs that have had a positive impact on emerging professionals at different stages of their careers. In 2010 Christopher was honored with the AIA Young Architects Award for which the jury stated, “Christopher has proven himself a young leader within and around the AIA, a real example for other young professionals.” This program is intended to continue his legacy of leadership and activism.
CHAIR – Christina Brown, AIA – ckldp.stl@gmail.com
VICE-CHAIR – Thomas Bahr, AIA
PAST-CHAIR – Abigael Weller, AIA
Session Summaries:
Session 1 - Working Together
Previous Session Summaries
Session Summary - Entrepreneurship & Management: Click Here
Session Summary - Community Engagement: Click Here
Session Summary - Closing the Deal: Click Here
Session Summary - Trending Now: Click Here
Thank you to our Benefactor Sponsors
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