The current and two past AIA NJ Women in Architecture chairs will be live at New York Build 2026 to present an exciting new workshop, “Resilience is your Superpower: Being Human in Uncertain Times.”
Presenters
Erin Sharp-Newton, M.Arch, Associate AIA, Chair, AIA NJ WIA
Stacey Ruhle Kliesch, AIA, NJ CID, LEED AP, Chair, AIA NJ Equity in Architecture Committee
Elina Shchervinsky, AIA, NCARB, LEED AP
The New York Build Expo 2026 will take place on March 18–19, 2026, at the Javits Center in New York City. As the largest construction and design show in the Tri-State area, it runs from 9:30 AM to 4:30 PM each day, featuring over 550 speakers, 550 exhibitors, and 45,000+ attendees. The workshop presented by AIA NJ Women in Architecture leaders is offered on the 19th.
Registration and attendance are FREE! This event provides an EXPO of vendors, industry networking and educational seminars across two days.
Workshop Description
In an era of rapid automation and technical complexity, our most personal and human traits of empathy, intuition, and social sensitivity can become our greatest professional assets. This workshop focuses on championing life and lived experience as a “Superpower” for the modern AEC professional and industry stakeholder.
Led by Erin Sharp-Newton, M.Arch, Associate AIA, (Chair, AIA NJ WIA), in collaboration with Stacey Ruhle Kliesch, M.Arch, MS Mgmt, AIA, NJ CID, LEED AP (Chair, AIA NJ Equity in Architecture Committee) and Elina Shchervinsky, AIA, NCARB, LEED AP (Expert Forensic Architecture, LLC), this interactive session pivots from technical rigidity to explore how AEC professionals and vendors can embrace and harness humanness to their advantage.
The session explores both the gritty realities of market volatility, burnout, and disruption alongside high-level emotional intelligence (EQ). Rather than focusing solely on design deliverables, we explore human-centric professionalism as a survival strategy for clients, firms and individuals alike. Through a blend of behavioral health insights, investigation, and personal narratives, the presenters create an environment for moving from reactive problem-solving to proactive flourishing.
Attendees will leave with an action plan to sustain their salutogenic health, professional value, and passion for built and experienced environments.
AIA Learning Objectives (1 HSW LU)
After attending this workshop, attendees will be able to:
1: Identify how our environments trigger physiological stress and explore ways to support the mental health and welfare of individuals and ourselves.
2: Apply the skills of emotional intelligence and open communication to create robust collaboration, while reducing human error and enhancing safety protocols across the AEC industry.
3: Develop strategies to integrate resiliency skills, such as empathy and ethical reasoning, into daily practice to ensure professional and personal sustainability during times of volatility.
4: Formulate a personal resilience plan using techniques and strategic professional positioning to mitigate the health-eroding effects of burnout and uncertainty.
