EQUITY. DIVERSITY. INCLUSION: An Inspiring Message from AIA New Jersey Member David Sepúlveda, Associate AIA

September 17, 2018

EQUITY. DIVERSITY. INCLUSION:

An Inspiring Message from

AIA New Jersey Member

David Sepúlveda, Associate AIA

My name is David Sepúlveda and I bring more than 18+ years of experience to architecture, urbanism & artistic exploration. I am currently an owner/ partner at Gidich + Sepúlveda Architecture and a professor at the New York School of Interior Design. I am the first generation born in the United States and currently reside in New Jersey.

Growing up with deep Colombian family roots, I have always been very proud to call myself Hispanic but equally as proud to call myself an American. My grandfather, Guillermo Sepúlveda, who was a journalist, writer, activist and poet gave me at an early age the desire to create and the capacity to dream. He, as well as my parents Guillermo Sepúlveda Jr. & Luz Estella Bedoya, instilled in us that being successful did not mean you were the wealthiest or the most liked but that you live a rich life where giving meant more than taking. I owe this greatly to my mother who once said, “juntos lo tenemos todo”; which means “together we have it all”.

One professional example of this that I am proud of is the recent project awarded to our office for the historical preservation and restoration of a church that was designed and built by one of the original founders of the AIA, Richard Upjohn. The church previously named St. Mark’s Episcopal Church located in West Orange, NJ was originally built in 1828 but suffered a massive fire in 2016 that left the interior practically disintegrated. This project is a great example of how in architecture you can preserve a historically significant building but bring a sense of community and a new Hispanic congregation together.

Through the love of my family, my education at NYIT and the guidance provided by the AIA, I have set goals not only for myself but for those who need our expertise. We should try to give more than we take because at the end, buildings are nothing without the people who inhabit them.

Best Regards,

David Sepúlveda, Associate AIA/ LEED

By Stacey Ruhle Kliesch, AIA, AIA NJ Advocacy Consultant | Posted in AIA-NJ News, Architects League of Northern New Jersey, Associates, Diversity, EquityInArchitecture, Historic Resources | Tagged: #AIANJ, #AIANJHispanicLatinx, #architects, #Architecture, #Columbian, #DavidSepulvedaAssociateAIA, #diversity, #EDI, #equity, #HispanicHeritageMonth, #Inclusion, #NYIT, #RichardUpjohnFAIA, #St.Mark'sEpiscopalChurch, Gildich&Sepulveda | Comments (0)