Annelise Pitts

ABOUT ANNELISE

Annelise is a passionate architect, researcher, and advocate for justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion (JEDI). She is a renowned thought leader on JEDI in architectural practice.

At Cameron MacAllister Group, Annelise works collaboratively with clients to build a more just, equitable, diverse and inclusive profession, one firm at a time. She believes that JEDI initiatives are most effective when deeply rooted in an organization’s culture and values and enjoys getting to know her clients and tailoring her approach to their unique goals and circumstances. Whether conducting EDI assessments, facilitating workshops, or guiding planning and change management processes, she brings empathy and understanding to her work, encouraging her clients to explore challenging subjects from a place of openness and curiosity.

Annelise is a frequent public speaker who shares findings and evidence-based strategies for taking action to promote a more just and equitable profession at conferences and workshops worldwide. She is also the research chair for Equity by Design and leads the Equity in Architecture Research Project, where she helps them explore equity in architectural practice through national surveys on architectural professionals’ career perceptions, experiences, and aspirations.

She is also a member of the organizing team for the Equity by Design Symposium, which gathers thought leaders in JEDI worldwide to engage with innovative ideas and develop a shared agenda for advancing JEDI in architectural practice. Pitts has also served on the AIA’s Equity & the Future of Architecture Committee, advising on the development of the AIA Guides for Equitable Practice.

PUBLISHED WORK

• No Architect is an Island: The Agency-Communality Spectrum and the Construction of Professional Identity in Architecture, article, The Plan Journal, April 2019
• Equity by Design: Voices, Values, Vision, report, February 2019
• Equity as a New Paradigm for Design Practice” in Women [Re]Build: Stories, Polemics Futures, book, Applied Research & Design, 2019

PROFESSIONAL AND INDUSTRY PRESENTATIONS

• International Women’s Day 2021 #ChooseToChallenge, AIANY Women in Architecture Committee, 2021
• Key Findings from the 2018 Equity in Architecture Survey, Equity by Design: Voices, Values Vision, AIA San Francisco, 2018
• Key Findings from the 2016 Equity in Architecture Survey, Equity by Design: Metrics, Meaning, Matrices, AIA San Francisco, 2014