From the President | Hill Day Recap

NOMA Advocacy Day 

And we were heard. 

To the NOMA family, 

Recently, NOMA leadership joined our partners at the American Institute of Architects on Capitol Hill for a full day of meetings with members of Congress. We came with three priorities, a sharpened message, and one another. We left with commitments, invitations, and a clearer picture of where we go next. 

The headline is simple: members of Congress see our membership as an asset their work and need us to stand up. Office after office, the people who write the rules of this country recognized NOMA architects as policy partners with lived expertise on housing, education, equity, and the built environment. That recognition is hard-won, and it belongs to all of you. 

Who Was in the Room 

NOMA was represented by a leadership delegation drawn including myself, a few members of the Executive Committee, and local NOMA Chapter leadership, working alongside our partners at AIA. We organized into two coordinated teams to expand our reach across the priority offices we needed to engage. 

Who We Met With 

Across the day, the delegation met with members of Congress and senior staff spanning leadership, the Congressional Black Caucus, the House Financial Services Committee, and freshman offices we are proud to begin building long-term relationships with. 

Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member, House Financial Services Committee
A pivotal conversation that “landed the plane.” The Congresswoman offered an inside look at the legislative game and signaled appetite for a future housing bill in the next Congress. She invited NOMA to help shape that legislation, a meaningful long-horizon opening for the organization. 

Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO), Senior Member, House Financial Services Committee
Strong alignment on housing as a “moonshot.” He committed to authoring an op-ed and asked NOMA to provide a parallel piece, with hard numbers, on how Build America, Buy America (BABA) is constraining housing supply. Emphasized the importance of momentum and a coordinated coalition strategy. 

Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-OH), Former CBC Chair
Focused conversation on BABA and housing. Flagged that a bipartisan colleague has a BABA-related amendment moving through the appropriations process. This is an important opening for NOMA and AIA to track and weigh in on. 

Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY), House Financial Services Committee
The most detailed engagement of the day on student debt and the deprofessionalization of architectural education. His office advised NOMA to plan a graduation-tied event, ideally in May, with HBCU students front and center, and offered to coordinate a congressional briefing on the issue. 

Rep. Janelle Bynum (D-OR), Freshman Member of Congress
Strong housing focus and an interest in being engaged at the early stages of policy development. A long-term relationship to cultivate; follow-up materials will be sent to her office. 

Rep. Yassamin Ansari (D-AZ), Freshman Member of Congress
Raised the “moonshot” framing for housing before NOMA brought it up, a strong signal of alignment. Shorter conversation, but receptive and worth deepening as she develops her policy portfolio. 

Rep. Alma Adams (D-NC), Founder, Bipartisan HBCU Caucus
Brief hallway meeting with senior staff. Alignment on HBCU and student-pipeline issues; opportunity to follow up with a more formal meeting and shared programming around STEAM and architectural education. 

Rep. Terri Sewell (D-AL), Senior CBC Member, House Ways and Means Committee
Productive opening meeting with senior staff to set the day’s tone. Strong receptiveness to the broader NOMA agenda and to ongoing engagement. 

What We Brought to the Hill 

• Deprofessionalization & student debt. We made the case that recent moves to reclassify architecture as a non-professional degree threaten the very pipeline of designers our communities depend on, and that student debt for architecture students is a civil rights issue. 

• Build America, Buy America (BABA) & housing. We pressed the point that current BABA implementation is constraining housing supply at the worst possible moment, and offered our practitioners as a resource for crafting workable amendments. 

• A long-horizon housing vision. We previewed a future federal housing framework that puts community-driven design, local procurement, and equitable development at the center. 

What We Heard Back 

Members and staff offered concrete next steps: a congressional briefing on student debt and architectural education, an op-ed on BABA and housing supply, an invitation to help shape the next major housing bill, and a clear ask that we keep the momentum going. One senior member of leadership reminded us that the way to scale is to start local: run pilots in 2 to 3 cities, prove the model, and then write what works into federal law. 

That is exactly what we intend to do. 

What’s Next 

1. A congressional briefing & graduation-tied event in May spotlighting HBCU architecture students and the real cost of deprofessionalization. 
2. An op-ed and research brief on BABA’s impact on housing supply, with hard numbers from our practitioners. 
3. A municipal toolkit and 2–3 city pilot developed with chapters to influence local procurement and community design standards. 
4. Continued coalition work with AIA, the Congressional Black Caucus, and members of Congress who came out of HBCUs and historically underserved districts. 

How You Can Help 

This work does not happen without you. Here are four concrete ways to plug in right now: 

• Tell your project story. If your firm has worked on housing, public buildings, or community projects affected by federal procurement rules, send us your case studies. Numbers and narratives both move the needle. 

• Connect us to your mayor and council. Local relationships are the foundation of federal change. If you have an open door at city hall, let your chapter president know. 

• Engage your local HBCU and architecture school. We are building a coalition of students, alumni, and educators around the deprofessionalization fight. Help us identify champions on your campuses. 

• Show up. Watch for upcoming briefings, regional convenings, and the May event. The more of us in the room, the more undeniable our message becomes. 

A Final Word 

Hill Day is a movement we have been building since 1971, and it is finding new traction in this political moment. The members of Congress we met with did more than hear us. They asked us to come back. They asked us to stay. They asked us to write. 

So we will. 

In solidarity and design, 

Bryan C. Lee Jr., FAIA, NOMA
NOMA President 2025-2026
Design Principal, Colloqate Design
AIA Whitney M. Young Jr. Award Recipient 2025
AIA Equity and the Future of Architecture Committee Member