2012 Fellows - Royal Architectural Institute of Canada

Naomi Minja
Naomi Minja is well known to architects in Canada’s Prairie Provinces. Her
contribution to the profession during her tenure with the Alberta Association of
Architects from 1999 to 2007, first as Director of Communications and then as
Executive Director, continues to generate positive benefit.
Naomi’s leadership played a critical role in helping transform the governance
and profile of the profession. During her tenure she led many initiatives aimed
at raising the profile of architecture and its level of excellence. These included
building the AAA’s biannual Banff Session into an internationally recognized forum
for architectural discourse, transforming the AAA’s awards program into the triprovincial
Prairie Design Awards, editing elevationWEST © , a quarterly magazine of
the prairie province associations, and participation in the organization of the 2005
RAIC Festival of Architecture in Edmonton. Naomi was also a founding member
of the Committee for the Examination for Architects in Canada (ExAC).
Naomi’s architectural career has spanned across Canada offering a uniquely well
rounded appreciation of the needs of contemporary architectural practice. She
has worked in Quebec, Saskatchewan, Nova Scotia, and Alberta and obtained
postsecondary degrees in Manitoba (Bachelor of Environmental Studies, University
of Manitoba) and Nova Scotia (Bachelor Environmental Design Studies and Master
of Architecture, Technical University of Nova Scotia). Most recently, Naomi’s role
took her across Canada to DIALOG’s offices in Ontario, British Columbia, and
Alberta. This national exposure and the understanding it has afforded have been
instrumental in shaping Naomi’s unique commitment to our profession and her
effectiveness in helping advance it.
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