#38 - Community Engagement with Siboney Diaz-Sanchez

Siboney is Enterprise Rose Fellow in the Boston area.  She
works to understand how architecture and design can best serve
communities.  She is licensed as an architect in the state
of Texas. From 2015-2017 Siboney served as Zoning Commissioner
for District 1 in San Antonio.  Most recently she helped
complete a 63,000 square foot new construction facility for
ChildSafe, a non-profit children's advocacy center while at
Overland Partners. In San Antonio, Siboney dedicated her time to
various non-profit arts organizations including the SAY Si Board
of Directors, VIA Metropolitan Transit Community Council and the
City of San Antonio Arts, Culture and Heritage Committee. She was
a founding member and co-chair of the AIA San Antonio Latinos in
Architecture Committee that advocated for multi-generational
mentorship in design professions.  She is currently working
at Opportunity Communities, a community development
corporation.  Her work for the next two years will focus on
affordable housing development and community building because
they are inherently connected.


Siboney received her B.Arch from Cornell University.  She
insists that creative fields are viable vehicles for social
change and is committed to prioritizing community voices in
design processes.


 


In this episode, we talk about:


Siboney’s experience in architecture school, and the problem
with the curriculum

How Siboney was raised to question what narratives are
prioritized

Siboney’s work with the AIA San Antonio Latinos in
Architecture Committee

The importance and power of being able to enter a space in
which you feel welcomed

The systems aren’t broken - they are working exactly how they
were intended to

Siboney’s experience so far at OppCo as a Rose Fellow

On learning the right language to challenge real estate
developers

The responsibility that comes with creating space



You can read Siboney’s Op-Ed in ARCHITECT magazine here.