23rd March 2023

Dear Ely Chapter Members,

Black History Month has ended and Women’s History Month has started, and so, in this moment of reflection, I am asking you to join me as we winnow and sift what it means to be a student and practitioner in the field of land economics and its evolution therein. Our unique interdisciplinary
organization affords a rare opportunity to interrogate the relationship between policy and practice; philosophy and profession. As the first LAI chapter, we can explore this relationship through historic, present, and future lenses. For the past five years, the Board has put intention into using Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) as a guiding principle for our decisions. A DEI Committee was founded in 2019. We learned, empirically, who we are with the 2021 Member Survey (summary attached). Now we look to the future and how we can be of service to our respective professions and the region in which we work.

I am providing a link to the Legacy Committee’s Report and encourage you to read it, give thought to its content and deliberate with us. The intent of sharing the report is to create a shared understanding of our chapter’s history and, specifically, Richard T. Ely’s work. What does it mean for the society, the chapter, and for the members of the future to be in his shadow? How, through our programming and our work, can we be good stewards of the built environment and live up to our oath to exemplify the ideals of
Lambda Alpha?

The board invites you to join us at a series of events, in different settings, to explore these topics:

• Salon: An Equitable Path Forward, Wednesday, April 19th, 5:30 – 8:00p.m.
• A Panel Discussion: Wednesday, July 19th, 12pm
• A Virtual Members-only discussion forum: date and time TBD

I want to express my sincere thanks to the members of the ad hoc DEI committees, the Legacy Committee, and my predecessors for their vision and passion, specifically Chapter Presidents Courtney Kashima, Jennifer Tammen and Richard Wilson. Please do not hesitate to contact me. I welcome and encourage your thoughts and feedback.

Yours sincerely,

Lynsey J. G. Sorrell, AIA, LEED AP, MLAI
Ely Chapter President 2022-2023

VIEW LEGACY REPORT