Wadiah Akbar has been actively involved in the AIA Baltimore community from the beginning of her career. Since her involvement in Civic Lab in 2019, she has risen to become a co-chair of the Emerging Professionals committee, helping reignite participation post-pandemic. Her current role on the AIA Maryland board is allowing her to gain a deeper understanding of the civic responsibilities of architects. As an architect at Quinn Evans, she takes a leadership role in early career recruitment and mentoring, and she regularly engages with local university architecture programs as a guest critic. Wadiah is driven by a commitment to forging connections between various groups to amplify their collective impact, and supporting the next generation of architects.