Manager of Disaster and Community Assistance | The American Institute of Architects
Paola Capo is Manager of Disaster and Community Assistance at the AIA. She strives to provide architects and communities with the resources they need to create healthier, more sustainable and equitable built environments. In her current role, she divides her time between managing the Disaster Assistance Program (assisting architects and AIA chapters before and after disaster events occur) and supports the Communities by Design program (which matches communities with interdisciplinary expertise to achieve community aspirations). In her time at AIA, Paola has supported several other portfolios related to sustainability and climate action, including the 2030 Commitment program, the Materials Pledge, and the Committee on the Environment, with a focus on building robust programs and resources.
In 2020 she completed IAP2’s Foundations in Public Participation Program, and in 2019 she participated in UC Berkeley’s [IN]City program to expand on her knowledge in urban planning and design. She graduated from Georgetown University in 2017 with a degree in Science, Technology, and International Affairs, concentrating on Energy and the Environment—a degree inspired by the many places she lived growing up as an Army brat.
Courses
Introduction to Design Assistance Teams
When the design assistance team program was created in the 1960s, it pioneered participatory approaches to city building. Over five decades later, the program has established a track record of urban innovation and change that has influenced cities all over the world. Learn how the DAT program has employed one of the most powerful methodologies for urban innovation in the field today – and how its component parts have been adapted and deployed globally for urban transformations. Hosted by Communities by Design (CxD).
Course expires on 12/17/2025