On 9 November, the newly expanded Advisory Group (AG) met in-person for the first time at the 2022 CTBUH International Conference “Tall Excellence” in Chicago.

_{James Parakh, Chair of the Assembly addressing the group.}  

The meeting opened with CTBUH Director of Member Engagement, Tracie Moxley, who provided the group with more information on popular key new initiatives developed by CTBUH CEO Javier Quintana de Uña, some of which are scheduled to begin in 2023. All were positively received by the group, with a productive discussion around several of the initiatives.

Next, CTBUH Senior Director of Technology, Brian McLaren, shared a presentation about a new platform that will launch early in 2023 that will allow members to collaborate via online community groups. This platform is widely used to connect members of similar interests, life stage, or location, and encourages engagement with each other and the organization. The AG will be beta testers for activating and using the new platform.

CTBUH staff then handed the meeting over to James Parakh and Mark Borland, Chair and Vice-Chair, respectively, of the Advisory Group. Borland led a robust discussion about the challenges facing the regional chapters, what they need from CTBUH headquarters, and how to better facilitate collaboration and information sharing across the regional groups.

Parakh opened a discussion about the experience the assemblies had preparing for the workshops at this year’s conference and assembly performance since organizing early in the year. Members were interested in having a chance to debrief on the workshops, and also had questions about what the next steps are for their assemblies. Certain core committees will convene in early 2023: Programs; Editorial and Expert Peer Review; and Academic, Teaching and Research.  Engagement will follow thereafter.

The meeting adjourned after 1.5 hours, with the Executive Committee members joining in the last hour of the CTBUH Board of Trustees meeting to provide an overview of the AG progress to date.

The Advisory Group was formed in spring of 2022 and consists of a representative body of assembly and committee chairs, along with leadership from CTBUH’s regional and chapter networks. The AG liaises with the Board of Trustees and encourages prolific member engagement.