AIA|LA MEMBERS IN ACTION:

Questions for Ethel Rubio, Assoc. AIA – Principal/ Owner of Ethel G. Rubio, Assoc. AIA

What motivated you to join the board of the Filipino American Society of Architects and Engineers of Southern California (FASAE-SoCal)?

I first heard about the organization when I started attending the Los Angeles Metro Transportation Business Advisory Council General Meetings in 2018 as a one-year-old small business enterprise looking to work on public sector projects. I made initial inquiries but no one got back to me. Fast forward, and the pandemic happened. I learned that the organization was inactive even after Los Angeles opened for business. There were initial plans to dissolve the organization because of a lack of motivation from past members to continue. That’s when I got fired up and offered my unwavering passion on why it was not the right decision to do that.  A lot of updates needed to take place, including rebuilding the organization’s infrastructure (i.e., its membership and communication processes) and how it recruits new members. 

I have a gift for getting people excited. Excitement is contagious and is key to successfully rebuilding an organization! But you also need to back it up with action. Even when I led a nonprofit, I exceeded donation goals when everyone wanted to give up.

Most importantly, Filipino American professionals in the AEC sector need a space where their work can be amplified and where they can be role models for students and young professionals.

While others might see no hope, I take challenges as an opportunity to envision creative solutions.

I believe this is where my education and training as an architect come into play and show to be advantageous—beginning with the end in mind and being able to effectively communicate out-of-the-box solutions!

I was also motivated by the fact that Filipino American women professionals are under-represented at FASAE SoCal.

How has this involvement shaped your perspective on community engagement and professional development?

I joined FASAE SoCal to give back and not think about what’s in it for me. I saw it as an opportunity to add value to the organization.  I am learning more about the potential of further engagement and mentorship. I believe that becoming the Vice President/ President-Elect of this organization will be most effective in implementing visionary changes!

Please share more info about all of the boards, HPOZs, and neighborhood councils you’re involved with.

I have been reappointed by Mayor Karen Bass in 2023, and I am serving on the LA City Planning Historic Preservation Overlay Zone- Adams-Normandie District Board. I was initially appointed by former City of Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti in 2019. I have been the Board Chair since 2020.

Additionally, I serve on the CMAA SoCal Foundation Fundraising Committee and spearhead its first annual 5K Walk/Run—our goal is to bring the AEC community in this healthy and engaging activity that is inclusive. I am excited that AIA Los Angeles will join!

Lastly, I am on the TBAC Council representing FASAE SoCal and most recently joined the LA Metro Sustainability Council.

Ethel Rubio, Assoc. AIA – Principal/ Owner of Ethel G. Rubio, Assoc. AIA

Ethel Rubio is the Principal/ Owner of Ethel G. Rubio, Assoc. AIA, a climate-conscious consulting firm specializing in project and construction management; strategic outreach and engagement; and sustainability established in 2017. Ms. Rubio is a credentialed ENVISION Sustainability Professional and a certified Trainer delivering sustainability credentialing workshops across the U.S. and globally. Ethel received her Bachelor of Architecture degree from the University of Southern California and has been attending USC BIM BOP since 2018.

Her multi-disciplinary career path that spans over 30 years includes work in the built-environment (architecture/engineering/construction) and nonprofit sectors. She is a charter member of the Sustain or Explain (SOE) Task Force and a contributor to the SOE Toolkit, and a member of the Academic Committee with the Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure.

Born in the Philippines, Ms. Rubio studied architecture at the University of the Philippines in Diliman and completed her Certificate of Architectural Drafting before emigrating to the US in 1986. She received her Bachelor of Architecture degree from the University of Southern California.

She currently serves as the Vice President/ President-Elect and also Treasurer of the Filipino American Society of Architects and Engineers of Southern California (FASAE SoCal). She serves on the LA Metro Transportation Business Advisory Council (TBAC) and was recently confirmed to be part of the LA Metro Sustainability Council.

She served as Past President of the University of the Philippines Alumni Association of Greater Los Angeles (UPAAGLA) and served as a Board Member with the Asian American Architects/ Engineers (AAa/e) Foundation and the Association for Women in Architecture Foundation, the Kalayaan Incorporated and the UPAA in America.

Ms. Rubio is the first Filipina American President of the Association for Women in Architecture (AWA) in 1995. She is the current Chair of the LA City Planning Historic Preservation Overlay Zone (HPOZ) Board for the Adams-Normandie District, appointed by Former Mayor Garcetti in 2019 and re-appointed by Mayor Karen Bass in 2023.

She is a proud mom of a double-degreed Stanford University alumna who now works as a product designer in New York. Ethel and her daughter co-founded Sun Girl Prints, a mission-driven design company that created the #PinayPower shirts to empower Filipina women especially the frontliners during the pandemic.