Alfred Vidaurri Jr., a Fort Worth architect at the Freese and Nichols firm, is new president of the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards.
Vidaurri, first Latino president in the organization's history, was inducted at its 2021 Annual Business Meeting. Vidaurri will lead the organization that supports the 55 U.S. architectural licensing boards in their mission to protect the public health, safety, and welfare.
“I am honored to be the first Latino president in this organization’s 102-year history,” Vidaurri said in a release. “But I look forward to the day when we no longer have to call out the first, or the second, or the third, but can celebrate the vision of the individual.”
Vidaurri is vice president and principal at Freese and Nichols, and its facilities practice leader.
During his term as the National Council president, Vidaurri will focus on two issues essential to architectural regulation: how the path to earning an architecture license should evolve to meet the needs of the future; and how NCARB can support greater equity, diversity, and inclusion.
Under his leadership, the organization will complete its Analysis of Practice - a profession-wide study that informs changes to NCARB’s programs and services - and continue to develop NCARB and the National Organization of Minority Architects’ joint Baseline on Belonging study, and assessment of next steps.
“As we look toward the future of NCARB, we are faced with several critical opportunities to enact valuable and meaningful change,” Vidaurri said. “I am eager to see NCARB embrace its role in the profession as a voice for diversity, evolution, and forward-thinking development.”
Vidaurri was appointed to the Texas Board of Architectural Examiners in 2004, serving seven years as chair. He served in various regional leadership positions—including chair, vice chair, treasurer, and secretary—before being elected by his peers to NCARB’s national Board of Directors in 2015 as the director of Region 3.
Following his term as regional director, Vidaurri served as treasurer, secretary, second vice president, and first vice president/president-elect of NCARB. Vidaurri began offering his time and expertise to NCARB in 2005 as a member of the Architect Registration Examination Subcommittee.
Vidaurri is a vice president of Freese and Nichols, the first architecture and engineering firm to receive the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. A graduate of the University of Texas at Arlington’s Master of Architecture program, Vidaurri has held numerous positions with various local, community, and state organizations.
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