Investiture into the CSC College of Fellows honours a member's achievements and contributions to the profession and the association. The College of Fellows is composed of members who have demonstrated outstanding and exemplary professionalism, exceptional scholarly contribution, leadership and distinguished service to the profession and the broader design + construction community.
The nomination process requires that a letter of support for the candidate's nomination to the College be provided by seven members representing no less than three chapters. Of the seven members, three must be members of the College.
We are honoured to announce that David A. Graham of the Calgary Chapter has been nominated and elected to the College of Fellows.
David A. Graham
David has been, and remains, a significant and conspicuous contributor to CSC and its members for more than two decades.
Since joining the Edmonton Chapter of CSC in 2003, David has consistently been highly engaged as a participating leader, instructor, and mentor. His journey with CSC began with regular attendance at Edmonton Chapter meetings and continues to this day as Immediate Past President of the Executive Council.
David’s first significant contributions to CSC could be considered his regular attendance and chapter volunteerism in Edmonton while he started his professional practice as a specification writer and also instructed architectural technology at NAIT. During this time he was able to inform new industry professionals about the benefits and value of CSC, encouraging them to consider CSC participation as they graduated and embarked on their careers. The longstanding strength of the Edmonton Chapter suggests many of them listened.
As his career progressed and took him to Calgary and then Vancouver Island, his active chapter participation continued. David continued to build his professional specification practice while also serving as a Design Mentor for the RAIC Syllabus Program. During these years he continued to champion CSC membership and participation, building a network of industry colleagues through his practice and the architectural community, with CSC being the common connection.
It was his move to Vancouver Island in the late 2000’s that provided the circumstances that allowed David to participate and lead in something infrequent and relatively rare for CSC; the formation of a new chapter. Working with Susan Morris, Kelly Sawatzky and Grace Bergen, David took a lead role in reaching out to industry to raise local awareness of CSC and its contributions to industry, with particular attention to the architectural community of which he was, and is, a respected member.
Initially, David assumed the role of Architectural Liaison for the Vancouver Island Chapter, connecting with local firms to engage with CSC events and programs helping to grow our membership and introduce younger members to CSC. He also served as the inaugural VAI Chapter Education Officer, and he personally instructed several of the first “in person” offerings of the PCD and CCA courses on Vancouver Island. This was particularly important for CSC members and prospects in our region for two reasons. One, there had never previously been the opportunity for architectural, engineering and construction community members to participate in CSC courses without costly travel off Vancouver Island; and two, we ultimately recognized our first cohort of “island grown” CCCAs stemming from these courses.
During this time David was professionally engaged with other CSC members in Victoria and across the country. Locally, he was a sounding board and provided mentorship for members as they grew into their careers, helping them navigate the AEC industry and themselves grow into CSC leaders; including Chris George who is now a Principal with RDH Engineering and the Director of the Vancouver Island Chapter. Another example is Grace Bergen, who worked with David to form the Vancouver Island Chapter. Espousing the CSC values of collaboration and education, she gained her CCCA designation and grew her construction business and recognition such that she sits on the Board of the Canadian Homebuilders Association and was recently appointed to the National Building Code of Canada Accessibility Committee. She also served as a CSC Director.
Nationally, David was and is a contributing member of a western-Canadian network of independent specification writers, where he engages with other CSC members to support one another in their professional practices.
As the years passed, David went on to serve in the role of VAI Chapter Chair, and then VAI Chapter Director. During this time, he continued to support the VAI Chapter with mentorship and outreach efforts and helped to coordinate events and CSC courses while he served on CSC’s Board of Directors.
As his term as VAI Chapter Director ended, and in recognition of his service and contributions while on the Board, David was encouraged to put his name forward for consideration to serve on CSC’s Executive Council. In 2019 David was elected as the 4th Vice President of CSC, beginning a journey of national service which culminated in a term as CSC President from 2023-2024.
During his term on the Executive Council, David brought infectious enthusiasm to the journey, working with several members of the council to place a special focus on mentorship. This culminated during his year as Immediate Past President with the development of a new Mentorship Program which is to be led by the College of Fellows.
