BROOKINGS – Angela Boersma will be awarded the 2018 Mayor’s Generational Leadership Award, which recognizes the importance of young leaders who make a community vibrant and dynamic.
The Mayor’s Generational Leadership Award was created in 2014, and past recipients include Scott Meyer, Jennifer Johnson, Leah Brink, Amanda Quam and Thomas Fishback.
The award will be presented at a reception held from 5-7 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 30, at the McCrory Gardens Education & Visitor Center in conjunction with the ABLE Awards for Accessibility, Mayor’s Sustainability Awards, the Butler Human Rights Award, Human Rights Commission’s Youth Ally Awards, and the Mayor’s Awards for Historic Preservation.
The event is open to the public.
Boersma grew up outside of Pipestone, Minnesota, and made her way to South Dakota State University as an undergraduate to study interior design and business/economics, followed immediately by her graduate studies in architecture at the University of Minnesota. She spent time both studying abroad and engaging locally throughout her student career.
Following her graduate work, Boersma was welcomed back to Brookings and SDSU in 2009 as a faculty member in the interior design program, where she served in various roles ranging from instructor to program coordinator for six years.
All the while, Boersma worked to finish her architectural licensing requirements and became a licensed architect in 2015. After several years of working with Mills Construction as its lead architect and interior designer, she opened her own firm, ID8 Architecture, this past spring.
In addition to her architectural pursuits, Angela has also been a professional photographer since 2006 and has owned and operated Rae Studios for the past 12 years.
While teaching at SDSU, Boersma was especially engaged with student mentoring and professional development opportunities and was an event co-chair for DVAGI (Design and Visual Arts Group, Inc.) from 2009-2014 to help raise funds for student scholarships in the design and visual arts disciplines.
She advocated for and led student travel studies to Italy and New York, and led the program’s cultural studio in Pine Ridge, where she collaborated with local tribal and community leaders to help students understand the role design can play in community development efforts.
Boersma also served as the faculty adviser for the interior design student organization and served on the task force that provided the foundation for the creation of the School of Design at SDSU.
As a result of her interests in architecture and community development, Boersma has been heavily involved in Brookings volunteer boards and commissions that directly relate to the built environment, including her current role as chair of the Brookings Historic Preservation Commission, and significant contributions as an active and dedicated member of the Comprehensive Master Plan Advisory Committee and Affordable Housing Task Force.
Boersma was named a 2016 Prairie Business Journal 40 under 40 honoree, was a 2016 Leadership Brookings graduate, and has been selected as member of the 2018-2019 Leadership South Dakota class. In January 2019, Boersma will put those skills to use as she takes office as a Brookings County commissioner.
Beyond her commitment to the community, Boersma has also worked diligently to serve her profession and has been recognized for those efforts on the state and national level.
She has served on the American Institute of Architects South Dakota Legislative & Advocacy committee since 2015 and was recently selected by AIA National as one of approximately 30 “champions” across the country to receive grant funding and training for the AIA’s national Blueprint for Better initiative. She was also honored as one of two delegates to represent South Dakota at the National AIA State Government Network conference this year.
“Boersma is admired for how hard she works, how passionate she is about a cause, and how authentic is her real desire to impact change and give back to the community,” according to a press release from the City of Brookings. “Boersma has mentored students in the past as an instructor at SDSU, and more recently as a guest lecturer and mentor within her company. Hundreds of students have benefitted from her teaching. For younger generations to see how much effort and attention Boersma puts into the causes she cares about is tremendously valuable to their development. Younger people need accessible role models to emulate.”
The press release continues, “Through these roles, Boersma has shown time and again that she cares about the future of this community. Boersma not only participates in these community projects, but she prepares, researches, presents, discusses and negotiates. She positively impacts those around her through her knowledge and expertise, along with her ability to engage in productive conversations.”
The Mayor’s Generational Leadership Award is given to a community member who has affected the community in the following ways:
• Positively changes how we think about our community and city
• Helps Brookings attract and retain young professionals and families
• Motivates new generations to be active in their communities
• Contributes to the advancement and well-being of the community through service in areas such as: education, sports, fund-raising, charitable and voluntary service, economic development, arts and the environment.
Nominations open July of each year. Individuals must be nominated before their 36th birthday, and all nominations will be kept on file and active for the award for two years.
Courtesy photo
