Workplace Advocacy

Upcoming Events:

November, 2026: Mentorship Meet Up

August 6th, 2026: Navigating Neurodivergence in the Workplace

Summary:
Join NOMA PDX's Workplace Advocacy Committee and Judy Katz at the City of Possibility!
Being neurodivergent in a neurotypical-normative workplace can present a host of challenges. These include sensory difficulties, social and communication norms, and workload demands that conflict with many neurodivergents’ need for rest. Added to this, the stress of masking—already higher among marginalized groups—makes decreased performance and burnout not just possible, but likely.
This session will help participants identify your barriers and start to mitigate them. It will also focus on making inroads toward promoting greater neuroinclusivity and neuroaccessibility within your organization.
Speaker:
Judy Katz, owner and founder of Neurodivergent Working, will be the presenter and moderator for this event. Judy helps organizations accommodate neurodivergent differences and leverage neurodivergent strengths all from an authentic neurodivergent perspective.

Past Events:

May 7th, 2026: Out of Architecture: Studio Prepared you for Everything (Except Architecture)

Summary: Architecture school was supposed to train you to design buildings. Instead, it trained you to navigate chaos, synthesize complex information, present evolving ideas with confidence, absorb critique without breaking, and deliver under impossible deadlines.

Here's what no one tells you: those aren't just survival tactics. They're transferable skills that make architects valuable everywhere. Period. Architects are designing systems, products, and strategies - not just buildings.
This talk breaks down the core competencies embedded in architectural training that extend far beyond design. We'll explore why the iterative process - cycling through dozens of ideas to find the right one - is exactly what businesses mean by innovation, and why companies like Apple and Adidas actively recruit architects when they need complex problems solved. We'll close with Q&A and share resources for your own exploration.

Whether you're exploring new directions, leading teams, or reframing your professional value, you'll leave with clarity about what makes architectural thinking unique - and how to communicate your skills across industries. Because understanding your value is the first step to leveraging it, wherever your path leads.

Speaker:

Jake Rudin is a strategy, design and innovation leader with over 15 years of experience in building things from the ground up. Working across a wide variety of company scales, countries, and areas of product (development, digitization, and prototyping), he has delivered manufacturing innovations, commercialized software, grown and scaled multi-city teams, and had a blast doing all of it. Most recently at adidas he was responsible for global teams in Computational Design, Digital Technologies, and Pattern Engineering—developing and implementing cutting-edge solutions for digital product creation, design automation, and data-driven footwear design.

Rudin is also the co-founder and managing partner of Out of Architecture, a career consulting firm that helps creatively-driven architects and designers find roles that challenge and fulfill them. He is passionate about helping others discover and pursue their unique talents and aspirations, and he serves as a mentor, coach, and advisor for several startups, organizations, and individuals in the design and innovation space. Rudin has a diverse background in architecture, design, education, and business, with design degrees from both Harvard and Cornell, as well as an MBA. He has worked around the world as a designer for top firms, taught extensively in the academic field, and co-authored a book on design careers.