We know that in order to accomplish our mission and to grow, we need to have an effective system of mentorship, knowledge sharing, and continuing education that will assure that emerging professionals in our firm are positioned to become our leaders.  We believe in the spirit and tradition of apprenticeship that is behind the IDP program, and that it is vital to the health of our firm and our profession.   This belief is manifest at our firm in many ways:

Steve Parker, the firm’s founder, has a long-standing, active involvement with the NCARB.  He is currently on the National Board of Directors and served as chairman of the Maryland State Architectural Review Board for many years.  He is the Maryland Representative to the National Council of Architectural Registration.  Steve has challenged us to become the IDP Firm of the Year. We maintain strong relationships with the local schools of architecture – we sponsor scholarships and employ as many as 5 architecture students at a time.  These relationships help us to stay attuned to the expectations and concerns of emerging professionals. Our projects are executed by teams that stay together from programming and design through occupancy.  The teams are led by highly experienced registered architects and are structured such that there is a vital role to be played by emerging professionals under the mentorship of registered professionals and according to IDP guidelines. We have an IDP Coordinator who assures that all emerging professionals at Grimm + Parker know, understand, and are engaged in the process of becoming a registered architect.  We pay the fees required for the IDP process.  We pay for every passed exam and we pay a portion of the annual fees for membership in professional associations.