Michael Leckman, Principal, Diamond Schmitt Architects
Sam Horton, Learning & Development Consultant, Diamond Schmitt Architects

Talk Description
What does it take to consistently develop emerging professionals into great architects and designers? At Diamond Schmitt, that question has led to a deeper challenge: how to scale the judgment and expertise of principals across a growing, distributed team. Traditional approaches—redlines, one-on-one mentoring, in-the-moment feedback—are valuable, but are limited in reach and hard to scale. The firm began exploring a different model: one where knowledge could be captured, shared, and reused to support both learning and design excellence.

In this session, Principal Michael Leckman and Learning & Development Consultant Sam Horton share how Diamond Schmitt is evolving Diamond Schmitt University (DSU) and their Synthesis-powered platform (DSX) into what they describe as a knowledge amplification system. From a firmwide needs analysis that refocused learning on core competencies, to a dual-track model balancing foundational knowledge and creative exploration, to shorter, more targeted content designed for real-world application. Today, leaders can point teams to shared standards of excellence—videos, resources, and guides—and use their time for deeper design conversations, while AI-powered search and knowledge agents make that knowledge easier to access in the flow of work.

The result is a learning system that does more than inform—it extends the reach of expertise across the firm. By continuously evolving how knowledge is captured, delivered, and applied, Diamond Schmitt is building a model for scaling design excellence in an increasingly complex and fast-moving environment.

Speaker Bios
Michael Leckman is Principal with Diamond Schmitt Architects, Co-Chair of the City of Toronto Design Review Panel, past Chair of the Toronto Urban Design Awards, and a Fellow of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada. Since 2017, he has been championing the KA platform as the core of the studio’s digital connective tissue, the heart of continuing education, and an instrument for positive organizational change.

Sam Horton is a Learning and Development Consultant who helped shape Diamond Schmitt University as a firmwide platform for developing technical skill, design acumen, and leadership capacity. Her work has focused on capturing and scaling expertise through DSX, mentorship, and targeted learning experiences. She holds a Certificate in Adult Learning and Development.