Marywood Interior Architecture Director Maria MacDonald Selected to Present Keynote at Greater Erie Awards

Maria MacDonald, a practicing interior architect and Program Director of Interior Architecture at Marywood University, will give a keynote presentation at this year’s Greater Erie Awards, sponsored by Preservation Erie, on October 10. In addition to her role at Marywood, Ms. MacDonald also serves as the Executive Director of the Center for the Living City, the only urbanist organization founded by Jane Jacobs.

Ms. MacDonald specializes in adaptive reuse, preservation, and restoration projects, as well as creative civic engagement. With over 25 years of experience, she partners her professional practice with her teaching. Ms. MacDonald has been a team leader for many significant community projects throughout her career. As an educator, her intense focus is on service and community outreach, providing community-based, experiential learning opportunities for her students and the people in the communities where they work.

Ms MacDonald holds degrees in both Architecture and Interior Architecture from the Rhode Island School of Design, where she received the Excellence in Design award for her work on the “Reclamation of Forgotten Spaces.” She is a founding faculty member of Marywood University’s School of Architecture and has served as the Interior Architecture Program Director for the past 15 years. She has successfully guided the program through two full NASAD accreditations. With her integrative, holistic design approach, Ms. MacDonald works to strengthen the relationships between the allied design disciplines and the people and environments where we live, work, play, and, ideally, thrive.

Preservation Erie’s annual Greater Erie Awards acknowledge individuals, businesses, and organizations that are exceptional stewards of the physical and cultural landscape that is Greater Erie and includes a keynote by a distinguished urban planner, historic preservationist, or a similar professional. There are eight recipients of this year’s Greater Erie Awards. The event will be held October 10 at 6 p.m. at the Erie Center for Arts & Technology.