2020
Speaker // Donna Carter
Donna Carter, far left, for Austin Woman 2017 Interview.
November 18, 2020
Wednesday // 12:00 – 1:30pm
Donna Carter, FAIA needs little introduction in our community of architects, designers, and planners, but for those who may be less familiar, we’d like to share with you a little bit about her from our Empower Speaker Series inaugural event where she was our featured speaker along with Charlton Lewis as moderator.
Donna is a Texas Registered Architect and Interior Designer and is certified by the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards. Donna received her BA from Yale University, studied as a Ford Foundation Scholar at the American University in Cairo, Egypt and received her Master of Architecture from the University of California at Berkeley.
Donna has led a practice focused on combining revitalization, historic preservation, urban planning and design with new construction within the context of complete and sustainable communities.
DONNA D. CARTER, FAIA is President of CARTER DESIGN ASSOCIATES, an architectural, planning and restoration firm in Austin, Texas. During her tenure in Austin, Ms. Carter's civic activities include service on numerous planning and development city task force committees and commissions. She has authored several master plan, urban design and preservation guideline documents. She also co-chaired a community led down growth and vision implementation effort that culminated in the publishing of RUDAT A Call… to Action. Ms. Carter has served on many professional, civic and social service related boards, including her appointment to the Texas Historical Commission, her service on the state Antiquities Advisory Board and her tenure on the board of Friends of the Texas Historical Commission. She is a past Fellow of the Center for Heritage Conservation at Texas A&M University.
As a civic leader she has held volunteer and board positions for non profit health care providers and social service advocates since 1986, serving in board and board appointed positions for Ascension Health and Seton Family of Hospitals from 1996 until 2016 and Austin ECHO (Ending Chronic Homelessness) from its inception until 2017. Her healthcare work involved clinical quality, best practices and community health initiatives and used that experience in developing supportive housing initiatives. She has recently finished her term on the board of Huston Tillotson University and currently serves on the board of AIA Austin.
Carter Design Associates has received numerous design and preservation awards including a TxA Design Award and a Preservation Texas Design Award for the Restoration of the Texas and Pacific Terminal Waiting Room in Fort Worth. Ms. Carter has written several papers on sustainability policy, preservation, cultural tourism and cultural stewardship. She has lectured on Urban Ecology, Site Planning Strategies for Sustainable Design, and Preservation, Revitalization, and Cultural Tourism as Keys to Economic Development especially in underserved communities. She has provided keynote addresses at several preservation and heritage tourism conferences speaking on the importance of historic preservation for the African-American community.
Personal Recognition
2003: Texas Society of Architects’ James D. Pfluger Community Service Award
2010: Austin AIA John V. Nyfeler Community Service Award
2010: Elevated to the AIA College of Fellows
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