About

Global Leaders Committed to Eliminating Forced Labor

In the fall of 2020, Grace Farms Foundation’s CEO and Founder Sharon Prince launched the Design for Freedom movement to design and build more humanely. Design for Freedom reimagines architecture by raising awareness and inspiring responses to disrupt forced labor in the building materials supply chain.

Within a short time, Design for Freedom and its Working Group has raised global awareness and created institutional responses through media, high-level events such as the Design for Freedom Summit, and international Pilot Projects including the Black Chapel by Theaster Gates (21st Serpentine Pavilion, U.K.) and Nina Cooke John’s Harriet Tubman Monument (Newark, NJ).

This select group of more than 100 leaders is spearheading a radical paradigm shift and mobilizing the full ecosystem of the built environment.

 

Comprising nearly 80 acres of natural landscapes in New Canaan, CT, Grace Farms is free and open to the public six days a week for indoor and outdoor activities for intergenerational audiences. Opened in 2015, Grace Farms is home to nature trails, restored meadows, and a diverse natural habitat that invites exploration and reflection. Additionally, it is the site of the internationally recognized, architecturally significant River building, designed by the Pritzker-prize winning firm SANAA. The River building, which is nestled into the landscape, features five separate glass-encased volumes that create stunning 360-degree views as well as diverse opportunities for visitors to experience the spaces. The volumes are the venue for public programs all year long that highlight and deepen connections to the work we do here. At Grace Farms, visitors can explore nature trails, come together for a meal, enjoy a moment of peace, and appreciate the architecture of the River building, all in a single day.

Design for Freedom Working Group Members

(as of May 2023)

Abernathy, Jane | Humanscale, Chief Sustainability Officer

Allen, Cindy | Interior Design, Editor-in-Chief

Amann, Keith | WSP, Vice President

Baan, Iwan | Photographer and Published Author

Berke, Deborah, FAIA, LEED AP | Yale School of Architecture, Dean, and Deborah Berke Partners, Founder

Bernstein, Phillip, FAIA, RIBA, LEED AP | Yale School of Architecture, Associate Dean and Professor Adjunct

Bergmann, Kai-Uwe, FAIA | BIG, Partner

Best, Rebecca | Material Bank, VP Sustainability & Market Engagement

Bevan, Annie | Mindful Materials, Executive Director

Bradley, Paul | Lendlease (U.S.), Global Supply Chain Manager

Bronet, Frances | Pratt Institute, President

Cabanos, Victoria | Stuart Lynn, Managing Principal/CEO

C.deBaca, Luis, Amb. (ret.) | Former U.S. Ambassador-at-Large to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons

Childress, James | Centerbrook Architects, Principal

Clemence, Paul | Architectural Photographer and Author

Cook, Rick | COOKFOX Architects, Founding Partner

Cooke John, Nina | Founder and Principal, Studio Cooke John Architecture + Design

Coppedge, Susan, Amb. (ret.) | Former U.S. Ambassador-at-Large to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons & Krevolin & Horst

Crawford, Jill | Type A Projects, Founding Partner

Crosbie, Michael, Ph.d, FAIA, University of Hartford, Professor 

Clay, Curtis | US Dept. of State, OBO, Director of Architecture

Darling, Diana | The Architect’s Newspaper, CEO, Co-Founder, and Publisher

Denison, Dirk, FAIA, MCHAP | MCHAP Director and Professor at Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT), College of Architecture

Dizon, Angel | GSA, Regional Commissioner of Region 5

Dodd, Graham | ARUP, Director

DuBois, Bill, CSI, CCS | Gensler, Certified Construction Specifier/Architect

Dyson, Anna | Yale Center for Ecosystems in Architecture (CEA), Founding Director

Ekman, Rand | HKS, Principal and Chief Sustainability Officer

Foushee, Christine | Department of State’s Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations (OBO), Consultant

Frankel, James | Thompson Hine, Partner

Gamolina, Julia | Madame Architect, Founder & Ennead, Associate Principal

Gilbert, Jared | COOKFOX Architects, Director of Communications

Gore, Meredith, PhD. | University of Maryland, Associate Professor

Gorman, Jay | Sciame Construction, Project Executive

Grant, Brad | Howard University, Professor, Vice Chair, Department of Architecture

Green, Michael, AIBC, FRAIC, AIA | MGA, a Katerra Company, President and CEO

Grennan, Conor | NYU Stern, Dean of MBA Students

Grennan, Elizabeth | Global Managing Counsel, McKinsey Digital

Guilliams, Gabe, PE | BuroHappold Engineering, Partner, Lighting Specialist

Hall, Joanna | US Coalition on Sustainability, SustainChain, Executive Director

Hamill, Pete | Senior Vice President and Regional General Manager, New England at Turner Construction Company

Harriss, Harriet, Ph.D., CONS, RIBA, PFHEA, PFRSA | Professor, Royal Institute of Art

Henderson, Ronald | IIT, Director of Landscape Architecture and Urbanism Program

Höweler, Eric | Höweler + Yoon

Idenburg, Florian, RA, AIA-IA | SO – IL, Founding Principal

Jones, Susan | atelierjones, Founder, Architect

Kellogg, Diana | Diana Kellogg Architects, Founder

King, Leslie P., Esq. | Carlton Fields, Shareholder, Construction Litigation

Klemmer, Andrew | Paratus Group, President & Founder 

Lee, Evelyn | Slack Technologies, Head of Workplace Strategy and Innovation and Practice of Architecture, Founder

Lee, Vivian | Gensler, Design Director

Liu, Jing, AIA | SO – IL, Founding Principal

MacDonald,  Shawn, Ph.D. | Verité, CEO

Mao, Bruce | Massive Change Network, Co-Founder and CEO

McCadney, Jennifer | Kelley Drye & Warren LLP, Special Counsel

McGuigan, Cathleen | Architectural Record, Consulting Editor

Medina, Sammy | The Architect’s Newspaper, Consulting Editor

Mettam, Kirk, PE | Silman, EVP, Senior Principal

Miller, Peter, AIA, LEED | Palette Architecture, Founding Partner

Mizzi, Joseph | Sciame Construction, President & COO

Montoute, Colin | WXY architecture + urban design, Director of Architecture

Moote, Kilian | KnowTheChain.org/Humanity United, Director

Musanti, Amy | Assa Abloy, Director of Sustainable Building Solutions

Nakajima, Tateo, FRSA FIOA | ARUP, Fellow

Natke, Patricia Saldaña, FAIA, ALA, NCARB | UrbanWorks, Founding Partner and President

Nielsen, Signe | MNLA Landscape Architects, Principal

Oliva, Alfonso | LERA +, Director

Opara, Eddie, AIGA | Pentagram, Partner

Oppenheimer, Nat, PE | Silman, EVP, Senior Principal

Pedroso, Fernanda | Polycor, International Marketing and Innovation Leader

Posner, Michael | NYU Stern, Professor of Ethics & Finance, Director Center for Business & Human Rights

Propst, Debbie | President, Global Retail, MillerKnoll

Reynolds, Fiona | UNSW Australian Human Rights Institute and Australian Sustainable Finance Institute, Director 

Riano, Quilian | Pratt Institute School of Architecture, Dean

Ricks, Alan, Int FRIBA | MASS Design Group, Founding Principal and Chief Design Officer

Rillosi, Antonio | ExtraVega, CEO & Founder

Rogers, Robert, FAIA | Rogers Partners, Founding Principal

Rolland, Ann, FAIA | FXCollaborative, Partner

Santos Rivera, Yiselle | HKS, Principal, Director of Justice, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion

Sharples, Christopher, AIA | SHoP Architects, Founding Principal

Shaw, Matthew | The Architect’s Newspaper, Contributing Editor

Short, Annabel | Institute for Human Rights and Business (NY), Built Environment Program-Advisor

Slade, Hayes, AIA, IIDA | Slade Architecture, Co-Founder & Principal and AIA NY 2019 President

Slade, James, FAIA, LEED-AP| Slade Architecture, Founder Partner

Sperry, Raphael | ARUP, Associate Principal 

Trubiano, Franca, Ph.D. | University of Pennsylvania Weitzman School of Design, Architect and Associate Professor in Architecture

Ulicny, Brian, Ph.D. | Raytheon BBN Technologies at Raytheon Intelligence & Space, Associate Director, Research; Analytics and Machine Intelligence Group

Varkulja, Luciana | uma architecture, Founder, Architect, & Urban Designer and USC, Professor

Weisz, Claire, FAIA | WXY architecture + urban design, Principal-in-Charge

White, Megan | Integral, Chief Sustainability Officer

Williams, Bisi | Massive Change Network, Chief Insights & Analytics Officer

Yao, Kim, AIA | ARO, Principal and AIA NY 2020 President

Yoshida, Shohei | Shohei Yoshida and Associates, Principal

AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF ARCHITECTS

Dodge, Sarah | AIA, Senior VP of Advocacy & Relationships

GRACE FARMS

Prince, Sharon | CEO and Founder

Thatcher, Chelsea | Chief Strategy Officer and Founding Creative Director

Khattabi, Rod | Chief Accountability Officer and Justice Initiative Director

Walsh, Meg Hely | Chief Partnerships Officer

Rizzo, Nora | Ethical Materials Director

Oki, Toshihiro | Architectural Advisor

Thatcher, Adam | Co-Founder Grace Farms Foods

Rapuano, Elizabeth | Director of Communications

Reynolds, Alina Marquez, Esq. | General Counsel and Justice Initiative Senior Advisor

Sikora, Ashley | Director of Marketing

Cleary, Eavan Michele | Director of Brand Design

In Honor of William Menking, (1947- 2020) Co-Founder of the Design for Freedom Working Group and Founding Editor-in Chief of The Architect’s Newspaper

“Bill’s well-tested observation that architects are really well meaning and are taught to make the world a better place, and his commitment to inspire leading architects to step up for slave-free buildings was instrumental in galvanizing our early Working Group.

We will move forward with his wonderful enthusiasm and fervor.”
— Sharon Prince,
CEO and Founder, Grace Farms Foundation

A symbol of freedom across time and cultures, the Design for Freedom hummingbird emblem embodies the spirit of survivors and our role in safeguarding them. The hummingbird’s vibrant colors, piercing gaze, and uplifted wings exude a relentless energy and optimism. A silhouette forms from the shape of the hummingbird and poignantly reminds us of the modern slavery that has been hidden in plain sight for too long.