Bryan Bell
Co-Editor, Public Interest Design Guidebook
Founder and Executive Director, Design Corps
Co-founder, SEED Network
Associate Professor, NC State University
Bio
Bryan Bell founded the nonprofit organization Design Corps in 1991 with the mission to provide the benefits of design for the 98 percent without architects. His current work includes research on the field of public interest design and the SEED Network, which Bell cofounded. His work has been supported by the American Institute of Architects (AIA) College of Fellows Latrobe Prize and through a Harvard Loeb Fellowship. Bell has published four books in this field, and he organizes the Public Interest Design Institute and the Structures for Inclusion conference series. He was awarded a National AIA Award and was a National Design Award finalist. His work has been exhibited at the Venice Biennale and the Smithsonian National Design Museum. Bell holds degrees from Princeton and Yale and is an Associate Professor in the School of Architecture at North Carolina State University.
Lisa M. Abendroth
Co-Editor, Public Interest Design Education Guidebook: Curricula, Strategies, and SEED Academic Case Studies (2018) and Public Interest Design Practice Guidebook: Seed Methodology, Case Studies, and Critical Issues (2015)
Co-founder and SEED Education Director, SEED Network
Professor, Communication Design, Metropolitan State University of Denver
Bio
Lisa is a Professor in the Communication Design Program at MSU Denver where her research focuses on issues of social equity, inclusion, and justice. Working across diverse disciplines, she practices, evaluates, and writes about design that champions the needs of marginalized people, places and problems. She is the SEED Education Director and also a SEED Network co-founder, a SEED Evaluator co-author, and a recipient of the SEED Award for Leadership in Public Interest Design. Along with Bryan Bell, Lisa is a co-editor of two books in Routledge’s Public Interest Design Guidebook series: Public Interest Design Practice Guidebook: SEED Methodology, Case Studies, and Critical Issues (2015) and Public Interest Design Education Guidebook: Curricula, Strategies, and SEED Academic Case Studies (2018). She has earned degrees from Virginia Commonwealth University and the Rhode Island School of Design. Lisa is an AIGA Fellow.
Heather Ferrell
Project Reviewer, SEED Evaluator
SEED-Certified, 2013
Bio
Heather has a deep respect for culture and the intricacies of place that tie humans to their natural and built environments. She holds a B.A. in Anthropology and a M. Architecture. A native of Durham, North Carolina, she has recently resettled in the area and is pursuing her architecture license while working at a local firm and as a SEED Reviewer. Heather joined the SEED Network in 2010 while in graduate school at the University of Oregon. She became SEED certified in 2013 and began reviewing SEED Evaluator projects in 2014. She is curious, driven, and believes Picasso had it right when he said, ‘Everything you can imagine is real’. She is excited to be part of a movement that, based on merits of inclusion, social equity, and community participation, works with people to create their unique place in the world.
Eric Field
Co-founder, SEED Network
Director of Academic and Research Technology and Lecturer, University of Virginia School of Architecture
Bio
Eric is a technologist and architect, specializing in simulation, visualization, modeling, information design, and applied information technology. He is Founder and Director of the Insight Lab at the University of Virginia School of Architecture, and Founder of the school’s CNC fabrication labs. He is also a lead technologist in the management and development of design technology in the School of Architecture and the University. Eric is affiliated with the Data Science Institute and the Center for Large-Scale Computational Modeling at UVA.
Barbara Sarvis
President, Barbara Sarvis, CPA, P.A. Accounting Firm
Certified Pro Advisor, QuickBooks software
President, Six Forks Office Center Condo Association
Bio
Barbara is the President of the Accounting Firm, Barbara Sarvis, CPA, P.A. Serving the Triangle area, she and her team provide accounting and tax services for small businesses and individuals. She helps small business owners get started on the right track, from selecting a business entity type to reporting the results. Her firm also offers bookkeeping and payroll solutions designed to fit the client’s needs. One of the primary goals is to be proactive in tax planning, to take advantage of changes as they happen. Barbara has owned her CPA firm since 2002, and enjoys being an educational resource for her clients. She graduated Cum Laude with a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration with a Minor in Economics. She also has an Associate’s Degree in Industrial Engineering. She was licensed as a CPA in North Carolina in the year 2000, and is also a Certified Pro Advisor for QuickBooks software. Barbara serves as Treasurer for the non-profit group Chix in Business, and serves as the President of the Six Forks Office Center Condo Association.
Design Corps 2025 Board of Directors
President: Scott Moore y Medina – Tulsa, OK
Vice-President: Christopher Lee – Oakland, CA
Treasurer: Aaron Bowman – Charleston, SC
Secretary: Emily Axtman – Asheville, NC
Board Members:
- Jeremy Knoll – Kansas City, MO
- Andrew Sturm – Chicago, IL
- Beth Chute – Brooklyn, NY
- Drew Kepley – Roanoke, VA,
- Evan Harrel – Montauk, NY
- Melissa Hill Threatt – Greenville, SC
- Bryan Bell – Raleigh, NC
- Triveece Penelton – Kansas City, MO
- Ed Herrera – Portland, OR
- Ruwan Jayaweera – Portland, OR
- Jonathan Clark – Covington, GA
- Omar Hakeem – Washington, DC
SEED Project Reviewers
Lisa M. Abendroth, Vincent Baudoin, Bryan Bell, Jamie Blosser, Brent A. Brown, Monica Chadha, Megan Clark, Kim Dowdell, Spencer Haynsworth, Patrick Rhodes, Raphael Sperry, Andy Sturm, JoEllen Wang, Barbara Brown-Wilson
SEED Founders
Lisa M. Abendroth, Barbara Brown-Wilson, Bryan Bell, Brandy Brooks, Brent A. Brown, Kimberly Dowdell, Eric Field, Roberta Feldman, Sarah Gamble, Frank Giblin, Lance Hosey, Dr. Steven A. Moore, Casius Pealer, Steven Lewis, M. Scott Ball, Patrick Rhodes, Katie Swenson, JoEllen Wang