Congrats Spring 2021 grads!

Student Spotlight

We are proud to announce our newest MA in Sustainable Design graduates:

Ashley French, Thongminh Nguyen, and Dawn Suiter!

All three students have successfully completed eight courses ranging from Systems Thinking to Collaborative Product Design to Creative Leadership. In addition, each has completed an independent thesis project. You can see one project from each course, as well as their thesis projects, in their web-based portfolios.  Links to their thesis project presentations and web-based portfolios are shared below.


Ashley French

THESIS

A Post COVID-19 Green Recovery Concept for Women-Owned Small Businesses

ACADEMIC PORTFOLIO

http://ashfrench.com/portfolio


Thongminh Nguyen

THESIS

Plastic Pollution: Plastic Waste as a Resource 

ACADEMIC PORTFOLIO

https://thongminh28056.wixsite.com/designportfolio/mcad-portfolio


Dawn Suiter

THESIS

Future Seeds Project:  Shifting from Sustainable Places to Regenerative Spaces [in prep]

ACADEMIC PORTFOLIO

[in prep]


Like many of our students, these amazing people completed their MA while managing the many changes and challenges that life can bring — especially in the past year. We look forward to seeing the positive impacts that they will have on our world. You can learn more about them and their work on the ALUMNI page of this blog.


If you’d like to see your name on this list one day, please explore our fully online MA in Sustainable Design program! 

If you’re not sure what it’s like to take courses online, we invite you to explore our Summer and Fall 2021 offerings that are open to the public via Continuing Education

Denise DeLuca / Former Director

Denise DeLuca is the Director of MCAD’s Sustainable Design program. She was co-founder of BCI: Biomimicry Creative for Innovation, a network of creative professional change agents driving ecological thinking for radical transformation. Denise is author of the book Re-Aligning with Nature: Ecological Thinking for Radical Transformation, which was illustrated by MASD alum Stephanie Koehler. She also teaches with the Amani Institute.

Denise’s previous roles include Education Director for the International Living Future Institute, Project Manager for Swedish Biomimetics 3000, and Outreach Director for The Biomimicry Institute. Denise is a licensed civil engineer (PE) and holds a master’s degree in civil and environmental engineering with a focus on modeling landscape-scale surface and groundwater interactions.  In addition, Denise is a Biomimicry Fellow and a member of the Advisory Council of The Biomimicry InstituteBoard Member of the International Society of Sustainability Professionals (ISSP), on the editorial board of the Journal of Bionic Engineering, and an Expert with Katerva. Denise is based in Oregon.

contact:  [email protected]