Athens, Ga. – Karen A. Phillips, a fellow of the American Society of Landscape Architects, is the first speaker for the University of Georgia College of Environment and Design lecture series on Jan. 28, 5-6 p.m. in the Miller Learning Center, room 248. Her lecture, “Making a Difference in the Environment” will focus on the professional practice of city planning, urban revitalization and cultural preservation in landscape architecture.
As a commissioner on the New York City Planning Commission and founder, president and CEO of the Abyssinian Development Corporation, Phillips has dedicated her career to transforming economically distressed urban areas, redeveloping the physical environment and addressing issues of human needs and quality of life.
Phillips studied landscape architecture in the UGA College of Environment and Design and Harvard Graduate School of Design. She has received numerous professional accolades for her leadership role in Harlem’s “Second Renaissance.”
Phillips was appointed by the governor of New York to serve on the state’s mortgage agency and housing finance agency. She is a trustee of the Smithsonian’s Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum and serves on the boards of directors of several New York City non-profits. She also has served as the president/CEO of the Black Equity Alliance.
In addition to her devotion to public service, Phillips provides professional consulting services in community planning, development and civic engagement to planning firms, real estate developers, community organizations and public agencies.
A reception will follow the lecture in the Founders House located at 325 S. Lumpkin Street. For more information about the lecture, contact Douglas Pardue in the College of Environment and Design at pardue@uga.edu or 706/542-3848. This event is free and open to the public.
For more information about the College of Environment and Design, see www.ced.uga.edu.