SARAH SUSANKA, FAIA

Bestselling author, architect and cultural visionary Sarah Susanka is leading a movement to redefine the American home and lifestyle. Her "build better, not bigger" approach to residential architecture has been embraced across the country and her "Not So Big" philosophy is evolving beyond our physical habitations and into how we inhabit our lives. In both realms she believes that Not So Big should be the first step in sustainability, both for our own well being and for the well being of the planet as a whole.

Susanka is the acclaimed author of nine best-selling books including The Not So Big House (Taunton, 1998), The Not So Big Life (Random House, 2007), Not So Big Remodeling (Taunton, 2009), and most recently, More Not So Big Solutions for Your Home (Taunton, 2010).

Thought Leader, Speaker and Expert Resource
A master in the use of metaphor to help explain new dimensions of understanding, Susanka unveils a process for changing the way we live through fully inhabiting each moment of our lives and showing up completely in whatever it is we are doing. Whether writing about a new blueprint for home design or a new blueprint for living, she has a gift for making the complex simple and for demystifying even the most obscure of subject matter.

Susanka has appeared on numerous television and radio programs including Oprah, Charlie Rose, and Diane Rehm, and has received many accolades for her work. Fast Company named her to their debut list of "Fast 50" innovators whose achievements have helped to change society, Newsweek magazine selected her as a "top newsmaker" for 2000, and US News and World Report dubbed her an "innovator in American culture" in 1998. In May of 2007, Susanka was presented with the Anne Morrow Lindbergh Award by the Lindbergh Foundation for outstanding individual achievement, demonstrating a spirit of initiative and exemplifying great dedication toward making positive contributions to our world.

Susanka is a member of the College of Fellows of the American Institute of Architects and a Senior Fellow of the Design Futures Council. She was born in Kent, England, and today lives in North Carolina.