Place-specific and socially-engaged art and design is what gets me up in the morning. I typically work in isolated, rural places, but I love working in communities of all sizes and locations. I'm a founder and the Executive Director of Epicenter, a design-based non-profit organization in rural Utah, and a founder and a Director of Building Common Ground, a collective of practitioners who support rural places and their leaders to create resilient solutions in their communities. I also present on my work and consult on projects internationally. 

Photo: Mayor Ren Hatt & Maria Sykes at the Canal Commons groundbreaking celebration in Green River, Utah (2024). Photo by Sandra Salvas.