Dina Miris Sorensen

Dina is an award-winning design leader, speaker, and author recognized nationally for her work at the intersection of architecture, public health, and the built environment. Named an Icon in Education in 2025, she brings a distinctive transdisciplinary approach to planning and designing places that foster health, well-being, creativity, and a love for nature across diverse communities.

She is founder and design director of d.studio, a transdisciplinary design practice, and designer-in-residence for research at the CUNY Graduate School of Public Health Center for Systems and Community Design, where she leads local discovery for the Supporting Parks and Revitalizing Communities Study (SPARCS) and Active Design Guidelines 2.0 in New York City.

Dina's designs have made lasting contributions to architecture and public health. Her projects include the Most Livable Building in the United States — Bluestone Elementary School in Harrisonburg, VA; the James D. MacConnell Award Finalist and Center for Active Design Excellence Award winner, Carter G. Woodson Education Complex in Dillwyn, VA; and the AIA-COTE Top Ten Award-winning Discovery Elementary School in Arlington, VA.

Her research spans both contemporary and historic work. She has co-authored peer- reviewed articles published in Frontiers of Public Health, PLOS One, the American Journal of Public Health, and additional peer-reviewed journals. She recently completed an in-depth study on the color and materials of the historic Crow Island School in Winnetka, IL — designed by Eliel and Eero Saarinen with Perkins, Wheeler & Will in 1940 — adding new scholarship to one of the most celebrated landmarks in modern school design.
Her work has been featured in Fast Company, NPR, Time Magazine, Emily Anthes's book The Great Indoors, and Bon Ku's Design Lab podcast.

As co-chair for research at the American Institute of Architects Committee on Architecture for Education, Dina has led and directed international projects and publications. She is also co-founder of Dialogues: Emerging Research at the Intersection of Designs for Learning and program curator for Dialogues Live national events. Her new book, Rewilding the Modern Schoolyard, reflects her commitment to reimagining design systems for a higher purpose — one that serves both people and planet.