Todd Ferry is a Senior Research Associate and Faculty Fellow at the Center for Public Interest Design within the Portland State University School of Architecture. He teaches a range of architecture design studios and courses on Public Interest Design, Design Thinking for Social Innovation, and Design-Build Fieldwork. He holds a Master of Architecture from the University of Texas at Austin, and a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy from the University of Georgia. While still a student at UGA, Todd participated in the first Maymester in Tanzania program in 2000 and subsequently co-founded the nonprofit that would become OKAT. This transformative experience has continued to inform Todd’s work as a leading figure in the field of Public Interest Design. His current work investigates how new architecture typologies can support traditionally underserved communities through radically participatory processes and seeks to develop innovative tools and models of engagement to aid in this effort.

He is a Co-Founder of PSU’s Homelessness Research and Action Collaborative (HRAC) where he leads the center’s alternative shelter initiatives. A commitment to sustainability and environmental justice is foundational to all of Todd’s work, and he was recently the recipient of the university’s Excellence in Sustainability Teaching Award.