DEI Advisory Committee Co-Chair
Maria A. Villalobos H. is an Associate Professor and Director of the Master in Landscape Architecture and Urbanism at IIT. Fluent in five languages and with a global social and environmental perspective, she works across diverse cultures, navigating complex political landscapes to address social and environmental challenges as a board member of the National Association of Minority Landscape Architects (NAMLA).
With Caribbean roots and international experience, Maria explores participatory liberation through design, botany, art, and environmental justice. She holds a Master’s in Design Studies from Harvard and a Ph.D. in Landscape Architecture from the École Nationale Supérieure de Paysage (ENSP) in Versailles. In 2017, she became the first woman to win the top prize at Venezuela’s Architecture Biennale for rehabilitating Maracaibo’s Botanical Garden.
Maria’s work combines research and experiential learning, from the streets to the classroom and back, for real-world applications, emphasizing human and botanical impacts. Her Collective Design Studios led projects like the Englewood Agro-Eco District and the Bronzeville Trail on Chicago’s South Side, progressing from research to construction in four years and earning her the 2022 CELA Excellence in Design Studio Teaching Award. As an educator and mentor, she inspires future leaders to address pressing issues.
Her scholarship aligns with her professional contributions. She co-authored Intangible Heritage: Expeditions, Observations, and Lectures by Roberto Burle Marx and Collaborators and the upcoming Maurice Cox: The Heart and Soul of the City.
Maria’s commitment to public spaces is reflected in her roles with the Lincoln Yards Advisory Council, the Committee on Design for Chicago’s Department of City Planning, and Friends of the Park. She also contributes to Dark Matter University and is a mentor for the Robert L. Wesley Award from the SOM Foundation.
As founder of Botanical City, Maria mobilizes public and private funding for projects that connect landscape architecture, urban planning, ecology, and cultural heritage. Her creativity, imagination, and pedagogical innovation aim to root justice in the landscape.
Ph.D. María A. Villalobos H.
Associate Professor
Director of the Master in Landscape Architecture and Urbanism
IIT. College of Architecture
Master in Landscape Architecture and Urbanism
National Association of Minority Landscape Architects (NAMLA).
Board Member
https://www.nationalamla.org/