Aki Ishida

​​Aki Ishida received her Master of Science in advanced architectural design from Columbia University and her Bachelor of Architecture from the University of Minnesota. She is an Associate Professor of Architecture and Interim Associate Director of the School of Architecture at Virginia Tech. She has previously taught at the Rhode Island School of Design, Parsons the New School for Design, Pratt Institute, and Konkuk University in Seoul, Korea. She is a registered architect, a LEED-accredited professional, and the principal of Aki Ishida Architect PLLC. Before starting her firm, she was a designer and project manager with James Carpenter Design Associates, I. M. Pei Architect, and Rafael Vinoly Architects. She has led collaborations with partners including The Japan Society, The Smithsonian, and Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. Design Intelligence has named Ms. Ishida one of the 25 Most Admired Educators for 2016.