Emily Pilloton

Emily Pilloton is the founder and director of Project H Design, a nonprofit design and architecture agency that uses the power of creativity and hands-on building to catalyze communities and public education from within. Project H's core focus is applying design and full-scale building projects to activate public education systems in the US and to provide a more engaged learning framework for K-12 students. Since 2009, Emilyand her partner have been based in rural Bertie County, North Carolina, one of the most resource-poor counties in the nation. There, the two teach Project H’s cornerstone program, Studio H, a year-long high school design/build curriculum that results in student-built architecture projects for community benefit. Last year, Studio H students designed and built a 2000-square-foot farmers market pavilion for their hometown of Windsor, population 2200.

Trained in Architecture (UC Berkeley) and Product Design (The School of the Art Institute of Chicago), Emily has contributed to magazines such as GOOD, FastCompany, ReadyMade, Interior Design, ID Magazineand Innovative Home, and is the author of the book Design Revolution: 100 Products that Empower People. Her work has been reported and showcased on The Colbert Report, the TED stage, and in The New York Times, Metropolis Magazine, Dwell Magazine, and GOOD Magazine. She was also given the USA Character Approved Award in 2011 in the Design category. When she isn't wrangling teenagers in the classroom,Emily enjoys training for marathons and exploring the backroads with her border collies.