KEYNOTE SPOTLIGHT

Wanda Dalla Costa, FRAIC, AIA (she/her) is an architect, educator, and member of the Saddle Lake Cree Nation. She is the founder of Tawaw Architecture Collective, a cross-border design practice licensed in both Canada and the United States, specializing in Indigenous Placekeeping and life-centered design. At Arizona State University, Dalla Costa is the founding director of the Indigenous Design Collaborative, a community-driven design and research center. She is an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada and a Yerba Buena Center for the Arts 100 Honoree, a distinction acknowledging cultural leaders reshaping design and social equity.

Wanda Dalla Costa has spent nearly three decades co-designing with Indigenous communities across North America, working to ensure the built environment reflects the knowledge, practices, and aspirations of the people it serves. Her career offers a model for culturally responsive, community-driven design practice.