Katie O’Meara has been teaching Architectural Design at MICA since 1997.

As a registered architect, researcher, teacher and practitioner in this burgeoning field, she has pursued collaborative research projects around the world, initiated student programs and designed solutions that bring together architecture, landscape and geography to address significant social problems. Her current area of study focuses on the critical interface between rivers and cities, and the increasingly critical link between distressed populations and environmental changes. Katie is currently working with Amy Magida and Caitlin Bowler on the Rivercities Initiative. Involving students in the upper level architectural design studios, this collaboration has identified a number of coastal river at cities at risk for environmental problems due to climate change and are mapping environmental risks posed by sea rise and increased rainfall, as well as developing innovative spatial solutions for stricter storm water regulations to protect the waterways in a manner that enhances the quality of life for all city residents. During her recent sabbatical, Katy earned her Master’s in Landscape Architecture at the University of Pennsylvania. Her design proposal Mumbai: Infrastructure as Architecture received a national honor award from the American Society of Landscape Architects. Katie received her Master’s in Geography from Towson Univeristy and her Bachelor’s in Architecture from the University of Notre Dame, Indiana.