Founder and Executive Director
Anna Marie Sanko, Associate AIA

Anna leads the collaborative team’s efforts in developing the ARC and implementing its mission and goals. Her development experience has secured the Center over $2,000,000 in grants, contracts, materials, and services. In addition to the day-to-day operation and program planning, Anna works directly with students and faculty throughout the Northeast. She has successfully taken the ARC’s design programs to national and international audiences through conferences and workshops in the US and Europe, leading to numerous state, national, and international awards.

She has a degree in Industrial Design from Pratt Institute and a Master of Arts in Education from Goddard College in Vermont. Anna holds a Connecticut Interior Design license, and has more than 15 years of professional experience as a project manager at architecture and design firms. She has designed over 1 million square feet for national corporate, medical, school, government, retail, and industrial facilities.

Anna is a CT Office of the Arts Master Teaching Artist and sits on the advisory board of DESIGN-ED, a national organization focused on creating standards and policy for design education in the US.

Additional Professional Affiliations

Connecticut State Department of Education Committee
Business Industries Curriculum Advisory Committee
University of Hartford Ward College of Technology, visiting design critic, adjunct professor
Certified facilitator for Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection