
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
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
PRESIDENT/TREASURER
Jay Jacot, AIA Affiliate
Thompson | Edwards Architects
SECRETARY
Kathleen Tracy
Principal, Duffy Elementary School (retired)
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Anna Marie Sanko, Associate AIA
DIRECTORS
Alan J. Plattus, AIA
Professor of Architecture and Urban Design
Yale University School of Architecture
Jill Jackson Jenkins
Principal, J3Design Group
Darlene Susco, AIA Affiliate
Principal, ArcheIntent.com
Tanya Cutolo, AIA LEED AP
S/L/A/M Collaborative
ADVISORY BOARD
Samuel E. Gardner, AIA
Partner, Gregg Wies & Gardner Architects
JoAnn Castano
Sculptor, Arts Advocate
Lorrie Quirk
NHPS Technology and Data Instructional Coach