Shelagh McCartney is eager to serve on the Harvard GSD Alumni Council because the GSD shaped her trajectory as a designer, researcher, and advocate for housing justice. As a Toronto-based academic who partners with Indigenous communities, she understands how design can reinforce inequity or help repair it. She hopes to expand mentorship and visibility for underrepresented designers, strengthen connections across regions, including the Canadian GSD community, and develop programming that fosters intergenerational exchange and engagement with urgent social and spatial challenges.

Shelagh brings community-engaged research expertise, design leadership, and on-the-ground experience partnering with Indigenous communities in Canada. Through Together Design Lab and her academic work, she focuses on transforming housing systems through evidence-based design, policy advocacy, and collaborative processes that center community voice. She facilitates cross-disciplinary teams, guides long-term partnerships, and translates complex research into accessible strategies. Serving on national bodies such as the RAIC Awards jury has sharpened her ability to evaluate design excellence through a lens of equity and cultural responsibility. She brings a Canadian design perspective shaped by reconciliation, housing rights, and climate resilience.

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Location: Toronto, Canada