Rebecca Barnes FAIA

The advancement to the College of Fellows in 2000 recognized an effective career that has taken her on circuits from New England to the Pacific Northwest, where she has facilitated planning and development of major urban visions. 

She graduated from Brown in 1971 with an academic concentration in American civilization and a focus on urban studies.  After studying at the Boston Architectural Center and then earning her Master of Architecture degree at the University of Oregon in 1976, she returned to Providence, where she worked on downtown planning and preservation in the Mayor’s Office of Community Development.

From 1979 to 1988 Barnes worked in Seattle as an urban designer with The Conservation Company, Jones & Jones, and The Richardson Associates/TRA, and then with the Seattle Department of Community Development. 

Back in Boston 1988-1991, she oversaw major development projects and programs, including the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway and other aspects of "The Big Dig;" then returned to Seattle 1991-95 as manager of the city’s growth management plan, Towards a Sustainable Seattle.

In 1995 Rebecca engaged again with Boston urban planning issues and projects, with her 2001 appointment as Boston's first chief planner, and then as Director of Urban Design & Architecture for the “Big Dig” in Boston.  In 2005 she became Brown University's Director of Strategic Growth.

She returned to Seattle as University of Washington Architect and Associate Vice Provost for Campus and Capital Planning 2010-2018.

* Boston Women in Design Award of Excellence 2000

*"Women Shaping Seattle:  An Interview with Rebecca Barnes," The Urbanist September 2016