Elba Morales

Elba leads the design of office, mixed-use, and civic projects including the new Museum of the Cherokee People and the new Museum of Science Fiction and Fantasy Arts currently ongoing. In partnership with AANY, she is the Project Director for the future mixed-use project at Sycamore & Oak, led by Emerson Collective and Redbrick LMD. Architect and designer at heart, she is deeply involved throughout all aspects of design and across all project scales. In close collaboration with her clients and team, she identifies a project’s vision and aspirations early on to ensure that the design is firmly grounded on the right values and purpose, to maximize a site’s potential and to create a meaningful impact to the surrounding community. Often that also involves shepherding her projects through complex jurisdictional approvals alongside land use counsel. As a Principal and Director of Design at Hickok Cole, as well as co-founder of their iLAB program, she engages colleagues to foster their collective passion for design around the guiding purpose to do work that matters. Elba received a B.A. from the Universidad de Puerto Rico, and an M.Arch. from the Graduate School of Architecture at the University of Pennsylvania.