Clare Friedrich
Director of Operations, Editorial Board Chair

Clare leads the monthly DesignShare E-Newsletter and Sponsorship Program, as well as overseeing research articles and case studies. She is also an Educational Planner for Fielding Nair International, helping to develop their Educational Facilities Effectiveness Instrument, assisting with designs and community workshops in Regina, Saskatchewan and Fairfax County, VA and writing and editing firm proposals and marketing materials.

Clare offers four years of classroom experience as a K-12 and college teacher, as well as working knowledge of accessible design. She received her Master of Science in Design Studies from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. A strong interest in special populations and environment and behavior studies led her to a thesis study involving the identification of best practice performance standards for classroom architecture that supports children with autism. Her approach to the research entailed three focus groups, including parents of children with autism, teachers, speech therapists and occupational therapists who work with children with autism, and adults who have been diagnosed with autism.

As an English teacher for two years in Mongolia with the Peace Corps, she helped to develop and build a learning resource center for students and language teachers. During graduate school, she worked as Gallery Coordinator for a state-of-the-art performing arts center, and interned with the center’s Accessibility Coordinator, documenting accessible features for use in a national training conference on building accessible museums and theaters. She also holds a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Design from the University of Missouri.