Dr. Maia Kumari Bree Chowdhury, DBA, is a Registered Architect and Registered Environmental Professional in both Canada and the United States, working at the intersection of design, governance, and long‑term stewardship. Her practice integrates adaptive reuse, historic restoration, and circular economy strategy, linking design thinking with the rigour of technical practice in complex, multi‑stakeholder environments. She brings systems‑level insight to projects where heritage value, sustainability, regulatory frameworks, and public interest must be balanced through clear, defensible decision making.
Maia’s doctoral scholar‑practitioner research, From Design Thinking to Leadership, examines how licensed architects in Canada and the United States translate design thinking into leadership practice and organizational decision‑making. Her work identifies recurring leadership patterns in complex environments, including how practitioners navigate power, hierarchy, cultural value, and technical constraints while stewarding long‑term outcomes. Her 25+ years of cross‑border professional practice — spanning federal infrastructure, cultural heritage, sustainability, and advisory work — directly inform her teaching in leadership, operations, innovation, and AI‑enabled management.
She has taught and spoken widely across academic, professional, and public platforms. Her teaching and pedagogical experience includes graduate‑level design critique at the University of Oregon; community architecture education; mentorship of NJIT architecture interns; and curriculum development in design literacy and place‑making. She has presented internationally, including a global panel for FIDIC on bridging the sustainability skills gap, a TEDx talk reframing sustainability through systems thinking, and expert commentary for CBC Radio on climate adaptation and resilience. Her teaching philosophy is grounded in experiential learning, real‑world case application, and interdisciplinary inquiry, preparing students to lead through complexity and systems‑level decision‑making.
Maia is a Registered Architect (AIBC, OAA; AIA, NCARB, NJ, NY, PA; APEC), LEED AP BD+C, an Envision Sustainability Professional (ENV SP), and a Registered Environmental Professional in both Canada and the U.S. She is a professional member of the Canada Green Building Council, a former Vice Chair of the USGBC New Jersey Market Leadership Advisory Board, and a contributor to continuing education on sustainability in historic buildings. She currently serves on the board of Thaumazo.
Alongside her professional and academic work, Maia is an ecofiction author, abstract artist, and Usui Reiki Master Teacher. Her published novels, The Erenwine Agenda and Otter Coast, explore hydraulic fracturing and medical marijuana respectively, and her forthcoming novel, Rail, examines climate, infrastructure, circular economy, and stewardship. Her artwork has been exhibited internationally, including in Domus Terrae, an exhibition honoring early treaty negotiations on migration and refugee settlement at UNHCR in Geneva.
She continues to teach, speak, and write on the interconnected themes of climate resiliency, leadership, organizational culture, and the built environment.