Deborah Berke
Deborah Berke began her career as an architect in 1982. Since then, she has assembled a senior team to form Deborah Berke Partners, with whom she has created a distinct and lasting body of work. In July 2016, Deborah became the first woman dean of the Yale School of Architecture, where she has been a professor since 1988. Deborah continues Yale’s long tradition of distinguished practitioners who have served as Dean, including Robert A.M. Stern, Cesar Pelli, and Paul Rudolph. With a passion for both the teaching and practice of architecture, she continues to direct the firm’s creative work. Deborah has previously taught at the Rhode Island School of Design, the University of California at Berkeley, and the Institute for Architecture and Urban Studies, of which she was a fellow. Deborah is the recipient of the Berkeley-Rupp award; and in 2022 she was awarded the AIA/ACSA Topaz Medallion for Architectural Education. She is a fellow of the American Institute of Architects, a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters, a Trustee and Vice President of the Urban Design Forum, a James Howell Foundation Board Member, a member of the Yaddo Board of Directors, and a member of the Pritzker Prize jury. Deborah is a graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design (B.F.A. and B. Architecture) and The City College of New York (M. Urban Planning in Urban Design). In 2005, she was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Fine Arts from the Rhode Island School of Design.
