Speakers

After graduating from Auburn University’s School of Architecture in 2008, a program known for a focus on community-engaged rural work, Maria Sykes sought after a community where her skills and passions could be utilized for good. Following a summer visit to the town of Green River (pop. 952) in beautiful southeastern Utah, she moved there to co-found Epicenter with colleagues from Auburn. Epicenter is a non-profit organization and Local Arts Agency focused on community and economic development through arts and design. Sykes has been working in rural community development for less than a decade, but the work has been honored many times including by Utah Governor Gary Herbert. Sykes is the Executive Director of Epicenter and has a contagious passion for working in rural places as close as nearby Moab, Utah, and as far away as Neskaupstaður, Iceland.