Architecture and Urban
Design Firm
Since 2000
Since 2000
Stacy Bourne, FAIA delivers high-impact keynotes on resilience, disaster preparedness, and business continuity, grounded in decades of real-world work in hurricane and flood-prone regions. Stacy helps leaders translate risk into clear decisions that save lives, protect property, and empower communities. Audiences leave with practical, immediately usable strategies for preparedness planning, continuity of operations, and resilient design, without jargon, without hype, and with a community-first lens that strengthens trust before the next crisis.
As a panelist, Stacy Bourne, FAIA, NOMA brings an architect’s clarity and a resilience leader’s real-world perspective to conversations on climate and community resilience, design and disaster preparedness, and systems continuity. She connects policy, design, and operations, helping audiences understand what actually reduces risk, protects property, and supports continuity when systems are stressed. Expect grounded insights, practical examples, and a community engagement-first point of view that keeps the discussion focused on decisions leaders can make now.
As an academic reviewer or advisor, Stacy Bourne, FAIA, NOMA helps students thrive by offering clear, supportive guidance that strengthens both their work and their confidence. Stacy gives actionable feedback on research, design proposals, crit reviews, and presentations, helping students sharpen their thinking, communicate with authority, and connect ideas to real-world impact. Her approach is rigorous but encouraging, focused on helping emerging professionals grow into leaders who can protect communities and perform under pressure.
Stacy Bourne, FAIA, NOMA is the founding principal of The Bourne Group, LLC (est. 2000), a practice that uses hurricane-resilient design to catalyze social change through community-engaged work. Her experience is directly related to post-disaster recovery—spanning assessments, architecture, and engineering—after Hurricane Maryland in 1995 through Hurricanes Irma and Maria in 2018 to present. She leads teams to advance resilient systems, materials, and policies across the Gulf states and Midwest.
Originally from St. Louis, Stacy has spent three decades navigating a dozen major storms in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Her early practice focused on custom homes that leverage site, views, cross-ventilation, and water stewardship (rainwater harvesting, septic systems, leach fields) while mastering steep-terrain and seismic requirements. She later led FEMA-funded roof programs, crafted resilience strategies, contributed to building-code legislation, expanded into commercial and office renovations, and partnered to restore significant historic structures—all aligned with the AIA Framework for Design Excellence.
Stacy’s leadership includes six terms as AIA Virgin Islands president; service on the VI Board of Architects, Engineers & Land Surveyors; presidency of the VI Coalition for Citizens with Disabilities; confirmation as Commissioner, VI Casino Control Commission (2018); and co-chairing the AIA Disaster Assistance Committee.
Nationally, she was the first Black woman to serve on the AIA Board of Directors (2009), chaired the Board Diversity Council, supported the Haiti earthquake recovery effort (2010), and helped shape the AIA Women’s Leadership Summit. She mentors from high school to emerging professionals, sponsors Crit Scholars, and participates in College of Fellows/Young Architect Forum mentorship. Her network helped spark Mattel’s Architect Barbie (2010).
She currently serves on the Dean’s Advisory Council for the Tulane University School of Architecture and Built Environment.
Honors include the AIA Richard Upjohn Medal (2011), SBA Emerging Leader (2019), and Missouri MBDA Women’s Leadership Award (2023).
In 2026, Bourne received the Distinguished Alumni Award from Washington University, Same Fox School in April and the Angela O’Byrne Award from Tulane University School of Architecture and Built Environment in May. She launched the Disaster Smart Readiness and Coloring Book Series in September 2026.
Elevated to FAIA (2012), Stacy holds an M.Arch from Tulane and a Master of Architecture & Urban Design from Washington University in St. Louis.
Ms. Bourne sponsored, lobbied, and furthered the cause of increasing representation, advancing diversity and fostering inclusion in the profession and AIA..
Her leadership was a key element in major events such as Diversity Action Plan, Gateway Commitment, AIA/NOMA Memorendun of Understanding, Women’s Leadership Summits, numerous convention events, and mentorship programs, for the enrichment of diversity in the profession.
Their success, speaks clearly of her power of persuasion and diplomatic demeanor, establishing Ms. Bourne as a leader at the National Level.
Ms. Bourne pioneered the fertile exchange of ideas and experiences with architects of the Caribbean and AIA.
She organized and led visits to working meetings with the Federation of Caribbean Architectural Association in Cuba and Puerto Rico, while fostering the values of the gateway Commitment in the Florida/Caribbean Region, the first and only AIA region demonstrating value by all component Boards’ signing the legendary document.
She also envisioned, sponsored, and led from National, the AIA’s relief efforts for Haiti in the aftermath of their devastating earthquake.
Finally, she established monthly AIA regional leadership meetings, steered fiscal responsibilities and provided for a stronger, healthier and more proactive region.
