Erin Reilly-Sanders, AIA

Erin Reilly-Sanders, Ph.D., AIA

Reilly-Sanders is an architect and project manager for the Columbus-based Schooley Caldwell, where she educates the public about architecture by inviting everyone into her projects, particularly people who have been excluded in the past.

As the leader of the Hocking Hill State Park Lodge, the first state park lodge constructed in Ohio in more than 30 years, she provided compellingly explored volume and light in a vital structure that is for and by the public. Since completing it last year, Reilly-Sanders has conducted numerous tours of the project, welcoming everyone from Big Brothers Big Sisters campers to college students eager to learn about construction methods.

Reilly-Sanders shares the urgency of sustainability with numerous audiences. While pursuing her master’s degree at Ohio State University, she led the school’s Solar Decathlon Team in 2009. The group explored vital concepts related to sustainable energy production and conservation through a 600-square-foot solar-powered house that was installed on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., for two weeks.

More recently, Reilly-Sanders has been focused on local, regional, and state education efforts through her role on AIA Columbus’ Committee on the Environment, which she chaired from 2018 to 2020. She has organized educational programs for chapter members, forged strong relationships with community initiatives, and implemented a sustainable practice survey for all central Ohio firms. She also engaged government leaders through three advocacy day initiatives and, last year alone, met with 12 state senators and 18 representatives to encourage them to support updated building and energy codes.

Recognizing that visual literacy, despite our increasingly visual world, is often overlooked, Reilly-Sanders advocates for visual arts and their appreciation. Her dissertation investigates how houses are featured in picture books and explores the single-family detached home as both a cultural product and driver.

She is also the co-author and editor of the textbook Charlotte Huck’s Children’s Literature. Published by McGraw Hill, the book is the oldest college textbook for pre-service teachers still in circulation. For it, she penned a new chapter on graphic novels and the visual techniques they employ.