Marianne Cusato speaks on the importance of good design in homes and communities and how good design impacts the quality of our lives and the sustainability of the earth's resources.

Building on the groundbreaking work of Andrés Duany in New Urbanism and Sarah Susanka in home design, Cusato shows how to design homes that are livable, beautiful and work together to enhance a community.

Ranked the No. 4 most influential person in the home building industry in Builder Magazine's annual "Power on 50" list, Cusato and her design principles are changing the landscape of the housing industry. In 2006, the Smithsonian Institute's Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum honored Cusato with the first annual "People?s Design Award."  Cusato leads a team of designers that have partnered with Lowe's in a licensing agreement to sell the plans and material packages for the Lowe's Katrina Cottage Series. In June 2006, Congress appropriated $400 million for an alternative emergency housing program, based on the idea of the Katrina Cottage.

Cusato is the author of the January 2008 book Get Your House Right, Architectural Elements to Use and Avoid, with Ben Pentreath, Richard Sammons and Leon Krier, foreword by HRH The Prince of Wales. She is also the author of The Value of Design, a book about the value of design in our homes and communities, published in September 2007.

She frequently speaks about her design principles and how good design of the built environment can address societal and environmental issues such as aging populations, global warming, and affordable housing. She has been a featured speaker at events such as The New Yorker Conference 2007, the 2006 Herman Miller National Convention,  Lowe's 2006 Trends Day, and the 2007 Indiana Statewide Conference on Housing and Community Economic Development.

Born and raised in Anchorage, Ala., Cusato is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame and is currently based in New York's Greenwich Village. She is the founder of Cusato Cottages, LLC.