Fellowship Opportunities

Fellowships with the Nashville Civic Design Center are awarded to design and research professionals who, through a partnership with the Nashville Civic Design Center, are provided the opportunity to develop a variety projects in the spirit and theme of the Mission of the NCDC. Fellows are expected to exhibit excellence in their past endeavors, and are considered ambassadors for the NCDC within the Nashville community.

Design Fellow projects must facilitate the implementation of the 10 Principles as outlined in The Plan of Nashville, and have a real impact on Nashville communities. Fellowships vary greatly, but they include the opportunity to publish and/or exhibit the findings of the work. In many instances, primary authorship of the published work will be granted to the Fellow. A stipend is typically provided for all Fellowships.

Anyone interested in a Fellowship should be familiar with NCDC projects and programs and be willing to participate in our monthly programs.

For more information contact:

Gary Gaston
Design Director

gary@civicdesigncenter.org

The list of current Fellows can be found on the NCDC Staff page

Past Fellows

Melissa Alexander - Design

Melissa joins the NCDC via Brooklyn and Detroit, where she worked at several boutique architecture firms. While studying at the University of Tennessee, Melissa was a Bicentennial Scholar, an honor bestowed by the university based on academic merit. She was also the president of Tau Sigma Delta Honor Society, and received the Alpha Rho Chi Bronze Medal for Leadership, Service, and Merit. While practicing, Melissa, along with a partner, participated in an international design competition sponsored by the World Architecture News Association and the The Royal Academy. Their entry, entitled ‘Urban Projections: A Conversational Streetscape’ won the first place award, and was published and exhibited at the Royal Academy in London. Currently, Melissa divides her time between HollerDesign, a local furniture design and manufacturing firm she started with her husband, and the Nashville Civic Design Center. Additionally, Melissa serves as a lecturer at the University of Tennessee, College of Architecture + Design.

Kira Appelhans - Design

Kira Appelhans received her undergraduate degree in Landscape Horticulture and Design from Colorado State University in 2002, and her Master of Landscape Architecture from the University of Pennsylvania in 2005. Her final master’s project, designed with a classmate, won an ASLA award and was published in A+T magazine, Spain. After graduating, Kira worked for the New York based landscape architecture firm Balmori Associates leading competitions and projects with a focus on sustainable design. She has taught in the Masters of Landscape Architecture program at the University of Pennsylvania and University of Texas, Austin and in the School of Design Studies at Parsons. Kira was a team member on the Rising Currents design workshop and resulting exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art, New York. She was a fellow at the MacDowell art colony and is a managing editor of the landscape art and urbanism website Topophilia.

Betsy Mason - Design

Betsy earned her Bachelor of Architecture and Minor in Business Administration from the University of Tennessee in 2010. In 2009, she received the Foreign Studies Enrichment Scholarship to attend the Finland Summer Architecture Institute in Helsinki, Finland. Hosted by Aalto University of Science and Technology, her studio's final work documented a three-piece Aalto ensemble in Inkeroinen, Finland and was accepted into the permanent collection of the Alvar Aalto Museum. While at UT, she participated in the inaugural design + build studio/seminar. It was an interdisciplinary effort and produced a comprehensive design for an Interpretive Visitor's Center for Panther Creek State Park. Designed to achieve a LEED Gold rating, the studio's work received the Exhibition of Undergraduate Research and Creative Achievement Award in 2009. The project is currently on hold and seeking funding. In addition to her design work, Betsy volunteers with Hands On Nashville and Soundforest.org. Betsy completed multiple studies