Dr. Mardelle McCuskey Shepley, D.Arch., FAIA

Dr. Mardelle McCuskey Shepley, B.A., M.Arch., M.A., D.Arch., is a professor at Cornell University in the Department of Human Centered Design. She is Academic Director of the Cornell Institute for Health Futures. Mardelle is a fellow in the American Institute of Architects and the American College of Healthcare Architects. She is LEED and EDAC and WELL certified.

Dr. Shepley has authored/co-authored seven books, including Healthcare Environments for Children and their Families (1998), A Practitioner’s Guide to Evidence-based Design (2008), Design for Critical Care (2009), Health Facility Evaluation for Design Practitioners (2010), Design for Pediatric and Neonatal Critical Care (2014), Design for Mental & Behavioral Health (2017) and Peace by Design (2025).

She was a recipient of the CHD Changemaker award and received a lifetime achievement award from the American College of Healthcare Architects. To enhance the link between research and practice, Mardelle worked 16 years in practice prior to becoming an academic, and has served as a consultant to architectural firms regularly since 2000.