Interview with Corey Dodd, Associate at Design Workshop

Corey Dodd is a landscape designer at Design Workshop based in Raleigh, North Carolina, whose work bridges culturally responsive design, community partnership, and professional leadership. Through his involvement with the Design Workshop Foundation, Corey advances projects and initiatives that center equity, stewardship, and long‑term community capacity. His approach integrates design excellence with education, mentorship, and service, ensuring that community voices and cultural narratives remain central to the planning and design process. Across projects, professional forums, and academic partnerships, Corey’s work reflects the Foundation’s commitment to creating more just, resilient, and inclusive communities.

Can you describe how your work aligns with the mission of the Design Workshop Foundation?

My work is rooted in advancing community‑centered and culturally responsive design, values that sit at the core of the Design Workshop Foundation’s mission. Whether through professional leadership, building community-based relationships, or passing along lessons learned to the future generation of the profession, I focus on building partnerships that honor local knowledge, preserve cultural narratives, and support long‑term community capacity. The Foundation’s emphasis on equity, stewardship, and education mirrors how I approach both design and service.

What are some ways you’ve advanced equity and community partnership through your work with Design Workshop?

Through Design Workshop, I’ve worked to embed equity into both project delivery and professional practice. Having served as a member of Design Workshop’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Strategic Initiative, I helped develop tools, such as a DEI Metrics Template that support equity‑focused decision‑making across projects and presented to colleagues on ways to integrate activism, advocacy, and allyship into practice. I’ve also contributed to national conversations on cultural landscapes by moderating and organizing professional sessions that share actionable strategies for inclusive partnerships, preservation, and community empowerment.

Can you share a project that reflects the values of the Design Workshop Foundation?

The East Kinston Neighborhood Hub in Kinston, North Carolina is a strong example. It’s a community‑driven initiative led by Kinston Teens, Inc., transforming blighted properties and FEMA buyout land into resilient public spaces that integrate green infrastructure, solar energy, flood mitigation, and youth leadership. The project is centered on trauma‑informed engagement and climate justice, and it prioritizes shared ownership and long‑term capacity building in a community identified as disadvantaged by multiple federal assessment tools.

How do education and mentorship play a role in your partnership with the Foundation’s goals?

Education and access are essential to cultivating an equitable design profession. In 2024, I had the privilege of helping facilitate Design Week at North Carolina A&T University in my hometown of Greensboro, NC. Design Week is Design Workshop's firmwide outreach initiative, connecting employees with students through studio visits, presentations, and mentorship — offering early exposure to the profession. In 2025, I returned to North Carolina A&T State University to present on professional pathways, provide design critiques, and offer mentorship, while also reconnecting with students at the Black Landscape Architects Network event during the national ASLA conference. The relationships formed through initiatives like Design Week underscore the importance of investing in the next generation of designers, particularly those from underrepresented backgrounds.

Why is it important for you to stay engaged in community service beyond your professional role?

Community service was embedded in my life from an early age — through Boy Scouts, volunteering with the elderly, and running errands for neighbors. I was taught that how we care for those around us reflects the core of who we are. I strive to carry that mindset into my design practice, not as something separate from it, but as an extension of it. Remaining committed to community service reinforces my belief that design encompasses networks of trust and shared ownership, not just physical systems. Staying engaged with community organizations through the Design Workshop Foundation keeps me accountable to the people my work is meant to serve, while supporting youth leadership and advancing long-term environmental and social resilience.