Cameron Sinclair

Cameron Sinclair is the co-founder and 'chief eternal optimist' (CEO) for Architecture for Humanity, a charitable organization which builds architecture and design solutions to humanitarian crises, and provides pro-bono design and construction services to communities in need. Over the past 12 years the organization has worked in 44 countries and has over 70 independent city-wide chapters. Projects range from schools, health clinics, affordable housing and long term sustainable reconstruction after disasters. As a strong believer in cultural diplomacy, Sinclair has been working on a series of projects to re-think cultural and civic institutions within the social fabric.

Sinclair and Architecture for Humanity co-founder Kate Stohr compiled a bestselling book "Design Like You Give A Damn: Architectural Responses to Humanitarian Crises" and are currently working on a second volume. As a frequent teacher and visiting professor, he is heavily involved in bringing socially relevant design into academia and holds an honorary doctorate from the University of Westminster.

Sinclair is a recipient of the TED prize and a Young Global Leader of the World Economic Forum. In 2008 Sinclair and Stohr were named as recipients of the National Design Awards and the following year jointly awarded the Bicentenary Medal by the Royal Society of Arts for increasing people’s resourcefulness. In 2011 Sinclair was made a Senior Fellow of the Design Futures Council and took an advisory role at USAID with a focus on reforming international aid.

Sinclair and Stohr launched the Open Architecture Network, the worlds' first open source community dedicated to improving living conditions through innovative and sustainable design. In 2011 this network merged with Worldchanging to become a central destination for collaborative solutions to change the world.

In his spare time Cameron runs a collaborative design firm that only operates at 36,000 ft (in flight) and rides around on his 1975 Vespa Primavera.