Tina Hovsepian

Tina Hovsepian, a designer and philanthropist, graduated from the University of Southern California with her Bachelor of Architecture in 2009. She currently designs contemporary, sustainable, LEED rated, homes in Santa Monica for Duvivier Architects. Born and raised in Los Angeles, Tina always had a consuming interest in humanitarian causes, especially the plight of the homeless on Downtown's infamous Skid Row. During her time at USC she had the opportunity to synthesize this interest with her architectural studies. In 2007 she designed and build a prototype of a temporary shelter made of folded cardboard, Cardborigami. Tina received Second Prize for Most Innovative at the 2009 USC Undergraduate Symposium for Creative Work. That was the first time an Architecture student had won an award in this school-wide category.

Currently, Tina has undertaken the ambitious task of starting a non-profit while pursuing her career in Architecture. This has proven to be a challenging yet educational effort. Despite the lengthy journey to fruition, Cardborigami continues to receive overwhelmingly positive feedback for its ingenuity. Within months of public exposure, Hovsepian's shelter had aroused interested in 88 different countries, is featured on CNN.com, and appears in articles on many prestigious design blogs.

Tina believes that design fundamentally impacts the daily life of our society. Architects are armed with aggressively creative ideas and new approaches to old problems. With more designers focusing their talent on socially responsible design, the world would be a better place.