Profile
Since joining Meredith in 2020, I鈥檝e had the pleasure of teaching a variety of courses in Interior Design鈥攊ncluding many Study Abroad adventures! One of my greatest passions is exploring how we experience places鈥攏ot just as physical settings, but as important parts of our culture and history that connect us to the past, shape our present, and help imagine the future. I believe the spaces we design have real power to influence how people feel and live, and this belief guides both my teaching and my research. For example, my research specifically focuses on how the sense of place can support healing and safety in Domestic Violence Shelters.
In the classroom, I love bringing real-world perspectives from my Interior Design practice in Healthcare, Commercial, Retail, and Hospitality design. My specialty is Architectural Lighting Design鈥攕o you鈥檒l often hear me talk about how light transforms spaces and impacts our well-being. More than anything, I鈥檓 excited to help you discover how thoughtful design can make a difference in the lives of those who use and inhabit our built environments. And if given an opportunity, I will also share my love of Pembroke Welsh Corgis!
Academic Credentials
Texas A&M University, Doctorate of Philosophy, Architecture, 2010
Winthrop University, Master of Fine Art, Interior Design 1999
缅北禁地, Bachelor of Science, Interior Design, 1990
Professional Credentials
IDEC | NCIDQ | Registered Interior Designer – NC | Phi Kappa Phi | Tau Sigma Delta
American Institute of Architects (AIA), Associate Member, 2015 鈥� present
International Association of Interior Designers (IIDA), Professional member, 2025 – present
National Council for Interior Design Qualification (NCIDQ) Certified, Certificate No. 010900, 1993 鈥� present
Registered Interior Designer (RID), No. 229, North Carolina Board of Architecture and Registered Interior Designers, 2022 鈥� present
International Association of Lighting Designers (IALD), Educator member, 2002 鈥� present
Interior Design Educators Council (IDEC), Professional member, 2024 – present
Tau Sigma Delta, National Architecture Honor Society, 2008
Phi Kappa Phi National Honor Society, 1999; President-Elect, 缅北禁地 Chapter
Presentations
McKinney, M. and Prestwood, L. (2023, March) Placemaking in the College Classroom…Beyond the First Day. Presentation at the NC State University Conference on Faculty Excellence: Stronger Together annual conference. Raleigh, NC.
Prestwood, L. & Grimes-Droessler, L. (2022) Preparing Students for Success in an Uncertain Future 鈥� Filling Your Toolkit, Critical Questions in Education Conference Presentation, February 23, 2022, Charleston, SC.
Prestwood, L. (2009, July). Toward an Understanding and Application of Maurice Merleau-Ponty鈥檚 Phenomenology of Perception to the Design of the Built Environment. Gendering East/West International Conference, University of York, York, UK.
Prestwood, L. (2009, April). Feminism, Embodiment, and the Architecture of Home: Home as an Embodied Expression of Feminism. Southeastern Women鈥檚 Studies Association (SEWSA) Annual Conference, Appalachian State University, Boone, NC.
Awards
Legacy of Women Award, Category: Education, SafeHaven of Tarrant County, October 2012
Prestwood, L. (2006). Mourning Mist. Photography, 2D design. 2006 Design Educators鈥� National Exhibition. Competitive Entry, 1st Place 鈥� Category: Visual Arts-2D. Department of Design, Merchandising, and Textiles at Texas Christian University.
Prestwood, L. (2005). Weathered Reflection. Photography, 2D design. 2005 Design
Educators鈥� National Exhibition. Competitive Entry. Category: Visual Arts-2D. Department
of Design, Merchandising, and Textiles at Texas Christian University.
Prestwood, L. (2004). Summoning Santa Fe. Photography, 2D design. 2004 Design Educators鈥� National Exhibition. Competitive Entry, 2nd Place 鈥� Category: Visual Arts-2D. Department of Design, Housing, and Merchandising and the Department of Art at Oklahoma State University