Laura Malinin is the founding director of the Nancy Richardson Design Center at Colorado State University, an academic incubator building and educational/outreach organization formed in 2019 to promote interdisciplinary creative collaboration and design thinking. She is also a tenured Associate Professor of Interior Architecture and Design in the Department of Design and Merchandising. A licensed architect, she holds a B.A. in Architecture and Art and Art History from Rice University, a M.Ed. from the University of Texas, and a joint Ph.D. in Design & Planning and Cognitive Science from the University of Colorado.