Select Board Appoints Maria Fernandez Donovan to Conservation Commission

Maria Fernandez-Donovan AIA, LEED AP BD+C, the latest appointed addition to the Lynnfield Conservation Commission, has lived in Lynnfield with her family since 1998.

A few years after Maria was born in Wisconsin, her family moved to live abroad (Honduras, Colombia, The Philippines). She returned to the US to study architecture at the University of Miami and then transferred to Cornell University where she earned her Bachelor of Architecture. Maria is a Registered Architect who has worked in MA most of her career designing and managing building projects of various typologies (dormitories, libraries, athletic facilities, museums, classrooms, and life science buildings in addition to residences.) and in many school, college and university campuses. As part of her work, she has attended Conservation Commission meetings in several towns and cities.

Maria has cared about our environment since she was very young.  Sustainability has been of top concern and interest for a long time; hence she became a LEED AP (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Accredited Professional) very early in her architecture career and has worked to influence building design to be as sustainable as possible while protecting the environment they are built in. 

“One of the most important benefits Lynnfield has to offer is beautiful vegetation and beneficial natural environments", notes Donovan.  "We humans affect the places we live in. We need to be conscious of the fact that every change we make should be made minimizing negative impact on the natural environment around us. Every change we make can be an opportunity to improve our world.”