I am passionate about housing equity and believe architects have the power to change attitudes toward affordable housing. I believe everyone deserves access to dignified, well-designed homes, no matter their socioeconomic status.

Megan Altendorf, AIA, NCARB

Director
Boston, MA, USA

Megan is a Director and Project Manager at MASS Design Group. Her passion for housing equity and belief that architects have the power to change attitudes toward affordable housing is what led her to MASS in 2021.  She believes everyone deserves access to dignified, well-designed homes regardless of their socioeconomic status.

Over her 13 years in the industry, she has gained experience in a variety of project types ranging from single-family residential, commercial, tenant improvements, master planning, and housing projects of up to 300 units.  However, more recently, her focus has been on affordable, supportive, and mixed-use housing communities serving nonprofits and marginalized populations. She currently manages a range of projects in the greater Boston area, challenging the conventions of affordable housing through research-based sustainable, resilient, and trauma-informed design practices. 

Throughout her career, Megan has volunteered in numerous capacities. She has been a guest lecturer for a variety of audiences ranging from elementary-aged kids, to high schoolers, to graduate-level architecture students. She led advocacy efforts for AIA Seattle’s Committee on Homelessness, where she helped pass the city’s groundbreaking inclusionary zoning legislation and subsequently received the Committee of the Year award in 2019. She has done pro bono work for Architects Without Borders in Sierra Leone and volunteered in Nepal following the 2015 earthquakes.  

Megan was a panelist at AIA Seattle’s Conference on Decarbonization and served on a task force for the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB), developing the cut score for the Architectural Registration Exam. She currently volunteers in an outreach program focused on and forming friendships with people experiencing homelessness on the streets of Boston.

Megan is licensed in Colorado and Massachusetts and holds a Bachelor of Architecture degree from Oklahoma State University, where she graduated summa cum laude. She received the AIA Henry Adams School Medal, awarded to the top graduate of NAAB-accredited architecture programs across the United States.