Dr. Sharon Egretta Sutton, FAIA is distinguished visiting professor at Parsons School of Design. She was the first African American to receive both the ACSA Distinguished Professor Award (1996) and the AIA/ACSA Topaz Medallion for Excellence in Architectural Education. She is also the twelfth African American woman in the United States to be licensed to practice architecture, the first to be promoted to full professor of architecture and the second to be elected a fellow in the AIA.