Amber Wiley

Amber is a 4th year doctoral candidate specializing in architectural and urban history, and African American cultural studies. Her main areas of focus combine architectural theory and history with urban and cultural issues of race, class, gender, and urban policy. Amber has served as the teaching assistant for Richard Longstreth's American Architecture courses. She is currently working on her dissertation “Concrete Solutions: Race, Class, and Architecture of Urban High Schools from 1960-1980,” a comparative analysis of public high school design in Atlanta, Philadelphia, Richmond, Washington, DC, including themes on pedagogical expression, architectural evolution, urban renewal, preservation/memory, and symbolism.

Amber has held internships at the Smithsonian's Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, Americans for the Arts, and the National Trust for Historic Preservation. She received her BA in Architecture from Yale University in 2003, and her Master's in Architectural History and Certificate in Historic Preservation from the University of Virginia School of Architecture in 2005. She has also studied architecture abroad in the University of Virginia in China Summer Program and the Syracuse University Center in Florence Italy.

In her non-existent spare time, Amber enjoys creative outlets such as drawing, painting, and photography. She has taught art, dance, step, and art/architectural history courses, from kindergarten to college level. To view her portfolio online, please visit http://home.gwu.edu/~awiley. Feel free to contact Amber at awiley@gwu.edu.