Deborah Marton
For more than two decades, Deborah Marton has helped reshape how New York City looks, feels, and functions by championing well-designed, just, ecologically dynamic public spaces. President of the New York City Public Design Commission since 2022, Deborah leads the Commission in guiding the city鈥檚 most visible public projects 鈥 from artworks to major capital builds 鈥 to ensure design excellence and fundamental fairness across neighborhoods citywide.
As Executive Director of Van Alen Institute, she transformed the 130-year old legacy institution into a platform creating equitable cities through inclusive design. At New York Restoration Project, she fulfilled the private sector commitment to plant a million trees as part of New York City鈥檚 MillionTreesNYC initiative. During her tenure there, she guided creation and revitalization of more than 50 community gardens in the city鈥檚 least green neighborhoods, including piloting solar-powered emergency charging stations and public-health driven designs. Her leadership at Design Trust for Public Space launched iconic initiatives, from rethinking the New York City taxi system to creating a high performance landscape guide still used at NYC Parks today. With James Corner Field Operations, she led the original Fresh Kills Master Plan team, opening Field Ops鈥 first New York City office.
Earlier, Deborah was program director for the New York City Dept. of Parks Natural Resources Group and adjunct professor at the Univ. of Pennsylvania Weitzman School of Design. She holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Pennsylvania, a J.D. from New York University School of Law, and a Master of Landscape Architecture from the Harvard Graduate School of Design. Bridging law, design, and public service, Deborah鈥檚 work grows from a deep commitment to creating a more just and resilient urban future.