Bio:
Kaitlin Messich joined the Institute of Government’s Planning and Environmental Services Unit in 2013. Passionate about designing communities to improve the quality of life for all Georgia residents, she focuses on creating strategic visioning and implementation plans that help make creative solutions come to life.
Specializing in community branding and placemaking, Kaitlin believes all communities have unique assets that can be strategically leveraged to encourage economic development, positioning them to attract investment, improve quality of life, and retain sense of place.
Since 2013, Kaitlin has completed more than 50 community projects as part of the Georgia Downtown Renaissance Partnership, a master-planning process for downtowns that features a three-phase community visioning and strategic planning process. Kaitlin creates research-based, context sensitive designs, including adaptive reuse concepts, community branding packages, space programming, and placemaking design concepts. Her background is in historic preservation, graphic design, interior design, political science, and the visual arts.
Education:
Bachelor of Arts, Political Science, Presbyterian College, 2007
Master of Historic Preservation, University of Georgia, 2010
Master of Fine Arts, Interior Design, University of Georgia, 2013
Certificate in Creative Placemaking, New Hampshire Institute of Art and the National
Consortium of Creative Placemaking
Certificate in Brand Management, Cornell University, 2023
Additional Info:
Areas of Expertise: community visioning, community branding, placemaking, public art, painting, historic preservation, interior design, adaptive reuse, space programming, and graphic design.
