Ana Maria Pinto da Silva Named CMU College of Fine Arts School of Design Head

The College of Fine Arts(opens in new window) at Carnegie Mellon University has named Ana Maria Pinto da Silva the new head of the School of Design(opens in new window). Pinto da Silva will begin her role on July 1.

“We are thrilled to welcome Ana as our next head of the School of Design,” said Mary Ellen Poole(opens in new window), dean of the College of Fine Arts. “After a long search, it’s a pleasure to announce that we have found the right person to take our School of Design into a bright and humane future.”

Pinto da Silva joins CFA from the University of Washington in Seattle, where she currently serves as Director of UW’s Masters in Human Computer Interaction and Design program. At the University of Washington, Pinto da Silva works with a talented team of staff, faculty and industry educators, providing strategic program leadership, supporting academic and career advising, admissions assistance and curriculum development, and providing key oversight for the focus of and launch of student capstone projects.

Pinto da Silva earned her bachelor’s degree in architecture from the University of California at Berkeley and her master’s degree in design studies from the Harvard University Graduate School of Design. An accomplished designer, technologist, educator and public speaker, Pinto da Silva is committed to advancing the role designers, engineers and researchers play in the development of future-defining technology innovation centered on equity, inclusion and innovation. 

Pinto da Silva is dedicated to community service. Inspired by the power of leadership and learnership through community, she is the founder of the Seattle Pecha Kucha speaker series, the founding co-chair of the Harvard GSD’s Global Design Impact initiative, and serves on numerous boards and committees including the Harvard GSD MDE program, MOHAI, Leadership Tomorrow and the Nehemiah Initiative.

“I could not be more excited to join the School of Design. This is a pivotal time in the school’s history, and I am eager to build upon the incredible foundation that exists here in the College of Fine Arts,” Pinto da Silva said. “I’m truly looking forward to working with the school’s exceptional faculty, students and staff — as well as connecting with our alumni.”