Cindy L. Harden was with the Pratt Center for Community Development from l98l to l989, serving for three years as Director of the Pratt Architectural Collaborative, a division of the Pratt Center. She was responsible for coordinating the Collaborative’s architectural services, but also focused on the design of housing and social services for families and individuals with special needs. Ms.Harden was one of the first architects in the country to recognize the needs of the growing homeless population and has dedicated her professional career to working with non-profit organizations serving low- and moderate-income people and those with special needs. She received a Bachelor’s Degree with a Major in Architecture from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 1976 and a Master’s Degree in Architecture from Washington University in 1979. She also studied social work and was a student in Washington University’s Joint Degree Program in Architecture and Social Work.  Ms. Harden is the recipient of a Distinguished Alumni Award from Washington University. In 1989 Ms. Harden founded Harden + Van Arnam Architects.  For nearly 30 years HVA worked with not-for-profit developers to design and build hundreds of units of affordable and supportive housing. In 2017 she founded EQ Architects with longtime HVA associate, Claudia Goudas.

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Ms. Harden has stepped away from the firm, taking focus towards other design endeavors and enjoying her retirement skiing, hiking, gardening, and cycling in Tarrytown and Vermont.