Ellen Taylor, PhD, AIA, MBA, EDAC
ST. LOUIS – Facility Guidelines Institute (FGI) is proud to announce that Ellen Taylor, PhD, AIA, MBA, EDAC, is the recipient of the FGI Pioneer Award. Ellen was presented the award on November 6, 2023, by FGI CEO Heather Livingston and Health Guidelines Revision Committee Chair John Williams at the Healthcare Design and Expo Conference in New Orleans.
“As chair of the 2010, 2014, and 2018 Guidelines, Ellen was a critical force in moving the standards forward in telemedicine, patient falls, and other elements of the safety risk assessment,” says Doug Erickson, FGI CEO Emeritus. “She significantly raised the bar on the use of research and evidence when creating new or revising existing Guidelines text.”
Throughout her career, Ms. Taylor has been an unwavering advocate for improving health and residential care facility design standards through evidence-based design. In 2011, she joined the FGI Health Guidelines Revision Committee (HGRC), where she quickly demonstrated how a strong understanding of research can positively impact the planning, design, and construction of health care facilities. Ms. Taylor is the principal author of the safety risk assessment requirements that appear in the FGI Guidelines for Design and Construction documents. As a direct result of her efforts, the design community now recognizes risk assessments as the foundation for understanding how the built environment should respond to hazards.
As a vice chair of the HGRC, Ms. Taylor deftly applies her insight and influence to encourage the exchange of diverse perspectives, advance new ideas, and build consensus. With more than 35 years of experience in the areas of architecture, research, and business, Ms. Taylor is currently Vice President for Research at The Center for Health Design, leading The Center’s research team. She is a registered architect and member of the AIA who was recognized by Healthcare Design as the HCD10 Researcher in 2017, an award recognizing significant contributions to the industry. A nationally and internationally recognized writer and speaker, Ms. Taylor has led numerous grant-funded research programs and published numerous peer-reviewed papers. She works tirelessly to further the exchange of ideas through her roles with the Center for Health Design, the AlA Academy of Architecture for Health, and the editorial advisory boards of the HERD Journal and the American Journal of Infection Control.
FGI Press Release Ellen Taylor Pioneer Award