Sara Marberry

Thought Leader, Author, Consultant

Healthcare Design Knowledge Expert

Sara Marberry, EDAC, is a nationally known healthcare and senior living design knowledge expert. A leading advocate for how the design of the physical environment can positively affect outcomes, she frequently speaks writes, and shares content about current trends and issues.

Sara brings her healthcare and senior living design knowledge to the marketing work she does with product manufacturers, nonprofit organizations, and design firms. Her areas of specialty are marketing strategy, branding, content development, and digital marketing.

A founding board member of the nonprofit Center for Health Design (CHD) in 1993, Sara was instrumental in its growth and development, serving in various volunteer, consulting, and staff roles for more than 20 years — Director of Communications, Acting President, and Executive Vice President and COO. As EVP, she oversaw the Evidence-based Design Assessment and Certification (EDAC) program, supervised strategic marketing for all programs, and participated in new project development.

Other companies/organizations Sara has worked with are the American Academy of Healthcare Interior Designers, Bonar Floors, CannonDesign, Carolina (an OFS company), Eden Alternative, Facility Guidelines Institute, Healing HealthCare Systems, Henry Domke Fine Art, J+J Flooring, Kurt Johnson Photography, Joint Commission Resources, Mannington, Mindclick, Mohawk Group, and WHR Architects.

She has spoken at many national conferences and meetings, including the Children’s Hospital Association International Facilities & Capacity Conference, NeoCon, American College of Healthcare Executives Congress, Healthcare Design, Planetree Conference, and the Joint Commission Conference on Quality & Safety.

Sara has also been featured on OFS’s “Imagine a Place” podcast, the Australian Health Design Council’s podcast series “Health Design on the Go,” McMorrow Reports’ “Product Focus Friday” program, and the “Healthcare Interior Design 2.0” podcast sponsored by Porcelanosa. A social media influencer, she has more than 6,000 followers and connections on LinkedIn and Twitter.

Sara is the editor of Improving Healthcare Through Better Building Design (Health Administration Press, 2006), editor of Healthcare Design: An Introduction (John Wiley & Sons, 1997), editor of Innovations in Healthcare: Selected Presentations from the First Five Symposia on Healthcare Design (Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1995), author of Color in the Office: Design Trends from 1950-1990 and Beyond (Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1994), and co-author of The Power of Color: Creating Healthy Interior Spaces (John Wiley & Sons, 1994).

She is also a former editor of Contract magazine; editor of Volumes III-X of the Journal of Healthcare Design (1990-1998); and a former executive editor for Perspectives magazine. In addition, Sara has written more than 100 articles that have been published online and in print publications.