Sameera Chukkapalli Holmes

Sameera Chukkapalli Holmes, an architect, Obama Leader, and social entrepreneur with over a decade of experience, champions sustainable development and ethical leadership globally. As the founder and Executive Director of Needlab, she leads innovative, community-centered projects across four continents, uncovering traditional methods and unveiling new approaches to design and construction using local materials, social customs, cultural heritage, and the environment.

Sameera’s influence extends beyond borders, fostering collaborations with communities, governments, and international bodies like UN-Habitat. She advocates for the inclusion of minority communities, often marginalized in decision-making processes. Needlab projects focus on enhancing social cohesion, sustainability, and resilience through participatory civic engagement.

Recognized for her transformative work, Sameera was selected as an Obama Leader in 2022 by President Obama’s foundation, acknowledging her deep commitment to building a future that advances the well-being of marginalized communities and the sustainability of the planet. Her approach to social entrepreneurship, rooted in participatory methodologies and ethical, value-based leadership, has earned her recognition as a Fast Company World Changing Ideas Finalist and recipient of the UNDP’s Hackster Impact Project Award.

A passionate advocate and educator, Sameera shares her expertise at global forums such as the UN-Habitat Assembly and Harvard Business School SECON Conference. Her commitment to nurturing future leaders is evident in her roles as Adjunct Professor at New York University and Visiting Associate Professor at Pratt Institute, where she teaches Ethical Leadership and Entrepreneurial Systems and leads courses on community participatory design. Through these platforms, she inspires the next generation of engineers, architects, and urban planners to consider the social and cultural implications of their work.

Sameera’s architectural prowess has led to partnerships with high-profile leaders on initiatives ranging from CO2 reduction to carbon-neutral designs. As the youngest architect to design for Barcelona Design Week in 2018, she continues to push the boundaries of sustainable innovation while respecting and integrating local wisdom and practices.

Her journey as an international changemaker, an immigrant woman of color, embodies resilience and persistence. Drawing inspiration from her family’s legacy of activism, including her father’s 40-year fight against deforestation and corruption, Sameera continues to advocate for democracy, equitable justice, and sustainable solutions that make a meaningful difference in underserved communities across the globe.

Through Needlab’s projects and her academic work, Sameera demonstrates that sustainable development is not just about technological advancements but also about honoring and revitalizing traditional knowledge, fostering community engagement, and creating spaces that reflect the unique cultural narratives of each place she works. Her holistic approach to architecture and urban planning, honed over a decade of hands-on experience, is a model for creating resilient, culturally rich, and environmentally sustainable communities worldwide.

MAA, 2016, Architecture, IAAC

• The HOUSE for ALL of the NGO ‘Needlab’: sustainable and self-sufficient – Architecture Digest, July 2020, https://www.revistaad.es/arquitectura/articulos/casa-para-todos-ong-needlab-sostenible-autosuficiente/26584
• https://engineering.nyu.edu/news/new-generation-changemakers