
Profile
Rob Fleming is an award-winning educator, author, keynote speaker, sustainability advocate, and architect. In all his work, Rob strives to: Advocate for social equity in the built environment; Regenerate the natural world, Design beautiful places; and Bring economic viability to sustainability projects.
Rob is an educator.
He is the Director of Online Innovation at the University of Pennsylvania’s Weitzman School of Design and he Is the Director of the Design Leadership Program. From 1996 to 2021, Rob served as the Founding Director and Professor for the Award-winning Master of Science in Sustainable Design Program at Thomas Jefferson University, where he taught hundreds of emerging sustainability professionals who have made important contributions in the world.
Rob is an author.
His 4th book, Sustainable Design for the Built Environment, has become a required textbook for many college courses around the country. In all his books, Rob breaks down complex topics using straightforward language and compelling graphics, leading to a better understanding of how we can address the challenges of the climate emergency.
Rob is a speaker.
He has delivered over 250 public presentations on sustainability where he brings humor, enthusiasm, inspiration and hope for a sustainable and resilient future to audiences around the world.
Rob is an advocate.
Rob co-founded the Justice Alliance for Design Education which features an alliance of 6 universities and 6 non-profit organizations all working together to transform the principles and practices of design programs across the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Rob is the 2023 President of the Philadelphia AIA.
Rob is an architect.
Rob works with clients and design firms around the country to facilitate integrative design charrettes using co-creative, stakeholder driven design processes. In this way, built environment projects reach higher levels of sustainability and the design teams themselves develop stronger bonds through a shared sense of purpose
Read a Q&A with Rob from Penn Today.