Born in Venezuela, MONICA PONCE DE LEON received a bachelor of architecture from the University of Miami in 1989

Born in Venezuela, Monica Ponce de Leon received a bachelor of architecture from the University of Miami in 1989, followed by a master of architecture in Urban Design from the Harvard Graduate School of Design in 1991. In September 2008, Ponce de Leon was appointed dean of the University of Michigan's A. Alfred Taubman College of Architecture + Urban Planning.

Prior to her arrival to Michigan, she was professor and director of the digital lab at the Harvard Graduate School of Design. Ponce de Leon is also a founder and principal of Office dA, a Boston-based architecture and design firm whose work ranges in scale from furniture to urban design and infrastructure. The firm has received numerous international awards, including 10 Progressive Architecture Awards, five I.D. Magazine Awards, the Harleston Parker Award, an Award in Architecture from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, and the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Award for Architecture. The firm's work in green, sustainable design includes Helios House, a sustainable power station in Los Angeles, and the Macallen Building, a 144-unit condominium completed in Boston in 2008. Office dA has also worked on such international projects as the Tongxian Arts Center in Beijing, the Elemental community project in Chile, and the Villa Moda Competition in Kuwait. Other work includes the Rhode Island School of Design Library, the Northeastern University Spiritual Life Center, and the Harvard Graduate School of Design offices.

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