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Dr. Lorissa MacAllister is a researcher and architect who is blending her experience and expertise in healthcare to pioneer a unique approach to design in the healthcare industry and beyond.

Dr. MacAllister has dedicated herself to guiding organizations to the next level of integrated performance by systematically aligning operational processes and the environment to improve an organization’s culture, business performance, and user experience. Using evidence-based design and other research; she has constructed a new approach to enhancing the built environment as a tool for its occupants. She speaks nationally to help bring about transformative change that benefits stakeholders, patients, the community, and the environment.

Dr. MacAllister is the founder of Enviah, an evidence-based consulting firm that uses a people-centered approach that is both multidimensional and multidisciplinary. Enviah creates healthcare environments where people thrive while helping healthcare providers more effectively accomplish their mission. Dr. MacAllister and Enviah work to integrate people, technology, systems, and space, ensuring that healthcare environments are driven by health and care.

Dr. MacAllister has a B.S. in medical social work from the University of Vermont and an M.A. in architecture from the University of Michigan. She has a doctorate in architecture from Georgia Institute of Technology in the school of environment, culture, and behavior. Her research looks at isolating affects of environmental features that contribute to a person’s ability to function at their best. This includes personal outcomes such as errors, retention, healing, satisfaction (HCAHPS) and productivity.

As a thought leader in her field, Dr. MacAllister speaks and works nationally to standardize the process of creating environments for health. As a founding member of the Green Guide for Healthcare initiative, Dr. MacAllister helped develop the GGHC global guidelines. She is Michigan’s second LEED-certified architect. She has led operational assessments, performed sustainable operations integration, and created master plans for some of the largest healthcare systems in the country. She has sat on sustainable design juries for the AIA and the Center for Health Design. Dr. MacAllister is currently working with the American Hospital Association’s ASHE membership advancement committee dedicated to designing a better patient experience for facility mangers.

In her spare time, she has worked actively in the Grand Rapids community to help many nonprofit organizations transform and grow. Some organizations include the Grand Rapids Child Discovery Center, Grand Rapids Symphony, Gilda’s Club of Grand Rapids, Mercy Health’s ALS clinic, and Celebration of the Arts.