Sarah Susanka Confirmed as CNU 21 Plenary Speaker

Sarah Susanka’s “Not So Big” message has become a launch pad for a new dimension of understanding—not just about how we inhabit our homes, but also about how we inhabit our planet and even our day-to-day lives. As a cultural visionary with an incredible ability to understand the underlying structure of the American lifestyle, Susanka is providing the language and tools that are redefining how we live.

Thought leader, inspirational keynote speaker and acclaimed architect, Susanka is the author of nine books that collectively weave together home and life design, revealing that a “Not So Big” attitude serves not only architectural aims, but life goals as well. Her books have sold well over 1.2 million copies. Susanka’s most recent book, More Not So Big Solutions for Your Home, was released in February 2010.

Susanka is personally putting Not So Big house design principles into action with her Not So Big Showhouse at SchoolStreet in Libertyville, Ill. The Showhouse and SchoolStreet development powerfully combine Not So Big house design and a walkable community, showing how “better, not bigger” design, a well-thought out neighborhood and a vibrant existing community create housing success.

Through her Not So Big House presentations and book series, Susanka has helped readers understand that the sense of “home” they’re seeking has almost nothing to do with quantity and everything to do with quality. She points out that we feel “at home” in our houses when where we live reflects who we are in our hearts.

In her book and presentations about The Not So Big Life, she uses this same set of notions to explain that we can feel “at home” in our lives only when what we do reflects who we truly are. Susanka unveils a process for changing the way we live by fully inhabiting each moment of our lives and by showing up completely in whatever it is we are doing.

Acclaimed Speaker, Sought-After Media Resource

Susanka’s inspiring “Not So Big” keynotes and presentations have been sought out by renowned conferences such as West Coast Green, the Housing Leadership Summit and PCBC. Major corporations including Johnson & Johnson, Lowe’s, Target, Best Buy and Herman Miller as well as key government and civic organizations such as the U.S. Department of Energy, the National Association of Homebuilders, The American Institute of Architects and The National Trust for Historic Preservation regularly invite Susanka to address their conferences. Universities, art museums, leadership conferences, health care groups and wellness centers seek her “Not So Big Life” lectures and workshops.

Susanka is regularly called upon for her insights as a social commentator and trend-spotter by USA Today, The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times; magazines such as Newsweek, Better Homes & Gardens, Reader’s Digest and AARP; and television programming such as “Oprah,” “Good Morning America,” “Charlie Rose,” CNN, HGTV and “This Old House.”

Builder Magazine recognizes Susanka as one of the 30 most notable innovators in the housing industry over the past 30 years. Fast Company named Susanka to their debut list of “Fast 50” innovators whose achievements have helped to change society, Newsweek magazine selected her as a “top newsmaker” for 2000, and U.S. News and World Reportdubbed her an “innovator in American culture” in 1998. Susanka was presented with the 2007 Anne Morrow Lindbergh Award by the Lindbergh Foundation for outstanding individual achievement in making positive contributions to our world.