Austin History Center

Donna Dean Carter was born in 1952 in Dayton, Ohio. She spent the majority of her life prior to college in Sudbury, Massachusetts. She has degrees from Yale University and the University of California at Berkeley. Following college graduation she moved to Austin and began working for Brooks Barr Graeber and White, which transitioned to Graeber Simmons and Cowan. Carter left Graeber Simmons and Cowan in 1981 and later formed a firm with Austin architect Ruth Parshall. Their partnership lasted about four years and Carter then formed a new firm on her own. Carter has been involved in many civic organizations including serving on the Downtown Revitalization Task Force, participating in the AIA RUDAT, serving on the Mueller Commission and the Texas Historical Commission. Notable projects are the Carver Library and Genealogy Center, renovations of City of Austin fire stations, the Haehnel Grocery Store, and plans for East 11th and 12th Streets.