Tina Hovsepian

Tina Hovsepian, an architect and philanthropist, graduated from the University of Southern California with her Bachelors of Architecture in 2009. Born and raised in Los Angeles, Tina always had a consuming interest in humanitarian causes, especially the plight of the homeless on Downtown’s infamous Skid Row. During her time at USC she had the opportunity to synthesize this interest with her architectural studies. In 2007 she designed and built a prototype of a temporary shelter made of folded cardboard, Cardborigami. Since then, Tina has successfully launched a non-profit with the shelter product as a centerfold and raised over $1.3 million in funds and in-kind services. Cardborigami, Inc. continues to receive overwhelmingly positive feedback for its innovation and ingenuity in the realm of social entrepreneurship. Current efforts are focused on disaster preparedness and relief. Tina believes that design fundamentally impacts the daily life of our society. Architects are armed with aggressively creative ideas and new approaches to old problems. With more designers focusing their talent on socially responsible design, the world would be a better place.