Ma Ry Kim is an architect whose work sits at the intersection of neuroscience, architecture, and community health. She brings deep, community-based experience in applied brain science, with a particular focus on how the brain adapts and relearns after adversity. She is also a mother to five incredible Neurodiverse people, a lived perspective that informs her work every day.

Ma Ry is Co-Founder and CEO of the Brain Health Applied Research Institute (B+HARI) and Founder of I-ON Group, where she advances evidence-based design strategies that integrate neuroscience, architecture, and social equity. She is currently an inaugural Scholar-in-Residence at the Honolulu Museum of Art, where she bridges art and science to expand public access to brain health. She is a former Principal and Regional Design Leader at Gensler, the world’s largest architecture firm, where she served as Regional Design Leader and Co Global Head of Mixed Use and Entertainment Projects, leading work across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. She has also served as a Principal at Hawai‘i-based multidisciplinary firm G70.

Her work spans:

• Play-based learning environments for neurodiverse children

• Compassionate Housing™ models supporting trauma recovery and reintegration for people overcoming houselessness

• Spatial strategies that strengthen memory, orientation, and navigation for individuals with cognitive impairment

• Senior living communities designed to foster social connection, neuroplasticity, and cognitive longevity

B+HARI’s landmark project, Kumu Ola Hou, is widely recognized as a proof of concept demonstrating how neuroarchitecture can address complex societal challenges, including chronic homelessness, through cognitive recovery and community reintegration. Ma Ry is also co-creator of the B+HARI Method, a joyful, creative intelligence–based approach that strengthens cognitive function and embeds neuro-supportive habits into daily life.

Her academic training includes a Bachelor of Architecture from the University of Southern California, where she received the Rogoff Memorial Prize for Design Excellence and graduated with the highest GPA among female students. She completed professional training at the Architectural Association in London and is a registered member of the Royal Institute of British Architects. She has served as Director of Professional Studios and Associate Professor at the University of Hawai‘i School of Architecture and is currently pursuing advanced studies in neuroanatomy to deepen her understanding of architecture’s role in public health.

Two formative life experiences shaped Ma Ry’s commitment to brain health. One was the survival of her youngest son, born weighing just 1.5 pounds after severe in utero deprivation, yet emerging without neurological or medical impairment. The other was witnessing unexpected cognitive improvement in a family member with advanced Alzheimer’s after moving from an institutional setting to a Buddhist monastery. Together, these experiences reinforced her conviction that environment, compassion, and daily habits profoundly influence brain resilience and recovery.

Equally formative was supporting her own father’s recovery after a severe traumatic brain injury. Helping him regain cognition and his center of balance deepened her understanding that the brain is not fixed, and that intentional environments and targeted daily practices can meaningfully support recovery after injury.

Today, through B+HARI, Ma Ry collaborates with clinicians, scientists, and community partners to translate applied neuroscience into real-world settings, from housing and education to hospitality and public space. Her work continues to demonstrate how thoughtfully designed environments can function not just as shelter or backdrop, but as active contributors to cognitive health, dignity, and long-term well-being.

Ma Ry was also a co-host of CBS and Paramount’s ByDesign Global, where she engaged with global organizations and some of the world’s most trailblazing innovators who are shaping the future design.