Ford built a new doorway into the profession by connecting architecture to a culture young people already know, understand and help shape: Hip Hop. What began as a camp in Madison, Wisconsin has grown into a movement that has introduced thousands of young people to architecture, design and the power they have to shape their own communities.

A licensed architect with more than two decades of experience, Ford has built a career at the intersection of architecture, Hip Hop culture, education and design justice. His professional work includes culturally significant projects such as The Hip Hop Museum in the Bronx, while his advocacy has helped challenge the architecture profession to rethink who gets introduced to design, whose culture informs our built environment and who gets to become an architect.

In 2026, Ford received the AIA Whitney M. Young Jr. Award, one of the profession’s significant honors for advancing social justice and responsibility, and was elevated to the AIA College of Fellows. His work and ideas have been featured by The New York Times, Rolling Stone, Architectural Digest, and the TODAY Show.

The Camp is the manifestation of that work: turning cultural relevance into access, access into opportunity, and opportunity into a new generation of designers.