Cushing Terrell Welcomes Education Planners Beth Wilson and Abby Weiss to the Firm’s Team in Austin
With a combined four decades of experience in education design and planning, Wilson and Weiss bolster the firm’s education design team in the Texas region and beyond.
Multidisciplinary design firm, Cushing Terrell, welcomes Beth Wilson and Abby Weiss to its team as education planning leads who will support clients and projects across a variety of locations. Adding two new team members with experience working directly for school districts will enhance the firm’s overall capabilities and bring in-depth, intricate knowledge of the needs of education clients and how the firm can support them through planning and design.
Beth Wilson, education planner, Cushing Terrell
Wilson is a K–12 facilities planning executive with more than 30 years of experience leading strategic planning, real estate strategy, and educational design that advances equity and instructional excellence.
Prior to joining Cushing Terrell, Wilson served as Executive Director of Planning and Asset Management for Austin Independent School District. In this role, she spearheaded the development of the district’s 2022 equity-based long-range plan, which guided the passage of a historic $2.44 billion bond program — recognized with the 2024 American Planning Association Award for Advancing Diversity and Social Change.
Known for her collaborative leadership and ability to translate instructional vision into innovative, student-centered environments, Wilson’s experience spans school district planning, municipal policy, and architectural design. She has a master’s degree in architecture from the University of Michigan and a bachelor’s degree in environmental design from Texas A&M University.
After 18 years with Austin Independent School District, I’m excited to share my insights into the inner workings of school districts — what truly supports effective, long-range planning and what obstacles districts must overcome to achieve sustainable and equitable outcomes for all students. I look forward to contributing to the continued growth and impact of Cushing Terrell’s work in the education space.
Beth Wilson
Education Planner
Cushing Terrell
Weiss is a K–12 facilities planning professional with a passion for data, geographic information systems, and comprehensive long-range planning.
She most recently served as the Assistant Planning Director for Austin Independent School District and supported implementation of the operational strategies for the district’s 2022 equity-based, long-range plan. Before joining Austin Independent School District, Weiss held both county and city planning roles in northeast Florida where she contributed to land-use planning, policy development, and community-focused analysis.
Weiss has a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Vermont and a master’s degree in urban and regional planning from Florida Atlantic University.
Abby Weiss, education planner, Cushing Terrell
I’m most excited about learning from the communities I’ll be working with. I’ll be focused on comprehensive long‑range planning, connecting the dots across all parts of the districts we work with to ensure facility planning efforts align with district initiatives and strategic academic goals. My aim is to help create buildings that better support teaching, learning, and the overall student experience.
Abby Weiss
Education Planner
Cushing Terrell
Through long-range planning, Cushing Terrell partners with clients to identify their needs as they relate to learning environments across an entire school district and works with them to develop a plan for addressing those needs through funding, design, and development. In addition, the Cushing Terrell team ensures a district’s standards for learning environments are infused into a single campus design and that members of the educational community and other stakeholders are given a voice in how the design unfolds.
“We’re incredibly fortunate to have both Beth and Abby contributing their experience to our team, helping to drive and continuously improve our educational design and planning efforts with a keen eye to what’s needed and what works for administrators, students, and staff,” said Corey Johnson, Education Design Director and Associate Principal with Cushing Terrell. “They join an incredibly passionate and talented team of people who’ve dedicated their careers to creating educational environments that are effective, inspiring, and suit the particular needs of each district and school.”
Learn more about the firm’s education design team, projects, and clients.
About Cushing Terrell
Cushing Terrell was founded in 1938 on the belief that integrating architecture, engineering, and design opens the doors for deepened relationships and enhanced creativity. This foundation continues to define the firm and its multidisciplinary team today. Driven by empathy, the team works to design systems and spaces that help people live their best lives and enjoy healthy, sustainable built environments. With more than 500 team members spanning 30-plus disciplines and expertise across the commercial, education, government, healthcare, infrastructure, residential, and retail markets, the firm has offices in Colorado, Idaho, Louisiana, Minnesota, Montana, Oregon, Texas, and Washington. For more information about Cushing Terrell, visit cushingterrell.com.
