Jonsara Ruth is a designer, artist, educator, and futurist seeking to elevate human experience through design. Driven by a curiosity for materials, she connects poetry, phenomenology, and material health with function, craft, and long-term use. She draws on her artistic practice to creatively lead, motivate change, and inspire new ways of making and imagining futures.
Jonsara co-founded and directs Healthy Materials Lab (HML) at Parsons School of Design, where she is an Associate Professor and founded the MFA Interior Design program. At HML, she leads research to improve the health of underserved communities by transforming design and material practices.
Drawing on decades of experience leading design teams in the furniture industry, Jonsara leverages her deep understanding of manufacturing and supply chains, along with a penchant for democratic design. She founded Salty Labs, a climate-positive design collective, to experiment with circularity and healthy, low embodied carbon materials, to design interiors, furniture, and experiences in collaboration with local artisans. Jonsara has led creative and production teams to achieve award-winning designs, including mass-producing the healthiest, environmentally friendly children’s furniture available in America.
Her work has been featured in many publications, including, The New York Times, Architectural Digest, NBC Open House, and Metropolis Magazine. Accolades include the 2022 Women in Architecture Innovation Award from Architectural Record (with Alison Mears), the 2023 RISD Art & Design Educator Award, and a nomination for the 2025 + 2026 Cooper Hewitt Visionary Design Award. Jonsara and Mears also co-edited the seminal book, Material Health: Design Frontiers, published in 2023. She is a fellow at the MacDowell Colony and has served on several advisory boards, including the Sustainable Furnishings Council. She holds a Master of Architecture from Cranbrook Academy of Art and a BFA in Industrial Design from Rhode Island School of Design.
