Nayna Mistry was born in England and trained as an Architect at Manchester University in UK. She graduated from The University of Manchester with a Bachelor of Arts in Architecture and a Bachelor of Architecture Degree. She has worked in several private offices and one government office in England and has a broad understanding of most types of building developments, from adaptations for disabled people to help them stay in their homes to multi-story office buildings. Nayna ran her own private architectural practice in the UK from 1994 to 2004 which included residential and commercial projects.
Since 2004, Nayna and her family have made Martinez (Augusta) GA their home. Nayna worked for a local Architecture office for three years and then Columbia County since 2007. Nayna enjoys problem-solving and collaboration with the other departments. Nayna enjoys all things art related, running, pickle ball, trying new restaurants and new recipes.
Nayna implemented the first ever Community Pride Design Awards program in the County in 2010 where the public could vote for their favorite new commercial buildings. This helped with the quality of architectural submittals for developments in and out of the adopted Design Overlays. In 2019 this program was changed into a Design Recognition program that is announced on the County’ social media and it has expanded to highlight not only buildings, but renovations, landscaping and low impact design and green infrastructure. The goal is to help raise the bar on design at all levels and a better team dynamic with planners, architects, landscape architects and engineers working together and collaborating on projects.