Melba Whatley, an Austin businesswoman, is a local advocate for green space, urban design, the arts and education.
In 2007 she received the Edwin Waller Award in Public Architecture by AIA Austin for her work as Facilities Chair of St. Edward’s University where she has been instrumental in transforming the campus.
In 2010 she was asked by Austin City Councilmember Sheryl Cole to lead an effort to transform the surface of the Waller Creek District. She co-founded Waterloo Greenway, a public-private partnership with the City of Austin and launched Design Waller Creek: A Competition. The firms of Michael Van Valkenburgh and Thomas Phifer and Partners of New York won the competition with their design for a string of parks and trail system along the urban Waller Creek. In the summer of 2021, Waterloo Greenway completed Phase One of the design when it opened its largest park, Waterloo. The conservancy began construction on Phase Two, The Confluence, in 2023.
In 2014 Melba received the Jane Sibley Leadership Award from the Austin Symphony, chiefly for her breakthrough work in leading the merger between the Austin Museum of Art and Art House, resulting in the creation of The Contemporary Austin. The Contemporary Austin reflects the spectrum of contemporary art through exhibitions, commissions, education, and the collection.
In 2017, Melba received the Cornerstone Award from Texas Society of Architects for her commitment to design excellence in our built environment and her advocacy for well-designed civic park spaces in our urban core.
In early 2023, Melba founded EverGreen Austin (formerly the Jolly Greens), a women’s group devoted to reigniting Austin’s green consciousness and embedding an enduring green culture in our city.
Melba is an honorary member of the Texas Society of Architects.