EDRAite of the Month - Dak Kopec

January 14, 2026

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EDRAite of the Month - Dak Kopec

November 2015 Dak Kopec I spent my formative years in HUD housing and had many teachers say I would never amount to anything. Early in life I figured out that others, based on assumptions about my blue-collar family and neighborhood, were deciding my future. Never having much guidance, but amazing family support, I created my own path knowing only two things for certain: I am an excellent communicator, and the environments that surround us effects the way people view us and how we view ourselves. My personal journey has always been based on systems thinking. My core belief is that all situations are a result of multiple factors that come together to produce a given outcome. The one program or position that best describes me as a person is the Design for Human Health program at the Boston Architectural College. This program is based on the intersections of human biology, psychology, and sociology filtered through an individual’s spirit, mind, and body as applied to the built environment. I like the holistic approach of this program because I know that I am the sum of complex intersections that have shaped my past, made me the person I am today, and will influence who I will become in the future. Having a diverse and holistic view is what attracted me to the Environmental Design Research Association (EDRA). It provides me with the opportunity to engage in intellectual discourse with Architects, Interior Designers, Occupational Therapists, Psychologists, Social Ecologists and an assortment of other professionals who share an interest in the human-environment relationship. Being selected as this months EDRAite has extreme significance to me because I have such admiration for all members of EDRA. I firmly believe that EDRA is a cutting edge organization that provides an ideal platform where experts from different disciplines can share their passions and collectively work toward a better tomorrow. www.dakkopec.com