About
Woven Insight is a woman-owned planning, design, and public engagement practice focused on helping communities, project teams, and decision-makers stitch together the many threads shaping our built environment. Our work factors technical analysis, design thinking, and community voices into a cohesive understanding of complex challenges in the urban fabric.
Through visualization and engagement, Woven Insight supports projects where technical complexity, financial investment, and community impact converge. Our work is grounded in the belief that successful places are shaped not only by sound design and planning, but by intentional processes that weave community insight into meaningful outcomes.
Woven Insight is a Prequalified Vendor with North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT). Our practice is also in process of obtaining our Historically Underutilized Business (HUB WBE) and North Carolina Small Business Enterprise (NCSBE) Certifications.
Guiding Principles
Grounded in Place
Every project is informed by its cultural, historical, environmental, and social context.
Woven by Design
Our work is thoughtful, structured, and responsive to people and place.
Clarity Through Collaboration
Complex information is translated into clear, meaningful communication.
Amanda Merrill
Education
Master of Urban Design
First in Class Honors
University of North Carolina – Charlotte, 2011
Bachelor of Architecture
Cum Laude Honors
University of North Carolina – Charlotte, 2008
Bachelor of Arts in Architecture
Cum Laude Honors
Minor in Geography, University of North Carolina – Charlotte, 2007
Certifications
Post-Master's Certificate
in Real Estate Development,
University of North Carolina – Charlotte, 2012
PublicInput Certified Partner since March 2020
Google AI Professional Certificate, March 2026
Honors & Leadership
Charlotte Mayor’s Award, 2018
Delta Zeta Sorority, National 35 Under 35 Award, 2018
Social Venture Partners, SEED20 Finalist, 2017
NC SHERO Award, 2017
Wholesome Hero Award, 2017
State Department, US-China Youth Entrepreneur Forum, Global Innovations Fellows, 2017
Knight Foundation Emerging City Champions Finalist, 2016
Founder Bio
Visionary Urban Designer and Planner with over 15 years of experience at the intersection of architecture, planning, and public outreach. Expert in crafting inclusive engagement strategies for complex projects including resiliency, rail, waterfronts, and urban revitalization. A decorated academic and community leader, proven in bridging technical analysis with community voice to create culturally and environmentally sensitive spaces.
Mrs. Merrill’s passion to work with communities to plan for their future and create spaces with a sensitivity to cultural, historical, and environmental contexts has led her to work on an array of local and global project types. Mrs. Merrill crafts and implements outreach strategies for projects focused on resiliency, hazard mitigation, rail, economic development, and urban revitalization, using both virtual and in-person approaches to ensure inclusion of the respective community.
Additionally, Mrs. Merrill’s breadth of work incorporates the facilitation of community engagement and conceptual storytelling for the strategic planning and visioning of public and private urban waterfronts, rail stations, land use plans, tourism destinations, mixed-use developments, streetscape revitalization, recreation and greenway facilities, and public open space projects.
For more information, please visit Amanda’s LinkedIn profile.