Savannah College of Art and Design Preservation Design Professor, designer and storyteller Sabrinna Cox will deliver an informative, engaging Historic Savannah Foundation Lecture titled “Clermont Lee and the Fight for Savannah’s Squares” in observance of Women’s History Month on Thursday, March 19 at the Murray C. Perlman and Wayne C. Spear Preservation Center, located in the Historic Kennedy Pharmacy at 323 E. Broughton St. in Savannah, Ga. Attendees are invited to attend a wine reception at 5:30 p.m. The lecture will start at 6 p.m. 

Cox will recount the remarkable story of iconic Southern landscape architect Clermont Lee (1914-2006) as part of the ongoing HSF Lecture Series, which is dedicated to celebrating “The People, Places and Stories That Define Savannah.” Originally from Savannah, Lee is best known for her influential garden designs at Juliette Gordon Low Birthplace, Isaiah Davenport House and Owens-Thomas House and was one of the first women to establish her own private landscape architecture practice in Georgia.

“We’re thrilled to welcome Sabrinna Cox as our esteemed featured speaker for March,” said Historic Savannah Foundation President and CEO Collier Neeley. “We warmly invite community members to join us as we explore Clermont Lee’s pivotal contributions to our city’s heritage and celebrate the stories that define Savannah’s past, present and future.”

Cox will discuss Lee’s lasting impact on Savannah, including her recommendation to round the corners of the city’s squares, a practical innovation that helped prevent traffic from cutting through the centers of the squares. Her true legacy lies in her unwavering dedication to historic preservation and the persistent advocacy that ultimately saved Savannah’s signature squares from destruction. The HSF Lecture will explore Lee’s important contributions as well as the challenges that she faced and overcame in the transformation of Troup Square.  

Cox currently teaches preservation design at the Savannah College of Art and Design, combining instruction with an active professional practice in which she designs exhibits and digital experiences for organizations like the Bluffton Gullah Cultural Center and A Call to Action. Before becoming a professor at SCAD, she served as a preservation designer for the Historic Macon Foundation, where she designed and managed rehabilitation projects in the Beall’s Hill neighborhood.

 An accomplished designer and prolific storyteller, Cox has also bridged the worlds of theater, decorative arts and historic preservation over the course of her 24-year career. Her work is defined by a passion for bringing spaces and narratives to life, both on stage and in society within the context of cultural heritage. As a scenic designer, she has created immersive environments for theatrical productions, including her most recent set design for the Argyle Theatre in Babylon, N.Y.  

Historic Savannah Foundation’s 2026 Lecture Series continues in April with Ellen Harris and Stuart Miller discussing “Savannah’s Public Art Master Plan” on Thurs., April 16. For more information about upcoming lectures, please visit myhsf.org/events/lecture-series.

 Historic Savannah Foundation’s Lecture Series is open to the public. Reservations are recommended, as space is limited. Attendance is free for Historic Savannah Foundation members and $15 for non-members. Both members and non-members may reserve their spot by visiting myhsf.org/events/lecture-series. Please contact Kendall Graham at [email protected] for more information about the HSF Lecture Series.