Rita Baron received her Bachelor of Architecture from Drury University and is the owner of Baron Design & Associates, LLC, an architectural firm in Springfield, Missouri.  Her firm is known to have made its mark in the landscape of Missouri, Illinois, Texas, Oklahoma, Colorado, Nebraska, Kansas, Massachusetts and New Hampshire with a diverse array of structures that include medical, financial and government institutions; corporate and university facilities; senior and family affordable housing as well as restaurant and hospitality establishments.

Realizing the strong need for housing solutions, Ms. Baron’s passion became focused on building efficient and sustainable, quality housing with useful amenities that provide a foundation for strong communities. She began working to identify communities where she could provide, not only housing solutions to meet the city’s needs, but also jobs to the local economy.

Ms. Baron extended her talents to become a property developer partner in Missouri, Colorado, Oklahoma, and Texas with projects ranging from hospitality, residential subdivisions, retail centers and affordable housing.  She is experienced in all facets of development, including new construction, historic, adaptive re-use and acquisition/rehabilitation. She recognizes the need for the preservation of existing structures. Ms. Baron is very involved through all phases of a project from planning, zoning issues, government/technical regulations, design, bidding and construction phases of a project to its final inspections in order to assure the highest quality.

Ms. Baron and her architectural firm were the first in the nation to achieve the LEED Gold certificate in a hospitality industry project for Hilton Hotels. 

Ms. Baron is a franchisee of Marriott International. In addition, she gives to her community and university.  Her service includes:

·        Chair of the Drury University Board of Trustees, her alma mater 
·        Chair of the Board of Directors at OakStar Bank
·        Board Member of the Springfield Chamber of Commerce
·        Former Board and Executive Committee member of Isabel’s House Crisis Nursery

Recognized nationally, Rita Baron is a member of

·        Women’s Business Enterprise (WBE)
·        Associate member of the American Institute of Architects
·        U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC)
·        Young President Organization (YPO)

She has been honored as

·        Springfield, Missouri’s Most Influential Businesswomen, 2011
·        Prestigious Missourian Award, 2015
·        Women Who Mean Business, Biz 417 Magazine, 2016