Denise R. Grabowski

Denise is a Georgia native and has lived in Savannah for over 20 years. She believes passionately in the value of a strong education and lifelong learning, beginning in early childhood. Her mother and both maternal grandparents were teachers, and the early years of Denise’s career focused on community education. As an urban planner, she believes in the importance of strong schools to build strong communities.

After college, Denise served a year with AmeriCorps, which solidified her passion for civic engagement and giving back to the community. She has served as President of the School Council at Charles Ellis Montessori Academy and as Chair of the Friends of Massie for Massie Heritage Center, a unit of SCCPSS. Currently, she serves on the Board of Trustees of the Ossabaw Island Foundation, Healthy Savannah Steering Committee, and is a member of the Metropolitan Savannah Rotary. She has also served on the Community Council for Savannah Technical College and was a member of the Board of Directors of the U.S. Green Building Council.

Denise is the founder and owner of Symbioscity, an urban planning consulting firm located in Savannah. She is a graduate of the Institute for Georgia Environmental Leadership (IGEL) and Leadership Savannah as well as a past honoree on Georgia Trend’s “Top 40 Under 40: Georgia’s Best and Brightest" list. A frequent public speaker, her talk at TEDx Savannah in 2015 highlights another of her values – the importance of the built and natural environments on learning and human health.