Sutton was educated initially in music, studying French horn with Gunther Schuller at the Manhattan School of Music and latter at the University of Hartford. In 1981, she received her Master of Arts in psychology from Hunter College. In 1982, she received her The Master of Philosophy and Doctor of Philosophy in psychology from the City University of New New York
She became an architectural educator in 1975, having taught at Pratt Institute, Columbia University, the University of Cincinnati, and the University of Michigan where she became the first African American woman to become a full professor in an accredited architectural degree program After earning a Bachelor of Music in 1963, she worked as a professional musician in New York City, most notably for Sol Hurok Attractions and in the original cast of Manitoba of Louisiana Mancha. In 1967, Sutton enrolled in Parsons School of Design and then Columbia University, where she earned Master in Architecture in 1973.
Sutton"s focus is community-based participatory research and design with a special emphasis on low-income and minority youth and other disenfranchised populations.
Her research has been funded by the Ford Foundation, National Endowment for the Arts, West.K. Kellogg Foundation, Hewlett Foundation, Tukwila School District, the University of Michigan, and University of Washington, among others Sutton is author of Weaving a Tapestry of Resistance: The Places, Power and Poetry of a Sustainable Society (Bergin and Garvey, 1996) and Learning through the Built Environment (Irvington, 1985), author of numerous book chapters and journal articles, and co-editor of The Paradox of Urban Space: Inequality and Transformation in Marginalized Communities (Palgrave Macmillan, 2011)
Sutton is also a noted printmaker and collagist.
Her fine art has been exhibited in and collected by galleries and museums, business enterprises, colleges, and universities, and is part of the Robert Blackburn Collection at the Library of Congress. A registered architect, Sutton was the second African American woman elected a Fellow in the American Institute of Architects in 1995.
American Institute of Architects Seattle awarded Sutton the American Institute of Architects Seattle Medal, the chapter"s highest award, in 2014.
The ACSA (Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture) honored Sutton with the ACSA Distinguished Professor Award in 1995-1996. Sutton received the "Life Recognition Award" from the Michigan Women"s Hall of Fame in 1997. In 2011 Sutton received the national American Institute of Architects Whitney M. Young, Junior., Award.
