Raised in Meridian, Mississippi, Love-Stanley earned her Bachelor of Science in Mathematics from Millsaps College in 1972 and a Master of Architecture from Georgia Institute of Technology in 1977. Love-Stanley has been a strong supporter of Georgia Tech's inclusion efforts, offering an annual award for a student mentoring program that rewards students of African descent with strong academic credentials with a scholarship and internship. She has also served as a Georgia Tech alumni trustee and a member of their National Advisory Board. With her husband William J. "Bill" Stanley III, she co-founded Stanley, Love-Stanley, P.C. in 1978 which has become the second largest African-American architectural practice in the South. Her work with the included the creation of formal connections with the American Institute of Architects. During the 1996 Summer Olympic Games, Love-Stanley designed and oversaw the installation of a "Celebrate Africa" exhibit and performance. Later she provided design services for , a gallery and art hub for the Boys and Girls Clubs of Metro Atlanta. Love-Stanley served on several historic preservation boards as well as on the City of Atlanta's Zoning Review Board. Love-Stanley served for eight years on the Board of Directors of the Atlanta Midtown Improvement District which oversees capital improvement projects in Midtown Atlanta. She also supported the effort to designate Atlanta's West End neighborhood as a national historic district, volunteering to review documents, prepare drawings and serving as a consultant. While on the board of the Atlanta Preservation Center, she stopped the demolition of several landmark buildings and led the restoration of the Herndon Home Museum. Love-Stanley also contributed her services pro bono to the design and development of the SweetAuburn Avenue project which worked to revitalize the area in Atlanta around the Martin Luther King, Jr., National Historic Site and APEX Museum, just east of Downtown Atlanta. She has won many community and professional service citations for her work in redevelopment of the historic districts of Atlanta as well as her advocacy for minority inclusion in the architectural profession.
Awards and honors
Love-Stanley is involved in community service work as well as architectural design. Two of Stanley Love-Stanley, P.C. projects—the Horizon Sanctuary and the sculpture at John Westley Dobbs Plaza in Atlanta—are featured in Judith Dupre's book, . Some awards for her firm's work are:
the Cathedral at Turner Chapel : 2008 Brick in Architecture Award, the Silver in "Houses of Worship" category
Appointed to the Atlanta Urban Design Commission in 2005
Appointed to the Georgia State Board of Architects and Interior Designers, 2003-2012.
2014 Whitney M. Young Jr. Award, American Institute of Architects