What were you doing before you applied to the Conway School?
City Management & Public Administration
What brought you to Conway?
I wanted to strengthen my design skills in order to pursue urban design work within the urban planning field.
How did you first hear about Conway?
My former professor at the University of Connecticut.
Imagine we just met, and recognized we had common interests. How would you describe Conway to me?
Conway is a small eco-design lab and learning community to acquire the knowledge, skills and confidence that matter the most.
What advice do you have for someone just starting out in the field?
Get informed and then involved while embracing the process (aka patience). Join your local community/neighborhood organizations. Attend planning, park and/or public works commission meetings. Participate in a working group focused on your interest: environmental systems, waterfront habitat restoration, environmental justice, park systems etc. Audit a class and see if land use planning is for you.
What are you doing right now, and what do you love about it?
I manage innovative planning projects that create resilient solutions for diverse communities and environments. My role involves guiding planning and design efforts for a wide range of projects with a variety of government clients. Developing plans, designs, and deliverables through advanced practices, community engagement, and collaboration with stakeholders, including client staff and elected officials.
Working alongside multidisciplinary teams of urban planners, landscape architects, engineers, and other specialists. Contributing to business development activities, including drafting proposals, presenting project interviews, managing budgets, and overseeing timelines.
What book changed your life?
Black Boy by Richard Wright. As a junior in high school, I took an American Literature class where I read my first book by an African-American author. That book made me fall in love with reading since it was the first time I could relate and connect to the characters, setting and plot.
What is your favorite tool?
InDesign, Photoshop & SketchUp
Which aspects of your Conway education do you use in your current work?
Presentations, stakeholder engagement, writing, document layout, working in teams, graphic renderings, design process, and how to ask the right questions!
“Conway is where I mastered design skills and gained a framework to draft policies that promote ecological infrastructure on our streetscapes and park lands as an urban planner.”