EDUCATION
Carnegie Mellon University Pittsburgh, PA
Ph.D. Candidate, Architecture Expected Graduation: May 2026
Primary Advisor: Dr. Nida Rehman
Carnegie Mellon University Pittsburgh, PA
MS Public Policy Management (Highest Honors) Graduation: May 2022
Vanderbilt University Nashville, TN
Bachelor of Arts in Sociology and Public Policy. Graduation: May 2019
RESEARCH EXPERIENCE
Taking Back the Air: Collective Learning, Advocacy, and Design for a Healthy Environment, SOM Grant
Research Assistant/ Co-Instructor July 2023- Present
-Assisted Dr. Nida Rehman in application for SOM Foundation Grant in Fall of 2022
-Assisted in conducting interviews with community members and quantitative and spatial analyses as needed
Advancing Health Literacy in the Alabama Black Belt Grant
Data Analyst May 2022- July 2023
-Worked under the advisement of Mayor Jacqueline Boone of Fort Deposit, Alabama, and the Alabama Life Research Institute at The University of Alabama
-Analyzed surveys about health and economic well-being in five communities in the Black Belt region.
-Analyses were used to apply for other community grants and for social media to share with communities.
Perkins Eastman Design and Wellness Fellow
Intern July 2021- November 2021
-Designed my own research experiment, conducted an analysis using R and ArcGIS
-Conducted research exploring the relationship between walkability and community wellness in low-income neighborhoods in Pittsburgh, PA
-Published white paper in 2022.
CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS
World Congress of Environmental History Oulu, Finland
University of Oulu August 2024
Presenting research paper, “Beyond The Archive: Using Placed Ecological Histories To Explore Black Environmental Relations.”
14th Space Syntax Symposium Nicosia, Cyprus
University of Cyprus June 2024
Presenting research poster, “(Re)Spatializing The Past to Inform Just Futures: How the Plantation is Replicated in Black Belt Towns”
Urban History Conference Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Urban History Association October 2023
Presented research paper, “Designing For Liberation: Reparative Design Through The Lens of Activism and Abolition In The Black Belt.”
Steinbrenner Sustainability Symposium Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Carnegie Mellon University March 2023
Presented research poster, “Sewage Rights are Human Rights: The Problem of Sewage, Flooding, and Environmental Racism in America's Black Belt Communities.”
Received $1,500 Travel Prize
Crossroads: Uncovering the Histories of the Built Environment Austin, Texas
The University of Texas, Austin February 2023
Presented research paper, “Black Placemaking at the Periphery: Paradox of Place in Black Socio-Environmental Relations.”
TEACHING EXPERIENCE
Co-Professor, Environmental Racism, Injustice, and Unfreedom (48699) August 2023- present
Carnegie Mellon University, Department of Architecture Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Co-teaching course with my advisor, Dr. Nida Rehman
Helped prepare syllabus, lesson plans, and course readings
Co-leads class reading discussions
Graduate Teaching Assistant
Carnegie Mellon University January 2022- present
Teaching Assistant, GIS, Architecture Department (Spring 2022, Fall 2022)
Teaching Assistant, Master of Urban Design Studio, Architecture Department (Spring 2023, Spring 2024)
AWARDS AND HONORS
Luther S. Lashmit & Louis F. Valentour Traveling Scholarship 2023
Steinbrenner Doctoral Fellowship, Carnegie Mellon University 2023
Steinbrenner Symposium Travel Award, Carnegie Mellon University 2023
Alwin Cassens, Jr. Memorial Fund in Architecture, Carnegie Mellon University 2022
GEM University Fellow, Carnegie Mellon University 2022
Fulbright English Teaching Assistant, Grantee to Cyprus 2019
The Rev. James Lawson Award for Campus and Community Leadership, Vanderbilt University 2019