Smart Growth America cultivates vibrant, sustainable communities with diverse living and transportation options, enhancing quality of life for all.
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Throughout the year, we host a number of in-person and virtual events covering topics related to public health, social equity, and climate resilience.
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Smart growth is an approach to community design that connects housing, transportation, and land use to create healthy, prosperous, and resilient neighborhoods.
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Smart Growth America cultivates vibrant, sustainable communities with diverse living and transportation options, enhancing quality of life for all.
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Even the best-planned cities have a few hidden alleys.

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Eric Cova is the Director of Communications at Smart Growth America, where he leads external communications to elevate the organization’s thought leadership, advocacy, and technical assistance. He works across teams to align messaging with policy and programmatic goals, helping SGA shape the national narrative around housing, transportation, land use, and climate resilience.
In addition to leading strategic communications, Eric plays a central role in many SGA-wide initiatives, including supporting fundraising and strategic planning efforts and producing events such as the Equity Summit. His career spans education, climate, and place-based work, all grounded in a commitment to community and systems change. He previously led marketing and communications at Madison Square Park Conservancy in New York City, where he helped connect public space, art, and community engagement through storytelling. At Educators for Excellence, he served as Interim Director of Communications and Policy, advancing a national agenda for equity in public education.
Eric holds a Master of Public Administration from NYU’s Wagner Graduate School of Public Service, where he focused on policy analysis, urbanism, and climate. During his time at Wagner, he completed a fellowship with World Resources Institute’s Cities4Forests initiative in Mexico City.

Leadership

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Leadership, administration, and communications

Eric Cova

Rachel Ellis is the Communications Associate for Smart Growth America. In this role, she uplifts SGA’s impact work through compelling storytelling, social media, and publication efforts.
Prior to Smart Growth America, Rachel served as a CivicSpark AmeriCorps fellow for a Colorado-based nonprofit, SWEEP, where she drove the uptake of electrification incentives in the Inflation Reduction Act and put a human face on decisions that millions of U.S. residents and businesses are making to help solve the climate crisis. She was also an advocate for The Colorado Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal Coalition, where she devoted her spare time to advocate for environmental justice in communities impacted by the fossil fuel industry.
Rachel is an award-winning photojournalist, who worked at media outlets including The Denver Post, The St. Louis Post Dispatch, and MLive Media Group. She continues her journalistic pursuits through photography and videography. You can see her work in publications like Bloomberg and The Washington Post.
Rachel received a B.A. in photojournalism and a minor in French from Ball State University. She recently did a semester at The Danish School of Media and Journalism, where she refined her ability to research and craft independent multimedia stories on social and environmental issues.

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Rachel Ellis

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Isaac Mintz

Jeran Wiebke is the Office Manager at Smart Growth America. In this role, he plans and coordinates SGA’s daily administrative operations, maintains the organization’s IT systems, and administers employee benefits to maintain a positive and productive work environment.
Prior to joining SGA, Jeran spent six years working at the America Constitution Society in various administrative roles. In that time, he managed a team of three administrative assistants, updated the employee onboarding manual, maintained the organization’s financial data and general ledgers, and oversaw the organization’s office relocation.
Jeran received a B.A. in History from the University of Iowa.

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Jeran Wiebke

Eric Murphy is a Transportation Researcher with State Smart Transportation Initiative. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Political Science and English from the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities and a master’s degree in Journalism from the University of California-Berkeley. Prior to SSTI, he worked as a journalist covering transportation and land use, and as a researcher and organizer in the labor movement. He is passionate about great public spaces, making life better for everyday people, and the Green Bay Packers.

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Transportation and thriving communities

Eric Murphy

Ashley Heckstall is the Senior Manager of Events and Development at Smart Growth America. In this role, she manages SGA’s premier annual event, the Equity Summit, and supports the organization’s fundraising efforts.
Before joining SGA, Ashley held various roles in non-profits in New York City, focusing on marketing, special events, and development. Most recently, she worked at Ballet Hispanico, where she organized and executed fundraising events and supported community engagement and partnership cultivation.
Ashley graduated from Drexel University with a Master of Science in Public Communication and from Temple University with a Bachelor of Arts in Public Relations.

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Ashley Heckstall

Kennedy O’Dell is the Director of Advocacy at Smart Growth America. In this role, she leads advocacy and policy strategy on housing and economic development issues on behalf of LOCUS, Smart Growth America’s national coalition of real estate developers and investors who advocate for sustainable, equitable, and walkable development, and the National Brownfields Coalition.
Kennedy joined Smart Growth America after three years in the office of U.S. Senator Bob Casey. As Senator Casey’s Appropriations and Economic Development Director, Kennedy advised the Senator on economic development, transportation, housing, and appropriations matters and oversaw the office’s appropriations process. Prior to the Senate, Kennedy was a Senior Research and Policy Associate at the Economic Innovation Group (EIG). At EIG, her work focused on place-based policy, economic well-being in rural communities, and legacy cities. Kennedy also previously worked at the state level as a staffer for the Montana Legislature and as a community organizer.
Kennedy holds a Masters of Science in Local Economic Development from the London School of Economics and a bachelors degree in history from Princeton University.

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Housing and Development

Kennedy O’Dell

Heidi Simon joined Smart Growth America in February 2023 as the Director of Thriving Communities.
Prior to Smart Growth America, Heidi most recently served as a Senior Program Manager of Mobility Safety Strategy at the National Safety Council (NSC), where she managed the Road to Zero Coalition—composed of more than 1,500 stakeholders committed to reducing traffic fatalities to zero by 2050. She also developed new opportunities in communications, programming, and strategy for NSC’s Roadway Practice focused on emerging issues within the field.
Heidi brings over five years of experience working in advocacy, communications and programming related to mobility, with an emphasis in active transportation. She began this work with the pedestrian advocacy organization, America Walks, and has focused her career on addressing mobility independence through the creation of safe, active and accessible places to move and travel.
Originally from Milwaukee, WI, Heidi holds degrees from Loyola University-Chicago and George Washington University. She currently lives in Washington, DC with her husband, son, and dog.

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Heidi Simon

John Robert Smith is chair of T4America and policy advisor for Smart Growth America. He served for 16 years as mayor of Meridian, MS, whose Union Station, his signature project, is recognized as one of the best multi-modal transportation centers in the country. Having served as a mayor of a city with a wealth of late 19th century buildings, he worked with developers to restore those buildings, and is a strong advocate for historic preservation, believing that each community must respect its past and play to its strengths in order to develop and maintain a strong community identity.
He helped define Meridian’s role as a cultural center with the restoration of the Grand Opera House of Mississippi, the creation of the Riley Education and Performing Arts Center, and the selection of Meridian as the site for the Mississippi Arts and Entertainment Experience. Additionally, he secured $17 million in HUD HOPE VI funding to develop low- and middle-income housing.
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The Hon. John Robert Smith

Corrigan Salerno (he/him/his) is a Policy Manager at Transportation for America. He is originally from Southern California, but has been happy to call Washington, D.C. his home since graduating from the George Washington University with a Bachelor’s in Organizational Sciences.
Corrigan draws from his diverse experiences conducting policy research at Spiros Consulting, constituent advocacy at the Long Beach City Council (D2) and experimental research with Leidos. As a research assistant at Leidos supporting the FHWA’s Human Factors Laboratory, Corrigan worked on projects evaluating driver responses to automation, coordinated meetings between state DOT traffic control device research engineers, and helped conduct research informing revisions in the 11th Edition of the MUTCD.

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Corrigan Salerno

Dustin Robertson is a Senior Program Manager, Thriving Communities at Smart Growth America. He focuses on Complete Streets and the intersections of mobility, health, and equity. His work informs best practices and research, building capacity at state and local levels across the country.
Dustin brings both academic and professional experience to the role. He completed a PhD in Urban Studies from Tulane University where he investigated public participation in urban transportation based on research in Bogotá Colombia. He then began working in advocacy with Ride New Orleans where he led research and analysis in the fight for more equitable transportation.
Dustin grew up on a farm in rural Indiana but has since lived in a wide variety of places including Marseille, New Delhi, New Orleans, and now Washington, D.C. He also holds degrees from Franklin College and Aix-Marseille University.
Outside of work, you can find Dustin roaming around D.C. or trying to catch fish somewhere.

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Dustin Robertson

Elisa Ramirez is a Policy &amp; Outreach Associate at Transportation for America. As an associate, she works with policymakers and advocates to support equitable access to jobs and identifies potential partners for advocacy efforts.
She has an extensive political background from working for advocacy organizations, PACs, and has campaign experience. Prior to joining the team, Elisa worked as a finance assistant on a congressional campaign for Congressman Seth Magaziner and worked for the representative at the United States Capital after the 2022 election. She also conducted state campaign research at American Bridge for multiple Virginia, Montana, and Texas state races.
Elisa graduated from the University of Central Florida with a B.A. in Political Science and Masters in Public Administration and holds a certificate in Public Policy Analysis.

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Elisa Ramirez

Chris has been with Transportation for America since 2010, originally serving as Oregon Field Organizer. Incrementally expanding his role and responsibilities, he became Outreach Director in 2019. Chris runs T4America’s membership program, keeps partners and allies apprised of developments on transportation policy and opportunities for innovation, and guides T4America’s amplification of the local voices so critical to reforming the United States’ transportation system.
Before joining T4America, Chris co-founded Green Wheels, a local transportation advocacy organization in Humboldt County, CA, and served as Policy Director for the Healthy Humboldt Coalition. Originally from New Jersey, Chris graduated from the University of California at Berkley, and received his graduate degree from Humboldt State University. He enjoys running and skiing in the mountains near Portland where he lives with his wife, three children, and a pair of pet rats.

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Chris Rall

Mehr Mukhtar is a Senior Policy Associate at Transportation for America. In this role, she contributes to policy and advocacy that enhances climate resilience in the transportation system, supports equitable and sustainable public transportation, and advances the national passenger rail network.
Mehr holds a Master’s in Climate &amp; Society from Columbia University, concentrating on climate-resilient urban infrastructure, climate science, and food systems. Mehr has her undergraduate degree in International Relations, with a focus on Environmental Studies and History, from the University of Toronto. It was in her hometown of Lahore, Pakistan, that she became interested in advocating for environmental justice and climate adaptation in the face of disproportionate climate change impacts.

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Mehr Mukhtar

Chris McCahill is the Deputy Director of the State Smart Transportation Initiative. He joined SSTI in 2013 to update its Innovative DOT handbook and has since led many of its technical assistance and research projects. He has written numerous peer-reviewed studies and book chapters and remains an active researcher in the transportation field.
Before joining SSTI, he led research and training programs for the Project for Transportation Reform at the Congress for the New Urbanism in Chicago. Chris earned his PhD in transportation engineering from the University of Connecticut, where he also worked as course instructor and researcher, focusing on urban transportation, land use and parking policy. He is now based at the University of Wisconsin in Madison.

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Chris McCahill

Jaibin Mathew is a Policy Associate at Transportation for America. He focuses on Complete Streets through working with communities to improve road safety and advocating for better federal transportation policy.
As a Student Scholar for the Georgetown Global Cities Initiative, Jaibin explored transportation solutions to address health and equity disparities in South Dallas, specifically by tackling particulate matter pollution from personal vehicles. He also contributed to reports outlining global applications of placemaking and place management. As a citizen, he pushed for pedestrian-centered changes to street design guidelines in his hometown.
Jaibin grew up in Dallas, TX and graduated from Georgetown University with a degree in Science, Technology, &amp; International Affairs.

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Jaibin Mathew

Marian Liou is the Director of Arts and Culture at Smart Growth America.
She is a founder, community advocate, and attorney who specializes in supporting and affirming diverse communities through arts and culture and community engagement. Her cross-sector experience brings together community members and community-based organizations, artists, arts and culture organizations, advocacy groups, planners, local government, and other partners to nurture and sustain communities that are inclusive, just, and whole. As the founder and executive director of We Love BuHi, Marian established efforts to preserve and strengthen the multicultural Buford Highway community in metro Atlanta through storytelling, creative place-keeping, and design.
Prior to Smart Growth America, Marian led the arts and culture and creative placemaking program at the Atlanta Regional Commission, metro Atlanta’s regional planning agency and MPO. At ARC, she guided the transformation of the agency’s community engagement practices, and initiated an arts and culture-led, cross-sector approach to planning by centering artists and community-based arts and culture organizations as co-designers of social change.
Marian holds degrees from Stanford University and Columbia University School of Law.

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Marian Liou

Raveena John is a Senior Program Associate on the Thriving Communities Team. She informs best practices and research, works to build local and state capacity, and captures the ongoing story of Complete Streets.
Prior to SGA, Raveena was a climate resilience fellow for the City of Boston, where she started the development of a city-wide green infrastructure plan. She previously worked as a civil engineer, supporting municipalities in the upper Midwest with stormwater quality management and flood mitigation. Raveena holds a Master’s degree in Urban Planning from Harvard University Graduate School of Design and a Bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering from Arizona State University.

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Raveena John

Steve Davis is the Assistant VP of Transportation Strategy for Smart Growth America.
Steve has been with Smart Growth America since July 2006, joining as a communications fellow before moving to serve within the Transportation for America program from its inception until 2017 and then serving as SGA’s Director of Communications from 2017-2021.
Trained at the University of Georgia’s Grady School of Journalism &amp; Mass Communication, he was an award-winning photojournalist before following his passion for great places to Smart Growth America. He’s worn many hats over the years, writing speeches for <a href="https://smartgrowthamerica.org/about-us/our-staff/gov-parris-glendening/">Gov. Parris Glendening</a>, spearheading the launch of SGA’s first blog in 2007, kickstarting the organization’s online advocacy efforts and social media presences, helping launch the Transportation for America campaign in 2008 (and then <a href="https://t4america.org/2021/03/22/they-said-no-new-money-for-transportation-was-a-bad-message-they-were-wrong/">reimagining it in 2019</a>,) producing videos, and running messaging and communications training workshops for advocates and practitioners.
Within SGA’s Transportation and Thriving Communities team, Steve focuses on strategic communications and long-term initiatives, including <a href="http://t4america.org/">T4America</a>, the <a href="http://completestreets.org/">National Complete Streets Coalition</a>, and SGA’s other transportation programs.
He loves the challenge of figuring out how to turn the complex policies and details of creating more smart, sustainable, and lovable places into messages that resonate with a wide range of people, so communities can change how they build and grow. Steve lives in the Petworth neighborhood of Washington, DC with his wife and three kids and loves soccer, rehabbing their old house, and biking all over the city.
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Steve Davis

Courtney Cole joined Smart Growth America as a Program Associate on our Thriving Communities team in November 2022.
Previously, Courtney worked at Disability Rights Washington, a Seattle-based non-profit that protects and advocates for the rights of the disability community. As a part of their media program, Rooted in Rights, Courtney participated in the production of videos and workshops that amplified the voices of individuals with disabilities and shed light on systemic injustices faced by the community. Courtney believes that everyone is the expert of their own experience and that by listening to a diverse range of perspectives, we can make lasting changes that have a positive impact.
Courtney graduated from the University of Washington with a degree in Comparative History of Ideas.

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Courtney Cole

Beth is the President and CEO of Smart Growth America. Before being appointed to this role, she served as Vice President of Transportation and Thriving Communities, where she led Smart Growth America’s transportation program, including as Director of Transportation for America.
During her time at Smart Growth America, Beth’s experiences have translated into significant wins for Smart Growth America, including the inclusion of transit-oriented development and a dedicated rail title in the FAST Act; identifying and rallying support for transit funding during the COVID pandemic; her clarion call for no new money for the federal surface transportation program until programs and states are held accountabile to the taxpayer for delivering on their the stated goals of safety, fixing crumbling infrastructure, and better connecting people to jobs and essential services; and helping redefine what community reconnection projects look like through the Reconnecting Communities Institute, and Smart Growth America’s Community Connectors program, which supports small and mid-sized communities nationwide.
Beth previously served at the U.S. Department of Transportation as Acting Assistant Secretary and Deputy Assistant Secretary for Transportation Policy, beginning in 2009. There, she managed the TIGER Discretionary Grant program (now known as BUILD), led the Secretary’s livability initiative, shaped the Obama administration’s surface transportation authorization proposal, and oversaw implementation of the 2012 surface transportation law.
Earlier in her career, Beth worked for Sen. Tom Carper (DE) as an advisor on transportation, trade, and labor policy, served as policy director for Smart Growth America, and was legislative director for environmental policy at the Southern Governors’ Association. She began her career in the House of Representatives as a legislative assistant for Rep. Ron Klink (PA) and legislative director for Rep. Brian Baird (WA-03).

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Beth Osborne

Toccarra Nicole Thomas, AICP, is the Assistant Vice President of Housing and Development at Smart Growth America. Her role includes leading the Center for Zoning Solutions (CZS) as well as other projects and initiatives. In this role, Toccarra leads thought leadership, advocacy, and technical assistance work to further our mission of creating prosperous, resilient, and healthy communities.
Toccarra believes that communities should be inclusive and welcoming to all, and she is particularly passionate about housing for all. Toccarra graduated from the University of Florida with a Master of Arts in Urban and Regional Planning, where, as a HUD Scholar, she focused on the deployment and maintenance of affordable homeownership in Florida.
Prior to joining SGA, Toccarra worked on a variety of technical projects in North California, including certifying and adopting the 5th Cycle Housing Element for the County of Lake, writing 6th Cycle Housing Elements for Bay Area communities, implementing a pre-approved Accessory Dwelling Unit Permit process, and developing strategies to encourage workforce housing in a rural farming community.

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Toccarra Nicole Thomas

Michael Rodriguez, AICP, is Director of Research for Smart Growth America where he conducts and oversees quantitative and qualitative research through SGA’s many research initiatives. His expertise is in fiscal and economic impacts of transportation and infrastructure projects, especially with regard to smart growth and walkability.
Michael’s is co-author of “Foot Traffic Ahead 2023,” a statistical survey of walkable urbanism in the U.S.; econometric research on the economic and fiscal impacts of catalytic development in Downtown Detroit; and “WalkUP, Wake-Up: NY Metro,” a study of walkability in metropolitan New York and part of the Fourth Regional Plan.
At SGA, Michael has worked with dozens of communities assessing the fiscal impacts of development scenarios and statistical impacts of infrastructure and development alternatives. Further, he leads Benefit-Cost Analysis and technical assistance for communities seeking federal grants such as RAISE and CRISI. Michael brings over 14 years of professional urbanism experience to SGA from roles at top real estate, research, and transportation organizations.
As a resident of Tysons Corner, Virginia, Michael promotes smart growth in one of the fastest-growing regions in the country. He holds a dual MPA and an M.S. in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of Wisconsin – Madison, and is currently a PhD doctoral dissertator in Public Policy at George Washington University.

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Michael Rodriguez

Joseph Mendonca is the Climate Program Associate on the Housing and Development Team. In this role, he supports Smart Growth America’s research and technical assistance work in partnership with local community-based organizations from across the country. His main interests are affordable housing and climate justice, and the relationship between them.
Joseph was previously a research assistant at the Shimberg Center for Housing Studies and the Florida Center for Environmental Studies, where he engaged with housing professionals to identify and expand access to natural hazard risk information in low- and moderate-income communities. He joins Smart Growth America as a recent graduate from Florida Atlantic University with a Master’s Degree in Geosciences with a concentration in the Human Environment and Sustainable Science.

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Joseph Mendonca

Jeri Mintzer is the Assistant Vice President for Economic Development, supporting the LUD team’s operations, overseeing the economic development portfolio, and guiding its technical assistance work. Jeri previously managed the Governors’ Institute on Community Design, working with over 20 state agencies and governors’ cabinets to deliver workshops on smart growth principles, transportation reform, economic development, and more. Since 2011, Jeri has worked across a variety of SGA’s programs and disciplines, including advocacy campaigns, public engagement, and transportation reform.

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Jeri Mintzer

Sam Gordon is a Program Manager on the Housing and Development team at Smart Growth America. Originally a Graduate Student Intern for SGA, he is now responsible for managing research, technical assistance, and thought leadership programs with SGA’s partner communities and organizations.
Prior to SGA, Sam worked in city government for over five years in New Orleans, Louisiana. As a public servant for one of the country’s most beautiful and fascinating cities, he managed the design and installation of residential green infrastructure projects for income-qualified households in one of the city’s most low-lying flood-prone neighborhoods as part of the New Orleans Redevelopment Authority’s Community Adaptation Program. He also served as a Neighborhood Liaison for the City of New Orleans Mayor’s Office, building and strengthening partnerships with neighborhood associations across the city and facilitating public meetings to address community concerns.
Sam is completing his Master’s in Community Planning at the University of Maryland, where he served as the Graduate Student Planning Association President in 2023. He holds a B.A. in Architectural Studies from Hobart College.

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Sam Gordon

Katharine Burgess is the Vice President of Programs and Operations at Smart Growth America, where she manages organizational administrative initiatives and oversees programmatic work, with a focus on housing, development, and climate. She brings SGA twenty years of experience in urban planning, research, and non-profit management, including work in the U.S., the UK, and Germany.
Katharine has led much of SGA’s climate and land use work, including reports and capacity-building programs addressing the intersections of climate adaptation, housing abundance, and growth. She has published articles and research on urban planning, climate, and housing topics cited in The New York Times, CNBC, The Washington Post, Bloomberg, and Planning magazine. Prior to Smart Growth America, Katharine led the Urban Resilience Program at the Urban Land Institute (ULI), where she built up the organization’s work addressing how buildings, cities, and communities can be more prepared for the impacts of climate change, such as sea level rise, extreme heat, wildfires, and other climate hazards.
Katharine has also worked in the private sector, where she participated in the design and implementation of large-scale smart growth projects. She managed masterplanning projects as a land use consultant, including campus plans, Main Street or downtown masterplans, and a new community for 10,000 people. She began her career coordinating post-Katrina hurricane recovery charrettes commissioned by the States of Louisiana and Mississippi and the City of New Orleans, where she saw firsthand the need to better coordinate land use planning, preparedness, and response, and the need to support housing access in the face of vulnerability to climate events. She holds an MSc in Regional and Urban Planning from the London School of Economics and a BA from Williams College.

Assistant Vice President

Toccarra Nicole Thomas

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