she/her/hers
Research in Action
February 2022
Our CEP 460 Planning In Context project team was invited to present our final report on the expansion of the Bainbridge Island Master Plan Area to the Bainbridge Island City Council and the Planning Commission. Our project objectives were to use research, mapping, and data analysis strategies to understand development trends in the Winslow area and project growth trends to ensure future development responds to increasing population density and adapting to environmental, social, and economic challenges. Although extremely nerve-wracking, we were so excited to have the chance to share our research and practice answering questions about our work. It was extremely validating to get questions from the Planning Commission because as students we don't always know how our current skills or knowledge can be applied in the professional world.
East Palo Alto Community Development Intern, Emerson Collective
Summer 2021
The uncertainty of the pandemic reminds me constantly that change moves at the speed of trust. In summer 2021, I was able to put that lesson into practice as a Community Development Intern with Emerson Collective in Palo Alto, CA. I internalized the language of collective action and environmental justice that I learned at the UW, and because of that, I found my way into a compelling, competitive internship that furthered my commitment to and expertise in social advocacy and spatial equity.
​
Through Emerson Collective, the East Palo Alto Team at Bloomhouse supports community-led engagement which focuses on workforce development, attainable housing, cultural preservation, and environmental innovation, in East Palo Alto. As a Community Development intern I worked at the intersection of East Palo Alto’s history and future (collaborating on the community archive and conducting workforce development research). Having your story told by and for your community is empowering, and in order for people to care for and change their community they need to be able to actually live and work in it. There’s no point in think about workforce development strategies if people don’t stay in the community, and the community archive is an integral way to promote community engagement and celebrate the cultural diversity and history of the community.