About Me
Planning Professional
Growing up in Portland, Oregon, I was riding the bus independently by the age of 13. That early freedom shaped the way I viewed cities and the role transportation plays in everyday life. As I grew older and had the opportunity to travel and live in different places, I found myself constantly comparing them to my hometown. Every city and town has its own character, history, way of moving, and growing. I became fascinated by the way people shape places and places shape people. That curiosity ultimately led me to urban planning.
After spending several years in the nonprofit sector, where I gained experience in direct service, grant writing, finance, project management, and community engagement, I decided to pursue planning professionally. I earned my Master of Urban Planning from the University of Louisville in 2026 and discovered a passion for transportation planning along the way. That interest led to an internship with Michael Baker International, where I supported transportation and comprehensive planning projects, and I am continuing my education by completing a Certificate in Transportation Engineering through the University of Louisville.
My perspective has been shaped as much by lived experience as by the classroom. I have worked in homeless shelters and youth residential facilities, couch-surfed from Beijing, China, to Natchez, Mississippi, and met incredible people in communities of every size. Those experiences reinforced my belief that everyone deserves streets, public spaces, and transportation systems designed with their needs in mind.
Planning has taught me that meaningful solutions rarely come from a single discipline. Good planning requires balancing research, policy, engineering, community priorities, funding, and practical constraints to create places that work for the people who use them. I enjoy bringing those pieces together to develop thoughtful, implementable solutions that improve how people move through and experience their communities.
As I begin my professional career, I am excited to contribute to projects that strengthen communities through thoughtful planning, innovative transportation solutions, and collaborative problem-solving. I look forward to continuing to learn alongside multidisciplinary teams while helping create places that are safe, resilient, connected, and welcoming.
Resume
Planning experience in transportation, project coordination, GIS mapping, stakeholder collaboration and data analysis. This is complemented by a background in nonprofit leadership, grant management, and cross-sector collaboration.