Jiae Azad is a Master in Urban Planning candidate at the Harvard University Graduate School of Design. Prior to Harvard, she designed buildings as a structural engineer, worked for a general contractor, and developed strategies for activating public spaces. She hopes to draw upon her diverse experiences to develop working, interdisciplinary strategies that shape and drive the equitable development we need to build strong, livable, and affordable communities. Jiae also holds a Bachelor of Science and Engineering degree in Civil and Environmental Engineering (Structures Focus) and a Certificate in Architecture from Princeton University.

Asher is a second-year Master in Urban Planning candidate at the GSD originally from Los Angeles concentrating in Housing and Neighborhood Development. He previously worked as the Outreach Coordinator for a community development corporation in New Orleans and as a paralegal with the Foreclosure Prevention Project of the Legal Aid Society in NYC. Asher is interested in using tools of urban planning to promote social equity, and in using mapping and design to make planning and policy accessible to the public.

Laier is a Master in Urban Planning candidate at the Harvard University Graduate School of Design. A Pittsburgh native, he completed his BA in Political Science at Point Park University. Prior to coming to the GSD, Laier was a Coro Fellow in Public Affairs, he worked at community-based non-profit organizations, in community development and the Pittsburgh city government. Laier is interested in the politics of space with a focus on redevelopment and affordable housing models, and in how housing policy and urban form can transform the lives and experiences of people in urban environments.

Cristina is a Master in Urban Planning Candidate at the Harvard Graduate School of Design, born and raised in Venezuela. Prior to the GSD, she has conducted research on displacement and the scope of participatory design and planning in socio-spatial integration and the improvement of urban performance across cities in the Global South from the non-profit sector. An architect from Universidad Simón Bolívar, Cristina is interested on cross-border governance, urban resilience, and the future of refugee communities worldwide.

Mary Geschwindt is a first year student of Urban Planning at Harvard GSD. Formerly an architectural designer and Editor-In-Chief of AIAS CRIT Journal, Mary is equally as interested in critiquing the built environment as she is in shaping it. Based in New York City, she documents experiments in design criticism on her blog, Crit City, and enjoys riding her bike everywhere.