About Me

Born in Annapolis, Maryland to an American father and a Dutch mother, traveling internationally and being exposed to another culture is something that came very early to me. To say that childhood trips to the Netherlands left an impression on me would be an understatement. Later in life I realized how formative they were in the way I viewed not only the United States, but my place in it. 

Public space planning and investment is central to the Dutch identity. Nearly a third of the country would still be under the North Sea had coordination between public and private entities not raised it from the mud below. Material investments in the public space there left a strong impression on me, as it contrasted with the United States, a system stressing private wealth and private spaces predominantly in the form of atomized suburban lifestyle. 

From this early age, cities have intrigued me. Though working years out of the field, in my late twenties I decided to return to school to study urban planning in the Netherlands. This led me to explore the affects of urban design on social wellbeing in my master's thesis. Our public spaces can be asocial or encourage connections within our society based on their design. This has tremendously impactful implications for us as humans, as this social wellbeing is connected to its physical, mental and psychological counterparts.

Public space is a passion that I know will follow me throughout my life. It led me begin my own advocacy work in Philadelphia connected to this topic and has continued in Los Angeles, where the issue of homelessness is intimately connected to public space. Cities and public spaces have a unique role in knitting us back together, creating a forum for our voices and helping us address the environmental challenges of the future. This is a passion that caught me when I was young. I don't expect it to let me go anytime soon.