18 HARVARD STUDENTS RECEIVE SUMMER INTERNSHIPS AND RESEARCH FUNDING

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CAMBRIDGE, MA - Improving responses to natural disasters, preserving historic black communities in Seattle, providing affordable housing in California, and addressing the housing needs of refugees in Paris are among the 18 summer student fellowships and research projects being funded this year by the Joint Center for Housing Studies (JCHS). The students are being funded through the Center's Gramlich Fellowship in Community and Economic Development, the Harvard Graduate School of Design's (GSD) Community Service Fellowship Program, a JCHS Fellowship in Housing and Community Development for Harvard Kennedy School (HKS) students, and several one-time JCHS initiatives.

The Gramlich Fellows in Community and Economic Development, who will be working on research projects jointly overseen by the Joint Center for Housing Studies and NeighborWorks® America, are:

  • Aneliese Palmer, a Master in Public Policy (MPP) student at HKS, will be examining whether and how models of shared-equity homeownership might achieve a variety of social and economic goals, particularly in rural areas.
  • Susanna Pho, a Master in Design Studies (MDes) student at the GSD, will be using experiences from Hurricane Harvey to examine whether and how community organizations can better prepare for and respond to natural disasters by cultivating long-term trust and supporting local self-organization in the communities they serve.

The GSD Community Service Fellows funded by JCHS are:

  • Maura Barry-Garland, a Master in Urban Planning (MUP) student, who will be working on three affordable housing projects being carried out by the South Boston Neighborhood Development Corporation.
  • Gloria Chang, a Master in Architecture and MDes student with a focus on risk and resilience, will be working at the U.S. Naval War College's Civilian-Military Humanitarian Response Program in Newport, Rhode Island.
  • Francisco Colom, an MDes student with a focus on critical conservation, who will be working at the MASS Design Group, a non-profit in Boston that aims to research, build, and advocate for architecture that promotes justice and human dignity.
  • Katie Gourley, a MUP student, who will be working at the Mayor's Internship Program in Philadelphia on Rebuild Philadelphia, a $500 million program to revitalize the city's neighborhood parks, recreation centers, playgrounds, and libraries.
  • Christin Hu, a Master in Landscape Architecture (MLA) student, who will be working as a designer at YouthBuild Boston, a non-profit that provides underserved young people with the support and credentials needed to successfully enter the building trades.
  • Maria de la Luz Lobos Martinez, an MLA student, who will be working with the Livable Streets Alliance and the Southwest Boston CDC on the Emerald Necklace Initiative, which aims to enhance connectivity and walkability and improve access to the Neponset River in Boston's Hyde Park and Roslindale neighborhoods.
  • Emma Phillips, a MUP student, who will help design a new urban garden for the Garden School Foundation, which offers garden-based learning in outdoor living classrooms for underserved youth in Los Angeles. 
  • Gabriel Ramos, a MUP student, who will be working at the Africatown Preservation & Development Association, a Seattle-based non-profit that is developing strategies for documenting and preserving the African American presence in that city's Central District and surrounding communities.
  • Juan Reynoso, a MUP student, who will be working on housing-related issues in the Office of California Assemblyman Todd Gloria (D-San Diego).
  • Chandra Rouse, a MUP student, who will be working as an Economic Development Intern with the South East Chicago Commission, a community-based organization focused on enhancing the quality of life in five of that city's neighborhoods.

The HKS Fellows in Housing and Community Development are:

  • Erick Diaz, an MPP student, who will be working at the Massachusetts Housing Investment Corporation (MHIC), on financial modeling and sensitivity analyses of funding plans for affordable housing projects.
  • Iueh Soh, an MPP student, who will be working at the Mayor's Office of New Urban Mechanics in Boston on projects related to community development and housing in the Chinatown neighborhood.
  • Camilla Taufic, an MPP student, who will be doing research for Andoma, part of the French housing authority in Paris, on programs that can better support refugees.

In addition to these fellowships, the Joint Center for Housing Studies is also providing funding this summer for:

  • Aranzazu de Ariño Bello, a Master in Architecture (MArch) and MDes student at the GSD, and Laura Lopez Cardenas, a MUP student at the GSD, who will both be working for the city of Tirana, Albania on projects that will help advance the city's 2030 master plan.
  • Michael McIntosh, an MPP student at HKS, who will be working at JCHS on a project examining the potential market for affordable homes based on prototypes developed by Auburn University's Rural Housing Studio, which is headed by Andrew Freear (a 2017-2018 Loeb Fellow at the GSD).
  • Maria Veronica Cardenas Vignes, a Master in Architecture and Urban Design student at GSD, who will be working at the UN Economic Commission for Africa.

Click here for more information about JCHS fellowships and research grants.

Media Contact: Kerry Donahue, (617) 495-7640, [email protected]