19 Harvard Students Receive Research Funding and Summer Internships
With funding from the Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies, 19 students from across Harvard will work on issues related to housing and community development this summer.
The Gramlich Fellows in Community and Economic Development will work on research projects overseen by the Joint Center for Housing Studies and NeighborWorks® America:
Jein Park, a Master in Urban Planning student at the Harvard Graduate School of Design, will explore how community-based organizations can strengthen commercial corridors in ways that cultivate local economic resilience and promote neighborhood vibrancy.
Aaron Smithson, a Master in Urban Planning student at the Harvard Graduate School of Design, will explore how community-based organizations in rural and exurban areas can use modular or offsite construction methods to create affordable housing.
The GSD Community Service Fellows:
Max Bock-Aronson, a Master of Design Engineering student at the Harvard Graduate School of Design and Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, will work with YouthLink, a nonprofit in Minneapolis that works with young people who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless, to develop a digital map that visualizes the complex system of youth homelessness.
James De Mott, a Master of Urban Planning student, will work at the San Francisco Bay Area Planning and Urban Research Association (SPUR) on efforts to develop land-use policies that will expand the supply of housing and bring the city into compliance with state mandates for housing.
Michaela Gwiazda, a Master of Urban Planning student, will help LA Más, a community-based organization in northeast Los Angeles, on a project to support the area’s sharing economy, as well as an ethnographic study of northeast Los Angeles and efforts to create a new community housing alliance in northeast Los Angeles.
Felix Rosen, a Master of Urban Planning student will work with the Design Trust for Public Space, a New York City based nonprofit, to develop a policy framework for creating community-designed green spaces at public housing developments that can be carried out by public-private partnerships.
Aubrey Sanders, a Master of Urban Planning student, will work at the City of Boston’s Housing Innovation Lab on projects related to housing affordability.
Shivangi Varma, a Master of Architecture in Urban Design student, will help the New York City Housing Authority’s (NYCHA) Connected Communities program develop site-level master plans focused on the transformation of open spaces at some of NYCHA’s developments.
The HKS Fellows in Housing and Community Development:
Nora Cahill, a Master in Public Policy student, will work with the Massachusetts Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities (EOHLC) to develop a new statewide housing plan and support efforts to create a data management strategy for EOHLC.
Danno Lemu, a Master in Public Policy and Master in Business Administration student at Harvard Business School, will work in the office of Washington DC’s Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development on efforts to spur more private development downtown DC.
Aditya Mukundan, a Master in Public Policy student, will do research on mortgage lending deserts for the Consumer Federation of America.
The Ivory Fellows in Housing Affordability and Sustainability:
Nour-Lyna Boulgamh, a Doctor of Design candidate at the Harvard Graduate School of Design, will work on two projects at FWDSLASH, a 2024 Ivory Prize semifinalist that helps community-based nonprofits in West Virginia, Kentucky, and California provide housing, health care, and social services for high-need households. She will develop better evaluation metrics and a detailed guide on best practices for community-based housing development.
Edwin Garcia, a Master in Business Administration student at Harvard Business School, will work on three projects for Ivory Innovations: he will lead a pro bono consulting project for of 122 portfolio organizations, will map key stakeholders and networks in the international housing innovation ecosystem, and will create initiatives to strengthen Ivory’s connections with national philanthropic organizations, homebuilders, and research organizations.
Yael Goldstein, a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy student at Harvard College, will conduct research for the Rhode Island Department of Housing, on how cities and towns might use master leasing of existing housing units to provide affordable housing for those who cannot access stable housing.
Klara Kaufman, a Master of Design Studies student at the Harvard Graduate School of Design, will work at Nesterly, a 2019 Ivory Prize semifinalist, which facilitates intergenerational homesharing. She will develop a training guide for customer support, create an internal and external Homesharing Launch Toolkit, and carry out other projects related to Nesterly’s expansion into Maine, Nashville, and Pittsburgh.
Patrick Margain, a Master of Architecture II student at the Harvard Graduate School of Design, will work with the University of Houston’s Hines School of Architecture and Design project OpenHOUse: A Thermodynamic Living System, a prototype for an off-site, climate-responsive manufactured house that can be transported, disassembled, and reassembled.
Kayla Springer, a Bachelor of Arts in Social Studies student at Harvard College, will work with Community Solutions, a 2022 Ivory Prize finalist that is working to end homelessness, on resources and funding communities can use to create and preserve affordable housing.
Emily Tekamp, a Master in Business Administration student at Harvard Business School, will work at Calvert Impact, an impact investing firm, on a market review of the affordable housing sector, updating research in segments where Calvert already invests and identifying areas for future investment.
Kellie Zhao, a Master of Architecture student at the Harvard Graduate School of Design, will work with Connect Homes, a 2022 Ivory Prize semifinalist, that creates and installs modular prefab homes, on a variety of projects related to the development, design, permitting, and production of units.
For more information about our fellowships and grants, contact [email protected].