I’m an educator, entrepreneur, and placemaker with over two decades of experience building better places.
With a passion for cities, I shape the future of our communities. As a trusted advisor and strategist, I work with city leaders, brands, and placemakers worldwide, challenging them—and my students—to build better, more resilient cities. For over two decades, I’ve partnered with more than 100 cities, universities, developers, nonprofits, and Fortune 500 companies globally to create innovative and inclusive places.
Officially, I serve as the Assistant Dean for Faculty of Practice and Policy Engagement at the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs at UT-Austin, where I also direct the LBJ Urban Lab as a professor of practice. I teach and mentor both undergraduate and graduate students in various topics of urban policy, economic development, and public-sector consulting. As an entrepreneur, I’ve founded two university research and engagement centers—one at the University of Texas at Austin and another at New York University.
Additionally, I’m a founding partner at CivicSol, an advisory firm specializing in strategic planning and change management. Since 2019, I’ve been a distinguished fellow at the NYU Schack Institute of Real Estate, and I co-lead the economic development and strategy practice at Resonance Consultancy. In 2024, I joined the Board of Directors for the Texas Lyceum.
I hold a bachelor’s degree from the University of Texas at Austin and graduate degrees from the Heinz College of Information Systems and Public Policy at Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
I live between Austin, Texas, and Great Barrington, Massachusetts, with my dashing husband, Brian, our Boston Terrier, Cornelius-Jack, and our black Pug, Haze (yes, both names are Taylor Swift-inspired).
