Jordan O. James is a lecturer at the University of New Mexico’s School of Architecture and Planning in the Community & Regional Planning program as well as a Ph.D. student in the Organization, Information, and Learning Sciences (OILS) program. He has served as a graduate research assistant on an NSF-funded project, Revolutionizing Engineering Departments, and has been recognized as both a Graduate Studies student spotlight recipient and teaching scholar. Jordan studies learning in authentic, real-world conditions utilizing Design-Based Research methodologies and Wrong Theory to investigate design learning and social engineering, in which he studies urban planners who design real-world interventions for communities and students who use design to learn. A member of the Grand Portage Band of the Lake Superior Chippewa Tribe Jordan obtained both his Masters of Community & Regional Planning and Bachelor of Media Arts from the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque where he lives with his wife and three daughters.

Mackenzie Bailey is a full-time student at the University of New Mexico. She is a Senior that graduated in May of 2023, who now has a Bachelors in Environmental Planning and Design with a minor in Architecture. Before attending UNM, she attended Central New Mexico Community College, where she earned an Associates in Integrated Studies.
Mackenzie has experience in Adobe Illustrator and Canva. She is proficient in Office 365 applications. She also has knowledge and experience about what it takes to put together a community meeting or event through her part time job at Concerned Veterans for America where she serves her community as a grassroots organizer. Due to having two jobs as an organizer and a caregiver as well as being a full-time student, she has proficient time management skills and is known for working hard because her work reflects what she stands for.
Mackenzie collaborated with her fellow classmates in the International District Redevelopment and Alleyway Project. She worked in groups dedicated to the beautification of the alleyways and the ‘pop up’ event. For the beautification group she aided in generating ideas, communication between group members and discussing ideas with community members during the meeting. For the ‘pop up’ group she aided in building and designing physical aspects that would be added to the alley way such as a gazebo and a table made from recycled wooden materials as well as a plastic hazardous sharps box. 

Ellie Blankenship graduated spring 2023 from UNM with a degree in Environmental Planning and Design with a concentration in community and regional planning and a minor in Sustainability Studies. Ellie decided to pursue a planning degree because while growing up in Austin, Texas she saw the city change rapidly and wanted to understand the inner workings of this and learn how equitable development can be done. Ellie has always been interested in sustainability and was drawn to New Mexico by the mountains but also the community connections and partnerships that are so evident here. She is interested in local food and building sustainable and equitable cities that refocus the built environment around community. In her free time, she enjoys hiking, reading, swimming, and working on her ceramics skills. After graduation, she will be moving back to Austin Texas with the hopes to bring a new perspective to city planning with a focus on sustainability.  

In the alleyway redevelopment project, she has worked on the community meeting and popup team. She worked on the community meeting team to develop plans for an effective community meeting to gain robust insight into what the community desires using an asset-based approach. Throughout the semester she has worked on the popup team to design infrastructure that encompasses the desires of the community and focuses on encouraging play for kids, and services for the unhoused. 

Cameron is a senior at UNM studying Environmental Planning and Design and minoring in Sustainability Studies at the University of New Mexico. He is passionate about solving the ecological crisis we face, and during his time at UNM has placed a particular focus on learning how to use public policy to solve environmental, social, and economic problems. Cameron has pursued this focus in many ways. For his senior capstone project, Cameron launched an effort to pass a resolution at UNM that would place a university-wide ban on single-use plastics and replace them with sustainable alternatives. This project has been taken up by other students and is currently being carried forward. He has also researched and developed several policy briefs during his time at UNM, focusing on everything from expanding urban tree canopy to creating alternative transportation corridors on major streets across Albuquerque. He, along with team of students also presented a policy pitch to the office of Congresswoman Melanie Stansbury. Cameron also has a broad range of professional experience across many sectors. In his final semester at UNM, Cameron interned for the State of New Mexico’s Environment Department under the Climate Change Bureau where he provided research and support during the legislative session. Before that, he interned with Grassroots International, which is a nonprofit based in Massachusetts who supports movements around the globe that fight for ecological and social change, as well as REDES Ecovillages, an NGO based in Senegal that is working to expand sustainable development across the Sahel. After graduation, Cameron plans to take a gap year and then pursue a master’s degree in public policy or sustainability, with the goal of pursuing his passion in developing innovative environmental policies for local or state governments. Outside of school, Cameron enjoys backpacking and mountain-biking in New Mexico and Colorado. 

Leila Chapa was born and raised in Albuquerque, NM.  She is an undergraduate student attending the University of New Mexico studying Environmental Planning and Design with a concentration in Community and Regional Planning, a minor in Environmental Science, and an Interdisciplinary Honors Distinction.  She is also working towards getting a masters degree in Environmental Engineering by taking her math and science prerequisite classes.  She has a passion for biodiversity and wants to focus her planning career on non-human species and helping address the biodiversity crisis. She has focused a lot of her projects on biodiversity, using video as a medium of advocacy. She is passionate about using video as a way of raising awareness.  Most recently, she was part of the “Postcards are for Active Participation, Not Passive Viewing” exhibit where she contributed two postcards with original artwork and images to help raise awareness about the endangered Chiricahua leopard frog.  She believes that art and media are a useful way to approach universal audiences about the biodiversity crisis and help generate greater appreciation for fellow non-human species. 

 On the side, she is fulfilling another passion of hers by developing a career professional video editing by working remotely for non-profit organizations that help start-ups enhance their businesses. She also works alongside her mom who is a documentary filmmaker, and she and her twin sister help her with tasks such as editing or sound engineering.  She is also a soccer player and currently plays for the UNM Women's Soccer Club Team. She also enjoys drawing cartoons, working in her backyard farm, hiking, and snowboarding; all with her twin sister.

Paloma Chapa, is an undergraduate student at the University of New Mexico. She is currently studying Environmental Planning and Design at the UNM School of Architecture and Planning, while earning an Honors distinction at the UNM Honors College and minoring in Environmental Science. Since High school, Paloma’s focus has always been on the global biodiversity crisis. Today, her planning approach still has biodiversity in mind, focusing on how areas of the built environment can be less hostile for local biodiversity, which in turn also benefits humans. She notices that this planning approach is still rarely considered, and when it is, still takes a largely human-centric approach. This semester she took a class in Art and Ecology, which was all about the biodiversity crisis. She was inspired to learn that there are places in the world where some species are considered equal to or even above humans in spaces where humans reside. So these planning approaches are not far fetched. She hopes to bring awareness to these issues through her planning projects and help highlight the urgency of the biodiversity crisis similar to how the climate crisis has received attention and somewhat found its way into mainstream planning. While she is aware this will take time, Paloma wants to help play a role in this change. Paloma really enjoys the design aspect of her coursework, particularly imagining concepts in photoshop and AutoCAD, and building physical materials in the Woodshop. In addition to Environmental Planning, Paloma is working to become a professional video editor through remote internships and freelancing. She is inspired by her mother, who is a documentary filmmaker who tells stories about important issues through film. In her free time, Paloma has a passion for soccer, and plays competitively for the UNM Women’s Club Soccer Team. Her other hobbies include hiking, snowboarding, drawing, painting, and working in her “backyard farm.”

As a devoted agriculturalist and social justice advocate, Haley has spent her life pursuing her passions and working towards building more equitable, healthy communities. Her interest in agriculture and land stewardship began at a young age as she grew up working in my family's garden, preserving, and cooking fresh foods. It was there that she began learning the value of hard work and sustainable practices.
Throughout her education in Environmental Planning and professional career, she has been driven by a desire to ensure that all people have access to healthy and nutritious food, regardless of their geographic location or socioeconomic status. This work has involved complex problem solving, community engagement and advocacy. With these common practices, she has worked with dedicated teams and has been successful in creating entirely new food bank systems in small communities and created small-scale local food movements in rural areas with limited resources. She has also worked with a nation-wide non-profit to promote fair and just policies that support small-scale farmers, protect natural resources, and promote food security by helping rescue millions of pounds of food and eliminating carbon emissions. 
Her passion for social justice extends far beyond agriculture. She has been involved in numerous grassroots organizations, advocating for a wide range of issues, from racial justice and gender equality to LGBTQ+ rights and environmental sustainability. She firmly believes that all individuals should be treated with dignity and respect, and that everyone should have access to the resources they need to thrive. She believes that environmental and social equity are intricately connected.
In her free time, she enjoys hiking, gardening, traveling, cooking, and spending time with family and friends. She is committed to making a positive impact in the world and hope to continue working towards building a healthier planet and equitable society for all.

Aaron Hill is a junior at the University of New Mexico, where he’s studying Community and Regional Planning and East Asian Studies. His history in community organizing has made an emphasis on community involvement and social justice vital in his conception of the planning process, a perspective encouraged by his time at the University of New Mexico, where the focus on planning in Indigenous and Chicana/o communities helped refine his understanding of community participation, community sovereignty, and community development.

Having grown up in north Georgia, Aaron was raised in a rural area, but his experienced living in the Taipei metropolis notably impacted his understanding of land use, transit, and the potential of the urban form. He hopes to help create vibrant and healthy rural communities in placed like his home, where traditional urban planning tactics are infeasible but well-tailored design and active community involvement can drastically improve the quality of life for his neighbors.

Aaron currently works at Bernalillo County in the Planning and Development Services department, where he primarily assists in long term planning and land use. Much of his time there is spent finding processing data, such as housing and demographic statistics, into a usable form for internal planning and infographics for the public to use. He has also assisted in policy research and code writing for a variety of projects including food truck regulations, water accessibility, and modular infill for diverse housing.

For this project, he was involved in the physical and transportation planning team, where he researched case studies on similar alley revitalization projects, undertook research on the area’s peoples and institutions, and helped moderate discussion at community events. He hopes to go and receive his master’s degree in Community and Regional Planning, and work to revitalize some of the rural communities around New Mexico.

Kayla Jim is a full time student at the University of New Mexico. She is in her third year pursuing a Bachelor’s in Environmental Planning and Design. Before she attended UNM, she was attending Central New Mexico Community College. There she earned an AA in Environmental Planning and Design and an AA in Integrated Studies, both with honors. After CNM, she enrolled at UNM to finish completing her degree in Environmental Planning and Design with a minor in Sustainable Studies.

Kayla has experience in Photoshop, Illustrator, inDesign, and AutoCAD. She is proficient with Microsoft Word applications. She has experience in holding community meetings and giving presentations to small and large crowds. Kayla has knowledge and experience with managing people from her time at Panera Bread where she worked full-time while going to school. She is known to be a hard worker and her work reflects what she stands for.

Kayla is a member of the Navajo Nation tribe and a native to New Mexico. She is passionate about returning to the Navajo Nation Reservation after earning her degree. Kayla is focused on bringing sustainable ways of life to the Navajo Nation and to help the community reconnect with each other to become a stronger nation. Kayla also hopes to influence other Indigenous students to pursue their degrees and return to their homeland to help their people. 

Kayla collaborated with her fellow classmates in the International District Redevelopment and Alleyway Project. She worked in the group called Accessibility and Safety in the International District (ID) and presented the ideas at a community meeting in the ID. Kayla talked to community members and listened to their concerns about safety in the area. For the pop-up event, Kayla worked on a planter wall for the community event. She hand cut out a stencil from basswood and used it to put images on the planter wall that she also painted with help from her classmates.
 

Sean LaBarbera is a graduate of the CRP program with a bachelor's in environmental planning. His focus is in developing communities with a desire to ensure their sustainability as long-term spaces for social, commercial, and economic growth. His work is inspired by learning about the problems facing Albuquerque, particularly in maintaining its water supply and restoring community growth in older districts. His college experience has informed him of the significance of understanding the existing conditions of site projects, the impacts on the surrounding environment, and the importance of feedback from residents and businesses. Sean enjoys working on projects that have a positive impact on the surrounding landscape and strives to create solutions that are both environmentally friendly and economically sound. His hope is to bring about solutions towards creating further green spaces within cities and redesign urban and suburban zones to better accommodate changing landscapes in urban development.

Lauren Grace McAllister is a student at the University of New Mexico in her third year. She is currently a marketing and operations management student at the Anderson School of Management while also pursuing a degree in Environmental Planning and design. She hopes to graduate from the University of New Mexico by the year 2024.

She is originally from Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, and moved to Taos, New Mexico in 2014. She attended Taos Academy charter school and graduated top of her class with an associate degree in liberal arts while participating in the dual credit program, at the same time she studied abroad in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany through the Rotary International program.

Living in other countries other than the United States broaden her views on how cities work and can be organized. She found that instead of prioritizing movement through cars, prioritizing other forms of transportation like public transportation can be more efficient and eco-friendlier. In addition, she firmly believes cities should be designed for and by the community. In the future, she hopes to integrate this thinking into future projects in hopes of making more sustainable and walkable cities that work for the people living in them.
 

Davin Nelson is in his final semester at the University of New Mexico, completing a Bachelor’s in Environmental Planning & Design (BAEPD), with a concentration in Community and Regional Planning (CRP). In his earlier years, he was engaged in the University's Honors College, graduated from the ASUNM agency Emerging Lobo Leaders (ELL), and was selected to receive a Lobo Leadership & Involvement Award. Additionally, Davin worked with the Student Activities Center as a concessionist for the SUB theater, office assistant, and event staff throughout the years. Likewise, as an administrative assistant for the Registrar's office, Davin collaborated with senior staff to integrate the University’s new course catalog system.

Graduating from Rio Rancho High School and joining the University in 2019, he grew inspired by the immense cultural and environmental values and lifestyles found across the state. Honored to live and be in the community both personally and professionally, Davin has been active in a lot of conservation and social justice organizations or efforts. In high school, he volunteered annually for the Big Event, a gathering where community members in Sandoval County would help older residents with household chores and yard work. Continuing to UNM, he participated in Fall Frenzy, which consisted of being assigned different agricultural tasks for different sites on main campus. 

When it comes to networking and organizing efforts for social change, Davin collaborated with the People’s Budget New Mexico Coalition (PBNMC), to create a central webpage as a part of the groups transparency and expansion initiatives. Using that experience, he brought a level of logistical and operational focus to this year's project. Working with Bernalillo County, where he currently interns for the Operations Excellence Office (OEO) doing strategic planning work, Davin co-led efforts to maximize community accessibility, expression, and involvement through the community meeting and Alleyway popup event. And assisting groups organize their tasks for the final web document detailing our process and impact on the International District.
 

Mattia Panaccione is an undergraduate student of the Community and Regional Placemaking and Economics programs at the University of New Mexico.  Her coursework has focused on topics of sustainable and culturally appropriate urban planning methods and in the social, political, and economic theories of inequality within urban areas. Mattia is interested in working through the combined lens of the community and physical planning disciplines in order to redesign spaces to more equitably serve communities, improve quality of life, and foster stronger social connections amongst city dwellers.  Upon her anticipated graduation in December of 2023, Mattia’s career interests are also in joining the field of creative and intuitive placemakers working towards solutions to homelessness in cities. 
It is becoming more prominent in contemporary research that the physical environment has real impacts on individuals’ mental and physical health, and even on the social connections people have the opportunity to build within their life.  As a person’s built-environment greatly affects their health, Mattia is an advocate of ‘housing first’ practices which call for rapidly providing low-barrier, free housing to people experiencing homelessness.  In this same vein, Mattia also is interested in increasing the number of public spaces and their usage amongst all individuals in a community, as well as designing them in ways that reflect the local personality. 
In her final year at UNM, she has worked with her peers on a 16-week community engagement process to surface what the community knows to be the best solution for a redevelopment in their alleyways and to set it in motion.  She is a believer in the power, knowledge, and autonomy of each community and advocates for participatory planning processes.  Mattia lives in Albuquerque with her partner and their cat where she enjoys green chile on pizza, hikes in the Sandias, and New Mexican sunsets.

Martin Roybal is currently a University of New Mexico, School of Architecture & Planning Undergraduate, Majoring in Environmental Planning and Design with a focus in Community Transformation & Placemaking. Also, he received an Associates Degree in Architectural Engineering & Drafting Technologies from Central New Mexico Community College. He is concerned with the sustainability of the environment in the Southwest and how future generations will care for the historic communities that have blossomed and flourished here throughout the years. Enjoying community outreach and volunteer work for Habitat for Humanity as well as designing and planning projects for school or work, he appreciates the outdoors and spending time with his family and pets. He believes that everyone should have access to community spaces so they can live healthy, happy, lives. Resilient in getting the job done, attending a local neighborhood association meeting is not out of the ordinary for him on any given day of the week, his organizational skills and experience in neighborhood planning and outreach has helped him to better understand members of the community and their needs. Helping the community with this project was rewarding for him, to see the community come together and activate this space was important for community growth and the sustainability of this neighborhood and many others like it, bringing life to this alleyway was a fulfilling experience for him and he hopes to continue with more projects like this one in the future. Working closely with Local Governments and Neighborhood Associations is key to determine the needs of a community and help carefully establish what can be done to help restore these historic places around the city of Albuquerque to what they once were, rich in history, culture and heritage. Moving forward, he has cofidence that bringing life to these spaces will help to improve our outreach efforts. 

Evans has been a Community Planner for the International District Community Develop Center in Albuquerque’s International District since February 2022. Evans has facilitated community/local business outreach, conducted community surveys, developed mapping models, and organized community meetings. Evans also assisted in the development of the new Vendor Harvest Marketplace located on Kathryn and Ortiz.
    Evans was a leadership fellow with CESSOS (Center for Social Sustainable Solutions) and was a part of a Collaborative project between UNM and CESSOS to develop a site plan for a traditional knowledge school and cultural center. The project also involved the development of a rainwater catchment system, proposed restoring a local acequia, facilitated community outreach and community consultations, and advised on potential programming for the center. 
Evans has enjoyed the amazing opportunities he has had to assist this community. He appreciates all of the fellow advocates he has met along the way and values the incredible work they are doing for the neighborhood.
Evans has also done extensive historical preservation work within the state of New Mexico. That work has included an adaptive reuse proposal for the restoration of the Peñasco schoolhouse, he helped create a Historic American Building Survey for the Norman L King Stadium in Las Vegas. He has been a part of a work crew in 2022/2023 that conducted the restoration of the historical façade of the Frijole Ranch, and the Butterfield stage couch pinery station ruins at the Guadalupe Mountain National Park. Evans has also nominated Albuquerque’s Special Collections library for the National Register of Historic Places.
    Evans went to Sewanee, The University of the South for three semesters before transferring to the University of New Mexico and will graduate with a Bachelor of the Arts in Environmental Planning and Design with a concentration on Community and Regional Planning.

Liam Strader-Monaghan is a fourth-year student in the School of Architecture & Planning at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Liam is currently pursuing a major in environmental planning and design with a concentration in community transformation and placemaking. He decided to focus on environmental planning and design because he has always been entranced by the natural environment and wildlife and has felt interested and rewarded by creative design processes. These passions were evident in Liam from a young age, for if he wasn’t running around outside, climbing trees, or catching bugs, he was inside drawing or building something. Liam has lived his entire life in the City of Albuquerque except for the first year of his life that he spent in Venezuela, as his parents taught English at an international school. Liam’s favorite hobbies include snowboarding, skateboarding, mountain biking, scuba diving, and many other outdoor and extreme sports. While studying at the University of New Mexico, Liam had the opportunity to go on a study exchange program at the University of Technology Sydney in Sydney, Australia. Liam currently works as an intern planner at Wilson & Company, Inc., Engineers & Architects. Liam also has experience working in the retail, construction & restaurant industries. From this wide range of jobs, Liam has developed proficiency in many skills such as communication, time management, problem-solving, and leadership. After graduating from the University of New Mexico, Liam plans to travel as much as he possibly can. Liam was inspired at an early age to travel by his parents, and since then has had a great passion for seeing the world. Liam also plans to attend graduate school to further refine his specialty and focus within the field of planning. He would like to find a job within the planning field and eventually settle somewhere other than Albuquerque. 

Zachary Trischitta is a student of UNM’s Community and Regional Planning program.
Throughout his time at UNM, he has learned the value of establishing and strengthening his
community, and has worked that focus into many of his projects through the years. His capstone
project encompassed envisioning alleyways in the International District as community spaces.
He contributed his graphic design skills to create renderings showing what the alleys could
potentially look like, which created a lot of interest in the project, and informed future decisions
in designing the class’ Pop-Up event. He also works as a contractor for Bernalillo County Parks,
Recreation and Open Space. His position with the county has allowed him to implement a variety
of social programs to assist the community in learning how to provide food for themselves. He
will continue to work for Bernalillo County past graduation, and will continue to improve
conditions of neighborhoods in Albuquerque’s International District.

Nathaniel Wurster is a senior at the University of New Mexico, pursuing a degree in Environmental Planning & Design. Originally from Petoskey, Michigan, Nathaniel developed a deep appreciation for the natural world from a young age, which has informed his academic and personal interests ever since.
Throughout his time at the university, Nathaniel has been involved in a variety of extracurricular activities that reflect his passion for environmentalism and sustainability. He is an avid hiker and camper, regularly venturing into the great outdoors to explore new trails and immerse himself in the natural world. These experiences have given him a firsthand understanding of the importance of natural planning and the intersection of the built environment with the natural environment.
Nathaniel's academic pursuits are similarly focused on these issues. He is particularly interested in planning on government and Indigenous lands, recognizing the unique challenges and opportunities that arise in these contexts. Through his coursework and research, he has developed a nuanced understanding of the complexities of environmental planning, as well as a commitment to working collaboratively with diverse stakeholders to find innovative solutions to environmental challenges.
Looking ahead, Nathaniel is eager to apply his skills and knowledge to real-world challenges in the field of environmental planning. He is currently preparing to graduate in May of 2024, and is excited to embark on the next phase of his career. Whether working in the public or private sector, he is committed to making a positive impact on the world through his work, and to using his skills and expertise to promote sustainable, equitable, and environmentally conscious practices.
Overall, Nathaniel's passion for environmentalism, combined with his academic and personal experiences, make him a dedicated and talented advocate for the natural world, and a valuable asset to any team or organization working in the field of environmental planning and design.