Hello & Welcome

My research explores the intersections between outdoor community space co-design, youth participatory action research, and adolescent development. Through my work, I aim to empower young people to actively engage in the evaluation and shaping of their local environments to support healthy, holistic development. I seek to understand the multifaceted factors influencing how individuals and groups interact with and perceive the physical environment. I am deeply passionate about bridging the gap between research and design practice, translating research findings into actionable design strategies, and I am particularly drawn to participatory design approaches that empower communities to shape their own environments. As a member of the neurodivergent community, I strive to apply research and design principles to create more equitable and inclusive experiences and spaces for all humans. I hope to use my expertise to develop and evaluate design solutions that are inclusive, equitable, and sustainable, with a focus on creating environments that support human flourishing. You can learn more about me below or check out some of my recent projects in the navigation bar.

As a Ph.D. in Human Behavior & Design at Cornell University, I focused on outdoor environments, youth, and leisure and play through community-engaged research and evaluations of community spaces. I utilized community-based participatory research methods to create sustainable and usable environments that can improve and support overall community health and well-being. I completed my M.S. in the department of Design & Environmental Analysis (DEA) at Cornell University with a concentration in Environmental Psychology & Human Factors and a minor in Horticulture. I explored human-environment relationships through post-occupancy evaluations, employing a variety of methodologies including surveys that capture nuanced perceptions, in-depth interviews that reveal individual experiences, and behavioral observations that provide empirical data to better understand the factors that affect space utilization and how individuals and groups interact with and perceive the physical environment. I attended Wellesley College for my undergraduate degree, where I majored in Biology and Psychology with a concentration in Evolution.

In the interim between college and graduate school, I was a Senior Research Associate at Temkin Group - a customer experience research, consulting, and training firm (now the Qualtrics Experience Management Institute). Here, I focused on employee engagement, communicating brand promises to customers, and how to be an effective and purposeful leader. My time at Temkin Group reignited my passion for research and showed me the power of a strong, positive company culture.