The Equity in Practice Fellowship was a virtual 12-week, interdisciplinary fellowship for practitioners in the United States who are ready to deepen their practices of community engagement in the built environment.
Through a cohort experience, fellows trained in relational practice, community engagement, design justice, and project planning. Upon completion of the program, fellows were eligible to apply for funding for a small-scale community engagement project. Learn more about the pilot cohort and their projects below.
Our reflections and feedback from the fellows led us to build the Rooted Design Fellowship in partnership with Foxfire Ranch. Learn more about the Rooted Design Fellowship here.
2023 - 2024 Pilot Cohort
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is a Palestinian-American Architect working in the areas of social equity, affordable housing and community-based design projects. She is a project manager at Koz Development, an affordable micro housing company. Rania is the founder and president of Daarna, a community based organization which helps forcibly displaced families heal, adjust, and build their new communities by using design thinking, providing the tools, resources and methods that empower them to improve their lives and livelihood. Rania works actively with local and international organizations tackling the displacement crisis and advocating for refugees. She’s part of the International Architecture for Refugees organization and founded Architecture for Refugees-USA with the vision to engage architects, designers, and community members to raise awareness to the issue of displacement. Rania serves on the board of directors of NOMA NW as a treasurer She believes in the vision of NOMA to serve and empower the BIPOC design community.
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is a landscape designer, placemaker, and new podcaster. She graduated from Penn State with a degree in landscape architecture in 2019 and then obtained a MA degree in industrial design from the Savannah College of Art and Design. Currently, Zoe works for Graham Projects, a public art and placemaking firm in Baltimore, MD. She is passionate about creating equitable, responsive, and resilient spaces through deep community engagement. In her projects she loves to incorporate and work with public art, native plants, cultural stewardship, and accessibility. In addition to projects at work, Zoe has pursued and placed in several design competitions. In 2020, her design, Space Frame, was one of ten winners for the Baltimore Design for Distancing competition, looking for solutions to help businesses stay open during the pandemic. In 2022, Zoe and her design partner Ben Chronister won a competition to design a floating garden planter for the New Orleans Water Collaborative competition, looking to provide a way for the Grand Bayou Tribe of Louisiana, as well as other coastal tribes, to continue to grow food and medical plants in the face of continued land loss and water salinization caused by years unjust environmental engineering practices. When not working on projects, she enjoys playing the one song she knows on the banjo, hiking around the Mid-Atlantic, and cooking (and eating!) good food with her friends.
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is an artist and organizer based in St. Louis, MO, and a recent graduate of Washington University in St. Louis with a Master of Architecture from the Sam Fox School of Design and Visual Arts. He was awarded the 2024 Alpha Rho Chi Bronze Medal and the 2024 Sam Fox School Civic Engagement Award. Abraham also holds a BFA in painting from the Kansas City Art Institute (‘14). He is the outgoing Graduate Architecture Council President, a Divided City Graduate Summer Research Fellow, and a Design Futures Forum alumni and faculty. He has recently completed a fellowship with Open Architecture Collaborative as one of twelve inaugural Equity In Practice Fellows. Abraham is conducting independent research on architecture's capacity to integrate healing modalities into its built form, emphasizing methods to aid in the re-engagement of executive function or recovery from overstimulation or trauma response.
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is a licensed architect and urban designer at HDR, Inc., focusing on community-centered, equitable design. She has helped shape mega-projects across North America and India, such as Union Station(LINK US) in Los Angeles, the Ontario Line in Toronto, Pittsburgh International Airport, etc. These projects reshape cities and create social infrastructure spaces, impacting the daily lives of millions. She is passionate about Climate Action and Environmental Justice.
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is an east coast girl living in the San Francisco Bay Area and looking to make positive change in our world through conversation and design. As a Planner on the City of Oakland’s Strategic Planning team and local unhoused organizer Kelsey aims to build connections across communities and interests, while wearing her heart on her sleeve and leading with kindness and curiosity. Holding a Bachelors of Arts in Legal Studies and Environmental Design from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and a Masters of Design in Sustainable Urban Environments from Northeastern University, Kelsey is focused on implementing dignified community engagement practices and aims to empower and uplift voices that have been historically ignored.
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is a first-generation Chicana born and raised in the San Gabriel Valley (SGV). Raised in an intergenerational home, Diane’s life was incredibly influenced by matriarchal figures and their exemplification of tenacity, courage and care-taking in and outside the home. As a professional, Diane connects directly with people of all-ages across the SGV through community engagement projects that focus on conversations of sustainability practices, nutrition education, and environmental inequities.
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is currently learning and contributing as a designer at MASS Design Group. I hold a Master of Architecture from the University of Cincinnati and a Bachelor's in Architectural Sciences from Western Kentucky University. I'm deeply interested in exploring the intersections of architecture and UX design to address social issues through design, especially in marginalized communities. While I've had the opportunity to work on various community driven projects and also develop prototypes for mobile apps, I consider myself a lifelong learner committed to creating a more equitable future through design
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Hadley is a people connector and community builder. She is an experienced project manager and urban planner focused on projects that engage communities to create actionable goals for their built environment. An animated storyteller, Hadley is focused on creating sustainable places for future generations to thrive while elevating and leveraging the voices of community members who are often left out of the conversation. With nearly ten years of local, regional, national, and international experience, Hadley develops innovative and thoughtful solutions and strategies for a variety of partners and stakeholders. Hadley has her Master’s in Urban and Regional Planning from Florida State University. She is a published author and speaker on the intersection of historic preservation, public art, and community engagement. In her spare time, Hadley is a mother, avid reader, amateur chef, explorer, and textile artist. Her multimedia art examines color and pattern as an approach to storytelling and memory making.
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While I have not experienced the instability of being unhoused or being unable to feed my children, I have seen it first-hand. As a long- time volunteer at VOA’s Family Motel, Jewish Family Services Food Pantry and SAME Cafe, I have listened to humbling stories and have immersed myself, utilizing my skills as an architect, to improve people’s lives in tangible ways. While my professional career has taken me in the direction of building community through physical structures including schools, religious facilities, and community centers, my heart and mind has the dignity and empowerment of others at its core. For me, building relationships and collaboratively working to advance social justice efforts, that begin to realize a community’s hopes and dreams, is deeply sustaining work.
2023 EiP Projects
2023 EiP Projects
Learn about the projects our inaugural cohort is working on in 2023-2024!
Daarna
Through the imagery of kites, which have emerged as symbols of defiance and perseverance, this traveling exhibit will capture the experience of refugees and uprooted communities, with a focus on Palestinian refugees from Gaza. It will also make connections with displaced communities within Turtle Island/United States. Each exhibit will have an emergent and collaborative component, inviting local community members to build upon the exhibit. There will also be programming, including teach-ins and storytelling workshops.
Project Team: Rania Qawasma, Abraham Diaz, Sarah Goldblatt, Diane Ojeda, Kelsey Hubbard, Hadley Peterson, and DaMario Walker-Brown.
Photograph by Xinhua/Rizek Abdeljawad
Mud Kitchen
A podcast all about exploring the landscapes of our east coast backyard, meeting people working hard for the love of outdoor spaces and communities, and growing connections to the landscape, and each other. Listen and follow the podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
Project Team: Zoe Roane-Hopkins
Collective Aspirations
Our community engagement initiative at Barry Place aims to cultivate and sustain relationships with residents who live near Sausal Creek. By involving residents in discussions about parklet planning, ecological considerations, and engineering aspects, we aim to ensure that everyone's voices are heard and valued. Consulting teams and subject matter experts are providing guidance and support, helping us make informed decisions about the project's direction, ultimately shaping their feeling of belonging in the Barry Place Community.
Project Team: Maria Katticaran, Friends of Sausal Creek
Struggle of Love Community Conversations
This project will support the facilitation of community conversations about the new Struggle of Love location. The aim is to identify what programmatic needs are for the diverse and expanding needs of Denver’s Far Northeast community and to center community voices that will help shape Struggle of Love’s future home.
Project Team: Sarah Goldblatt, Struggle of Love Foundation
