Scholarship Winners
APA congratulates the recipients of the 2023 APA Foundation scholarships.
APA Foundation Diversity Scholarship Winners
APA Foundation scholarships make the planning profession more diverse and accessible to individuals with limited means and help attract the most talented individuals to the profession.
Columbia University
Mateo Alexander
Thank you to the APA Foundation for supporting me in my first year as an MSUP student at Columbia University. Following graduation, I will become a college professor and research center PI, actively co-producing with communities for beneficial technological research and development. As a trailblazer, my legacy will be a racially, economically, and technologically just future. This scholarship will ease the financial stress of living in NYC, allowing me to focus on my academic interests of smart cities, urban futures and megatrends, behavioral economics and ontological design, new city and town international development, and underrepresented populations.
University of Florida
Angie Castrillon
I am incredibly grateful and honored to receive a 2023 American Planning Association Foundation Diversity Scholarship. As the daughter of immigrants and a Hispanic/Latinx woman, I deeply appreciate the APA's commitment to promoting diverse, inclusive, and livable communities. With your generous support, I will be able to complete my Master's Research Project and finish the final phase of my degree. This scholarship will play a pivotal role in allowing me to pursue a career dedicated to creating communities that prioritize environmental justice, sustainable economic development, social equity, and inclusion.
Harvard University
Aanchal Chopra
My ambition is to design cities that facilitate more equitable participation in meaningful work, enable shared prosperity, and serve an increasingly flexible and evolving workforce. With the support of this scholarship, I hope to investigate the urban drivers of inequity at work and better understand how planners, policymakers, and employers can collaborate to design urban infrastructure to address these inequities.
University of Georgia
Ashley Daniel
I want to express my heartfelt gratitude for your generous scholarship. The American Planning Association's investment in my education is more than just a financial contribution — it's a vote of confidence in my potential and a catalyst for my future success. With your assistance, I am provided with an easier route to achieving my goal of cultivating a profound understanding of the complex relationships between urban environments, social dynamics, art, and sustainable development. Thank you so much.
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Samuel Hayes
I am a second-year master's student in the Department of City and Regional Planning at UNC Chapel Hill where I focus my research on issues at the intersection of affordable housing and historic preservation. My role as the Chair of the Board of Directors at Upstate Preservation Trust, a historic preservation nonprofit in SC, has honed my leadership and practical skills in preserving our cultural heritage. This experience, coupled with my research, empowers me to seek innovative solutions that harmonize urban development with the preservation. Thank you to the APA Foundation and the generous donors who made this scholarship possible.
University of California, Berkeley
Lekshmy Hirandas
I am deeply grateful for the generosity of the foundation as this scholarship helps me to complete my planning education at the University of California, Berkeley. As a budding planner, I aim to be a global advocate for equitable access, ensuring it transcends barriers of age and ability. This invaluable recognition from the APA Foundation will empower me to delve deeper into the intricacies of planning, acquiring the knowledge and skills needed to create sustainable, inclusive solutions for our communities. It fuels my passion to address the pressing issues of mobility inequality and urban accessibility, ultimately striving for a world where everyone can thrive, regardless of their circumstances. Your support not only assists me in achieving my educational goals but also strengthens my commitment to making a meaningful impact on the planning landscape. I am truly honored to be a recipient of this scholarship and look forward to the journey ahead.
Michigan State University
Escarleth Cucurachi Ortega
As a recipient of the APA Foundation Diversity Scholarship, I wanted to express my appreciation for helping to alleviate the financial burden of my college education. Originating from a close-knit Mexican family, my architectural background kindled a passion for urbanism, propelling my pursuit of a Master's in Urban and Regional. MSU has offered a remarkable experience, emphasizing inclusivity and equity. Currently, I'm involved in an Urban Laboratory initiative in Veracruz, empowering locals with essential knowledge. Future plans encompass gaining experience in international urban consulting and founding an Urban Planning firm to advocate for marginalized groups. My heartfelt thanks to the APA Foundation for supporting my educational endeavor, a beacon of hope for all aspiring planners.
Cornell University
Aditi Parihar
Born and raised in a small town glancing at the ill-structured land use map, I knew only knowledge could give me the power to change the existing circumstances; this was my driving force to pursue a program in city and regional planning. The moment has arrived to connect my goals with my values. I aim to turn my interest and curiosity into innovative and spontaneous solutions. With this APA Foundation Diversity Scholarship, I look forward to contributing with the same zest and spirit towards women, people of color, and those in financial need. I extend my heartfelt gratitude for your support! Thank you!
Columbia University
Rachel Peng
Thank you for selecting me as a recipient of the 2023 APA Foundation Diversity Scholarship. I feel incredibly grateful and honored for your support in pursuit of my degree in urban planning, and ultimately planning career. As I continue my final years of my degree and deepen my knowledge in the field, I hope to champion diversity through my thesis by showcasing the subtleties of race in data, and aim to continue to raise awareness of the impacts of climate change in my own community, particularly to those outside of the industry.
University of Washington
Saira Shahid
I am honored to accept the APA Diversity Scholarship made possible by your generous donation. Thanks to your support, I can continue my education in urban planning and pursue my goal of being an urban planning practitioner working to make communities safe, sustainable, and equitable. I hope to use my intersectional knowledge, background, and experiences to champion diversity in the planning field and develop equitable solutions for the present and future.
Ball State University
Danielle Sipp
I truthfully and wholeheartedly want to thank the APA Foundation for this award and experience. As a student and future planner I've spent years of my adolescence and teenhood advocating for more equitable and just urban development practices and with the support of the APA Foundation, I hope to bring this with me into my professional career. Thank you again for this opportunity.
Harvard University
Briana Villaverde
This scholarship is instrumental in helping me further my studies and commitment to equitable urban planning. After graduation I hope to return back to Los Angeles and actively implement impactful planning strategies that uplift the Latine diaspora while promoting radical forms of care and justice specifically prioritizing communities who are working to address climate and environmental injustices. A better world is possible, let's plan it!
Harvard University
Maggie Weese
I want to sincerely thank the APA Foundation for its generosity in awarding me this scholarship. This funding will support my final year of a dual master's in urban planning and public health at Harvard University. While at Harvard, my work focused on participatory planning, healthy built environments, and affordable housing. After I graduate, I hope to work for a city planning department or a nonprofit developer to further access to healthy, high-quality, affordable housing in the Boston area. Thank you again!
Since 2015, the APA Foundation has awarded $113,000 in scholarships to deserving planning students who will be leaders and advocates in their communities. Support the APA Foundation today to help us empower the planners of tomorrow.
Previous Winners
APA Foundation Scholarship
2021
University of Michigan
Anthony Bui
Thanks to your generosity, I am one step closer to making our urban areas accessible for all. Transportation policy has a tendency to promote unwelcoming streets solely for the benefit of drivers, but it can also be used as a remedy to encourage a street for all users. Thus, I will promote and protect public transportation to bridge our communities, connect all types of people with opportunities, and stimulate economic potential in the urban environment.
Columbia University
Will Cao
The necessity for a collective mission towards confronting health and climate disasters could not have been more apparent over the past year, as well as the role of planners to encourage and mitigate outcomes. With the generous support from this scholarship, I am able to continue my education towards the goal of responsibly building greater resilience and climate justice for communities that have been underrepresented in the processes of planning and developing the built environment.
Tufts University
Kameice Francis
Thank you to all who made this possible. This scholarship has made a world of difference for me. The
opportunities offered by the APA Foundation Scholarship will undoubtedly ensure that I have the
financial resources to finish my Master's in Environmental Policy and Planning. After graduation, I aspire
to return to my home country, Jamaica, to develop effective national climate change mitigation and
adaptation strategies. Once again, thank you.
opportunities offered by the APA Foundation Scholarship will undoubtedly ensure that I have the
financial resources to finish my Master's in Environmental Policy and Planning. After graduation, I aspire
to return to my home country, Jamaica, to develop effective national climate change mitigation and
adaptation strategies. Once again, thank you.
The University of Texas at Arlington
Qian He
My career goal is to become a research-driven planner and educator. Through my research, teaching, and service, I am committed to creating an equitable environment for people and communities from all backgrounds. The APA Foundation scholarship will help me finishing the final phase of my doctoral degree. This scholarship will allow me to share my research and cultivate professional planning networks at national and international level. The recognition of the APA Foundation Scholarship will be a tremendous encouragement as I work to achieve my goal of advancing equity in urban planning.
University of Minnesota
Fatha Sharif
I am beyond grateful and excited at the opportunity to have received a 2021 American Planning Association Foundation Scholarship. I have begun my studies at the Hubert H. Humphrey School of Public Affairs as part of the Master of Urban and Regional Planning program, and hope to complete a concentration in housing and community development. I aspire to lead a planning career in the public sector that centers and empowers communities that have historically experienced marginalization, a lack of representation, and access to influence decisions made in regards to their own neighborhoods and homes.
2020
Harvard University
Andriani Atmadja
Your generosity helps me to further my mission in enhancing climate resilience planning for vulnerable communities that seek social justice and equity in its practice. As a woman in the future planning profession, I am also hoping to generate strategies to ensure equitable collaboration through empowerment of women, children, elderly, and underrepresented communities to actively participate in the planning process.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Shekhar Chandra
I was born in a remote village in north India of mostly below-poverty-line households with a low literacy rate and where the majority of households depend on farming activities for their livelihoods. The experiences of my youth inculcated a genuine passion for acquiring scientific knowledge and a deep desire to influence the policymaking process so that I could someday make a difference for those who were less fortunate than me.
Harvard University
Cecley Hill
We are in a critical moment where the demand for Urban Planners has become increasingly evident across a variety of landscapes and in a myriad of roles. As a second year graduate student preparing to transition into this field professionally, I look forward to building on my personal knowledge and educational experiences to create more equitable cities internationally, and to help meet this demand.
Rutgers University
Amal Muse
Thanks to your generous support I am the first in my family to attend graduate school. Growing up in a less privileged community has not only offered financial and academic challenges, but has also helped me realize the value of a higher education. My plans at this stage are to complete my Masters in City and Regional Planning and concentrate in environmental policy.
Harvard University
Whytne Stevens
Receiving this scholarship allows me to continue my studies at Harvard and look more deeply into subjects within urban planning such as people centered urban design, participatory planning, community development and community building, finding the intersection of art and urban planning, and social equity based approaches to urban planning.
Rutgers University
Marius Williams
As a City and Regional Planning student I plan to concentrate on international design and development. I believe that the practice of both local and international planning and design can reveal and spread innovative best planning practices across regions and cultures.
2019
University of California, Berkeley
Priscila Coli
Priscila Coli is a graduate student at the University of California, Berkeley's City and Regional Planning PhD program. Coli spent six years working as an urban planner in Rio de Janeiro and focused on sustainability, zoning parameters for affordable housing, and redressing disparities in urban infrastructure. She hopes to contribute to the development of urban policies and legislation that could regulate new actors while also empowering residents from the peripheries, facilitating and strengthening equitable civic participation.
TufTs University
Alexandra Duprey
Alexandra Duprey is a graduate student at Tufts University's Master's in Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning program. She plans to build upon her experience as an intern for a sustainable development nongovernmental organization (NGO) in India, and as a transportation planner in Florida observing the disparity between the people proposing development plans and the people being affected by the plans, to champion diversity and social and environmental justice in the planning profession.
University of Colorado, Denver
Valeria Henao Cano
Valeria Henao Cano is a graduate student at the University of Colorado, Denver Master's of Urban and Regional Planning program. She has worked as an architect in Colombia and has experience developing projects that improve quality of life in marginalized communities. As a planner, she plans to work on improving informal areas that serve marginalized populations.
University of Pennsylvania
Claire Jaffe
Claire Jaffe is a graduate student at the University of Pennsylvania Master's of City Planning program. She is working on bicycle and pedestrian planning and is interested in how multimodal networks create safer spaces. Jaffe has organized spaces for women and LGBTQ folks who are in the planning field or interested in urban planning issues to come together, network, and build connections.
Harvard University
Laier-Rayshon Smith
Laier-Rayshon Smith is a graduate student at the Harvard University Master's of Urban Planning program. Smith's vision for equitable communities includes working at the intersections of social interaction, policy, design and the decision-making processes that formulate the built environment. Living in Pittsburgh and working at non-profit organizations in the city helped to shape this vision.
Charles Abrams Scholarship
2021
Harvard University
Sara Arman
I wanted to sincerely thank you for awarding me the Charles Abrams Scholarship. This scholarship will be directly applied to my tuition and will help support my graduate studies. At the Graduate School of Design my focus within Urban Planning is Housing, Neighborhood, and Economic Development. After graduation, I hope to work in my hometown- Chelsea, MA either at a local CDC or in the city planning department to help create more affordable housing. I am so grateful for the APA to helping make this career a reality for me!
2020
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Sharon Velasquez
Thanks to you, I am set for success as I develop the critical planning and leadership skills that will empower me to lead an economic development organization in my future.
2019
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Vanessa Toro Barragan
Vanessa Toro Barragan is a graduate student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Master's in City Planning program. Barragan plans to leverage her complex identities as a white-presenting Latina who was born in Colombia but raised in the United States to find opportunities for social transformation as a path towards equitable and just cities. Her thesis will focus on the youth from an Afro-Colombian Pacific territory and efforts to rebuild within the challenging context of structural violence, poverty, and environmental hazards.
2018
Harvard University
Gina Ciancone
Gina Ciancone is a graduate student at the Harvard University's Master in Urban Planning program. She will be pursuing solutions that mitigate natural disasters and climate change in Houston and New Delhi, India.
2017
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Reed Jordan
2016
Joshua Davidson
University of Pennsylvania
2015
John McCartin
Harvard University
2014
Brett Roeth Peanasky
University of Pennsylvania
2013
Jennifer Lee
Harvard University
2012
Jinny Khanduja
Columbia University
2011
Maxwell Sokol
Columbia University
2010
Christina Ghan
Columbia University
2009
Chris Horne
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
2008
Danielle Martin
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
2007
John Reinhardt
University of Pennsylvania
2006
Tegin Leigh Teich
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
2005
Katherine Scott
Columbia University
2004
Karen Hu
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
2003
Annis Whitlow
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
2002
Kristin Malia Garcia
Harvard Design School
2001
Kathy Diaz
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Judith McManus Price Scholarship
2021
University of California, Berkeley
Kaitlyn Kong
Receiving this scholarship will allow me to further my research and studies on: Transportation Planning and Equity, Active/Multi-Modal Transportation, Public Transportation, Green and Complete Streets, Streetscape, Sustainable Development, Public Spaces, Green Spaces, Sustainable Cities, Livability. As a woman of color, I am so excited for the opportunity to improve the built environment and achieve a more accessible, equitable, and sustainable future.
2018
Georgia Institute of Technology
Jasmine Jones-Bynes
Jasmine Jones-Bynes is a current graduate student at the Georgia Institute of Technology Master in City and Regional Planning program. She is passionate about the built environment's influence on public health and will be working on active transportation and parks and recreation challenges.
University of Illinois at Chicago
Kim Lovely
Kim Lovely is a current graduate student at the University of Illinois, Chicago Master of Urban Planning and Public Policy program. She will focus on making communities better for low-income and underserved populations.
University of California, Berkeley
Lily MacIver
Lily MacIver is a current graduate student at the University of California, Berkeley Master of City Planning program. She will be continuing her work exploring innovative planning interventions to reduce air pollution exposure.
Harvard University
Henna Mahmood
Henna Mahmood is a current graduate student at the Harvard University Master in Urban Planning program. She is studying urban analytics and international planning with plans to pursue a career in building global city resilience.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Kenyatta McLean
Kenyatta McLean is a current graduate student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Master in City Planning program. She is studying how planning can support heritage conservation of black spaces challenged by real estate pressures.
University of California, Berkeley
Diego Rentería
Diego Rentería is a current graduate student at the University of California, Berkeley Master of City Planning program. He is studying brownfield and river restoration to develop regional park and open space systems in park-poor urban areas.
University of Michigan
India Solomon
India Solomon is a current graduate student at the University of Michigan Master of Urban and Regional Planning program. She is studying community development and design with a focus on equitable revitalization in Detroit's neighborhoods.
2017
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Harvard University
Carolyn Angius
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University of Colorado at Denver
Mayra Gonzales
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Portland State University
Madison Levy
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Eastern Washington University
Claire Miller
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University of Southern California
Rachel Mills-Coyne
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Florida State University
Hadley Peterson
2016
Obiamaka Ude
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Ana Bonilla
University of California — Los Angeles
2015
Fernando Montejo
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Jessica Myers
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
2014
Amina Hassen
Hunter College
Ashleigh Johnson
University of Michigan
2013
Adriana Akers
MIT
Stefani Cox
University of California–Berkeley
Deyanira Martinez
University of Arizona
2012
Carlos Recarte
University of California–Berkeley
Julia Metz
Portland State University
Alexandria Murnan
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
2011
Chelsea Chee
University of New Mexico
Jocelyn Drummond
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Lauren Trice
University of Pennsylvania
2010
Avital Barnea
University of Minnesota
Stephanie Brown
Harvard Graduate School of Design
Sharon Wade-Ellis
University of Oregon
2009
John Arroyo
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Tynisha Beard
Rutgers University
Yovana Perez
University of California–Los Angeles
Carrie Randall
Cornell University
2008
Marlynne Powell
Wayne State University
2007
Nichole Arbeiter
Arizona State University
Krista Trout-Edwards
University of Michigan
2006
Angela Trinh
University of California–Los Angeles
2005
Teresa Cameron
Eastern Washington University
Valerie Gingrich
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Maureen Hickey
University of California–Berkeley
2004
Alexia Kelly-Schwartz
University of Oregon
Nicole Clare
University of Pennsylvania
Vivian Castro
Columbia University
Gabriela Juarez
University of California–Los Angeles