Michaela A. Email & Phone Number

Manage and lead the Housing Affordability Breakthrough Challenge, a $40 million initiative designed to inspire, propel and scale housing solutions in financing, construction, and access and resident support.

Charlottesville, Virginia, United States

• Manage all aspects of community engagement and negotiation projects, including client/funder and stakeholder communications, quality assurance, logistics/planning, project budget, and representation of project outcomes in written reports, presentations, and websites• Develop high quality, nuanced proposals with complex process design that effectively address client concerns and objectives• Effectively manage and supervise all members of project teams, including oversight and mentoring of other staff and student interns

Charlottesville, Virginia, United States

Charlottesville, Virginia Area

• Lead and support long-range planning efforts, including small area, corridor and master plans • Develop and lead creative community engagement strategies that seek to bring underrepresented perspectives to planning and development processes• Develop educational materials and trainings on planning and development processes (e.g. interactive board game, Youtube videos, online and print resources)• Prepare and present research and reports to a broad array of audiences from community members to partner organizations, agencies and elected officials• Collaborate with partner agencies, local organizations and stakeholders to implement recommendations in long-range planning documents• Staff liaison to neighborhood community committees regarding long-range planning updates, development proposals and County capital projects

Charlottesville, Virginia Area

• Oversee and implement completion of grant deliverables, manage contractors, disseminate research findings and represent Thriving Cities Lab program publicly• Manage and co-author "The Field Guide for Urban University-Community Partnerships" funded by the Henry Luce Foundation, a guide including: analysis of community partnership practices at 100 institutions of higher education across the US, a series of 9 case studies, and a tool/framework for practitioners and institutions to collaborate together• Shape the Lab’s research agenda, pursue new research and funding opportunities, and build cross-disciplinary and cross-city strategic partnerships• Collaborate with other teams at Thriving Cities Group to integrate and disseminate research findings from practice and contribute to thought leadership

Washington, District Of Columbia

• Lead and support community-engaged design and planning projects; responsibilities included: project setup, internal/external communication, design and planning deliverables, timeline, budget, project management, and post-project impact measures/reporting• Projects included: Arts & cultural strategies and graphic design for the 11th Street Bridge Park's Equitable Development Plan; Rural Placemaking, a National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Knowledge Building Grant with the Housing Assistance Council, community engagement strategy for Washington DC's Cultural Plan, and "Ivy City Is..." a creative placekeeping project in the Ivy City neighborhood of northeast DC• Manage local Activating Vacancy projects, [bc]'s creative placemaking initiative focused on bringing people together to share food, stories, art, experience, and histories as well as enabling neighbors to talk, to learn, and to organize• Support new project development, including potential client/partner meetings, fundraising and grantwriting• Maintain active website and social media presence through web posts and updates

• Site research, planning, design & grantwriting for projects that support human and environmental health at the University of Virginia and Charlottesville community• Support website development through the use of blog posts and social media• Establish and foster community partnerships for collaboration on research and design projects

Charlottesville, Virginia Area

• Lecture, grade, and mentor students for Global Sustainability, Community Food Systems and Healthy Cities• Collaborate with instructor to create and select course materials, including readings, syllabi, and grading rubrics• Assist instructor with administrative tasks such as tracking student attendance and updating course "UVa Collab" website• Coordinate student projects with community organizations

Charlottesville, Virginia Area

• Project site reconnaissance and design• Support Grounds Improvement Fund projects• Conduct post-occupancy assessments of capital project landscapedesigns• Research various topics within the fields of landscape architecture andcampus planning

• Prepare the park Master Plan document detailing the administrative history, natural and cultural resource inventories, management goals and objectives, and design strategies for the 63-acre Van Clief Nature Area• Organize and conduct stakeholder and public meetings regarding the Master Plan document

• Use Geographic Information System (GIS) mapping software and database tools to maintain County data related to aspects of local planning including zoning, land use, historic preservation, conservation and environmental resource protection, school districts, water resources, park facilities/trails and other geographic characteristics• Research and interpret data collected from fieldwork• Create reports based on analysis of County data

• Assisted County energy management program by tracking energy use with data management software • Developed strategies to ensure the County reaches energy conservation goals• Facilitated the County’s participation in Better World Betty’s “Better Business Challenge (BBC)” by increasing local business participation, creating outreach materials, and organizing a “Lunch ‘N Learn” educational event

• Researched the meaning of “nature play” in Boulder and published an inventory report summarizing all of the nature play opportunities in the City’s 80+ facilities with recommendations for the Parks Planning Division using Adobe Creative Suite• Documented existing nature play and educational opportunities by creating a photo library of existing facilities• Organized public outreach events and created digital marketing materials for use on the City of Boulder’s website

Master'S Degree, Urban And Environmental Planning

Certificate Of Proficiency

• Participated in a direct exchange study abroad program • Took classes in Anthropology, Environmental Sciences and Statistics

Bachelor Of Arts (B.A.), Environmental Thought & Practice And Environmental Sciences