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The first cohort of the MS Design and Urban Ecologies and the MA Theories of Urban Practice programs graduated in 2014, transforming the spaces they engaged with and envisioning new urban practices to address the challenges we face today. Since then, many more have followed, becoming part of a thriving alumni community that continues to inspire the next generation of urban students at Parsons. To celebrate and strengthen our alumni network, we are launching the Parsons Urban Alumni Initiative this Fall 2025.

A similar research and mapping project, which traced our alumni’s workplaces and practices, was first conducted in 2017 with participation from the early cohorts. We are now reviving, updating, and expanding that effort in exciting new ways by reaching out to our alumni community. If you are an alum, please check your New School email inbox for more information. If you no longer use your New School account and would like to participate, please contact us at urban@newschool.edu.

Jason Azar

MSDUE Class of 2018– Experiential Graphic Designer at Page Southerland Page. Jason Azar holds a BA in Urban Studies and Art History, and an MS in Design and Urban Ecologies, 2018. Jason is a designer and researcher living and working in Austin, TX. His expertise is in the fields of wayfinding and environmental design and...

Tait Mandler

MSDUE Class of 2016– Interdisciplinary scholar, activist, and freelance designer, writer and editor. PhD student in Anthropology and Urban Planning, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Tait (they/them) is an interdisciplinary scholar, activist, and freelance designer, writer and editor from New York City but currently living in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Tait earned a BA in Environmental...

Joy Alise-Davis

MATUP Class of 2014– Chief Executive Officer at Design + Culture Lab, LLC. Joy hit the ground running right after graduation from the MA Theories of Urban Practice Program by starting up her own collaborative design firm, Design + Culture Lab, LLC, in Portland, Oregon. Her firm focuses on serving as the glue between disadvantaged...

Drew Vanderburg

MSDUE Class of 2016– Senior Project Manager, RiseBoro Community Partnership. Drew is an artist and activist concerned citizen of humanity. Before joining Parsons, he was a theater designer/director and street performer/musician. He became interested in democratization and global solidarity movements through Occupy Wall Street. He was a member of the MSDUE cohort which graduated in...

Xavier Williams

MATUP Class of 2014– Senior Policy Analyst at the Governor’s Office of Storm Recovery. Xavier is currently working as a Senior Policy Analyst at the Governor’s Office of Storm Recovery (GOSR). He aids in the implementation of the recovery and resiliency plan for storm recovery within NYC. Xavier is a proud alumnus from MA Theories...

Mariana Roberti Bomtempo

MSDUE Class of 2016– Graduate Research Assistant at Institute for Applied Economic Research (IPEA). Mariana is an urbanist and architect by training, designer and activist in her spare time, Mariana is a professional extremely interested in topics related to the Right to the City. She graduated in Architecture and Urbanism at the University of Brasília,...

Matt Delsesto

MATUP Class of 2014– PhD Candidate of Sociology at Boston College. Matt is a PhD candidate in Sociology at Boston College. He received his MA in Theories of Urban Practice in 2014. What brought him to MATUP was his search for a critical and creative approach to exploring cities, oriented toward intervention or action. In...

Rehanna Azimi

MSDUE Class of 2015– Project Associate at Hester Street Collaborative – New York City, NY, USA. Upon graduating from the MSDUE program, Rehanna interned as an urban planner at the Union County Bureau of Planning and Economic Development in New Jersey. She joined the Hester Street team in the fall of 2015. Rehanna works as...

Eduarda Aun

MSDUE Class of 2018– Program Associate at NACTO (National Association of City Transportation Officials). Eduarda Aun is an urban designer and DUE ’18 alumna. She has a background in architecture and urban planning from Universidade de Brasilia in Brazil and is the co-founder and former co-director of an organization called Coletivo MOB, based in Brasilia....

Troy Hallisey

MSDUE Class of 2014– Information Management Officer, The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Troy started working as a Humanitarian Data Scientist intern after graduation and soon after became Information Management Officer at the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), a body involved in crises management and the...

Raquel de Anda

MSDUE Class of 2015– Independent Curator and Cultural Producer. Raquel is currently working in New York City as an Associate Producer on two nationally touring transmedia projects. The first addresses the economic security of America’s caregivers, and the second police accountability and state surveillance. These projects require Raquel to hold many interpersonal relationships and act...

Michaela Kramer

MSDUE Class of 2017– Program Strategist, TYTHEdesign. Michaela is currently a Program Strategist at TYTHEdesign, a capacity-building firm that uses the lens of design and strategy to support social impact. At TYTHE, Michaela contributes to workshop design and facilitation, written and visual communication and creating engagement tools. Michaela’s work has helped communities steward public space...

Fransisco Miranda

MATUP Class of 2017– Public Relations & Communications, Great Ink. Francisco is currently working at Great Ink, specializing in public relations and communications in New York’s intricate real estate world. He is also the US representative of Talents & Co., a Paris based representation agency for Design, Architecture, Development and Urban Planning Firms. Additionally, Francisco,...

Alex Roesch

MATUP Class of 2014– Research Associate at Urban Homesteading Assistance Board (UHAB). Alex worked at the office of NYC’s City Council Member Helen Rosenthal upon graduation from the MA Theories of Urban Practice program. He assisted the housing constituent liaison and conducted research on affordable housing in his district. This endeavor was crucial to making...

Jonathan Lapalme

MSDUE Class of 2014– Founder of Les Interstices, Montréal, Canada. Since graduating from the MSDUE program in 2014, Jonathan has worked as consultant for the City of Montréal, la Société du Parc Jean-Drapeau, Building Product Ecosystems, and other organizations in and around Montréal. Recently, Jonathan founded Les Interstices, a strategic design studio intersecting several disciplines...

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