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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.

Silvia Resende Xavier

MSDUE Class of 2016– Professor of Design. Silvia completed her bachelor’s degree in Product Design back in 2010 in Brazil. She worked in furniture design until she decided to pursue a master’s degree. She enrolled in the MS Design and Urban Ecologies program and graduated in 2016. Her main interests are design and urban waste...

Joshua McWhirter

MATUP Class of 2017– Managing Editor, Urban Omnibus. Joshua is a writer, editor and musician based in Brooklyn. Prior to studying at Parsons, he received a BA in Political Science from the University of North Texas and enjoyed a stint as a professional touring guitarist. He graduated from the MA Theories of Urban Practice program...

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...

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...

Sabrina Dorsainvil

MSDUE Class 2014– Director of Civic Design, Mayor’s Office of New Urban Mechanics, Boston, MA, USA. Immediately after graduation, Sabrina worked as a freelance designer, and for Contininuum, a global innovation design consultancy on design projects ranging from healthcare services to retirement and education. She then joined the Housing Innovation Lab as part of the...

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,...

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....

Rania Dalloul

MATUP Class of 2015– Project Associate at Urban Homesteading Assistance Board (UHAB). Rania has a rich background in community engagement, freelance research among library archives and refugee camps, as well as access to education in Lebanon. Before moving to NYC, she co-founded Creative Space Beirut, where people were offered free design education. This led her...

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...

Yandong Li

MATUP Class of 2018– Ph.D. student at the University of Washington. Yandong was a sociology major (BA) and graduated from the MA Theories of Urban Practice program in 2018. He is currently a Ph.D. student at the University of Washington’s Department of Cinema and Media. Yandong writes: “I am interested in the intersections of film,...

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...

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,...

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...

Claudia Rot

MSDUE Class of 2019– Lecturer and Researcher at Wageningen University, The Netherlands. Claudia graduated in Environmental and Climate Sciences (BSc) from the Amsterdam University College before attending Parsons. She graduated from MSDUE in 2019. She is an avid environmental scientist and is very much interested in the intersections of justice and environmental and climate change....

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