Visiting Scholars

Olgu Aydin is a physical geography scholar whose research focuses on climatology, hydrology, geostatistics, geographic information systems, remote sensing, and the application of artificial intelligence-based methods to environmental and climate-related problems. She holds a PhD in Geography, with a specialization in Physical Geography, and an MSc in Geography from Ankara University, as well as a Bachelor’s degree in Geological Engineering.

Her recent work examines data-driven approaches to precipitation modeling, flood prediction, seismic activity, landslide susceptibility, shoreline change, air pollution, and spatial-temporal environmental analysis. In addition to her academic work at Ankara University, Dr. Aydin has international research experience at Harvard University’s Center for Geographic Analysis and Ludwig Maximilian University in Germany. Her scholarship integrates physical geography, climate science, spatial analysis, and artificial intelligence to better understand environmental change and natural hazards.

Allentza Michel is an urban planner, artist, researcher and policy advocate with a background in community organizing and program design and implementation. She has 17 years of professional experience in various non-profit and public sector roles at the local, national and international level. She is Founder and Managing Principal of Power Pathways Consulting. Allentza received her Master of Public Policy from the Department of Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning at Tufts University, where she was a Neighborhood Fellow. She was the inaugural fellow with the Association for Community Design in 2015 and the 2016 Creative Community Fellow with National Arts Strategies. She has BAs in English and Social and Political Systems from Pine Manor College and a graduate certificate in Non-profit Management from Boston University’s Questrom School of Business.

Harry Smith is a Community Development and Organizing consultant with 25 years experience in the field. He most recently served as Director of Sustainable Economic Development for the Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative, including managing the activities of Dudley Neighbors Inc. Community Land Trust, one of the nation’s largest urban land trusts. He currently works with a number of community-based organizations on projects related to community organizing, land use, strategic planning, and support for emerging community land trusts. He earned a BA from Brown University and an MS in Community Economic Development from Southern New Hampshire University.

H. Canan Sümer is a Professor of Industrial and Organizational Psychology at Özyeğin University, Türkiye. She received her BS from Middle East Technical University, her MA from the University of New Haven, and her PhD in Industrial and Organizational Psychology from Kansas State University. Prior to joining Özyeğin University, she served as a faculty member at Middle East Technical University for more than two decades.

Dr. Sümer’s research spans worker well-being, workplace harassment and violence, discrimination, personnel selection, performance management, and psychometric assessment. She has led numerous nationally and internationally funded research projects and has published extensively on organizational behavior and human resource management. Her recent work focuses on understanding workplace mistreatment, including harassment, discrimination, and violence, from cultural and organizational perspectives, and on developing evidence-based interventions to promote healthy, inclusive, and decent work environments. In addition to her research, she has contributed to the development of assessment tools and organizational practices aimed at improving employee well-being and organizational effectiveness.

During the 2026–2027 academic year, Dr. Sümer is a Fulbright Visiting Scholar at Tufts University, where she is pursuing research on workplace mistreatment, worker well-being, and decent work.

Orwa Switat is an urban planning scholar, practitioner, and activist in the realm of state-minority relations in urban planning. He holds a PhD and MSc degrees from the Department of Urban and Regional Planning at the Technion - Israel Institute of Technology. His research has critically examined the intersections of urban planning and state - minority relations. Complementing his advanced degrees, he possesses BAs in both Philosophy and Political Science from Haifa University.

In addition to his scholarly pursuits, Orwa actively collaborates with municipal and governmental entities, providing consultancy on social integration within urban planning projects in Israel. Orwa also works as a consultant for civil society organizations in the fields of urban justice and planning rights among social and minority groups.

Furthermore, Orwa has been contributing his expertise to the realm of architectural heritage preservation since 2019, serving on Haifa's municipal committee for historical building preservation, as a public representative and planning expert.