Racial Equity in Policy and Planning (REPP) Fellowship

Lauren Chapman (She/Her) is originally from Dracut, Massachusetts and holds a BA in Sociology with a concentration in Social Problems, Policy, and Justice from William & Mary. Since graduating, she has worked at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, where she has collaborated closely with the Office of Diversity & Inclusion on DEI initiatives. Passionate about community engagement, Lauren volunteers with Elder Care Services and Somerville’s Human Rights Commission. Her academic and professional experiences have heightened her awareness of racial disparities and social injustices embedded within urban infrastructure and policies. Through her REPP Fellowship and education at UEP, Lauren aims to find equitable and sustainable planning and policy practices that can mitigate these disparities and effectively empower historically marginalized communities. In her free time, she enjoys biking on the Somerville community path, roller-skating, and visiting botanical gardens.

KC Coryatt (He/They) graduated from SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry with his BS in Environmental Studies with a focus in policy, planning, and law. KC’s goals are to create climate resilient communities with a focus on preserving their cultural identities and history. He wants to learn ways to foster community revitalization and incorporate green infrastructure while avoiding displacement. Growing up in and subsequently moving back into his neighborhood “The Little Caribbean” in Brooklyn after undergrad, KC saw just how much this neighborhood has changed which only served to strengthen his commitment to planning in this area. In doing research, KC intends to focus on making their findings accessible and understandable for the general public as opposed to solely others in academia. Through the REPP fellowship he hopes to share resources with his peers in order to advance their shared justice goals.

Kailani Day (She/Her) is from northern New Jersey and entered the environmental field in middle school through examining food access and air pollution concerns within her community. She is a combined degree student enrolled in the 4+1 BA/MA program with UEP. Her undergraduate majors are Environmental Studies and Anthropology, highlighting her interest in qualitative research methods. Kailani’s previous experience includes working at various scales of government including local, at the East Bay Regional Park District in Oakland, CA, and federal, at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. In her free time, she enjoys nature walks, playing puzzle games (especially escape rooms), and crocheting. Kailani is excited to be a part of the UEP and REPP communities, and further apply her passion for environmental justice and community empowerment.

Nicole Marcus (She/Her) is passionate about embedding practices and structures that truly share power with community and advance racial justice within all aspects of local government. She’s interested in how decisions about policy and funding are made and by whom. She grew up in Naperville, a suburb of Chicago, and lived and worked in Chicago for four years after attending The Ohio State University where she studied City and Regional Planning and Economics and worked at the Ohio Senate. In Chicago, she worked at the Chicago Department of Public Health on the Healthy Chicago Equity Zones (HCEZ) initiative which uses a place-based planning approach to address social determinants of health in partnership with community-based organizations. Through REPP and UEP, she hopes to continue to explore the intersection of public health and urban planning as well as equitable co-governance practices in Boston and beyond.

Genesis Paulino (She/They/Ella) was born and raised in Lynn, MA to two Dominican immigrant parents. She received her BA at Quinnipiac University where they studied Sociology and Latin American Studies and minored in Women and Gender Studies. Working in areas such as community building, food insecurity, and third places/spaces, Genesis centers her core beliefs of racial justice as the center of these topics and more. They especially find interest in connecting urban and environmental planning issues through intersectional lens, allowing for structural and community justice changes. Growing up in Lynn, Genesis has seen the ways in which intersectional lens have been a successful way of uniting the community and its environment. She hopes to continue making changes in her hometown as well as the Greater Boston area through these intersectional and communal lenses. 

Isabella Buford (She/Ella) is a first-generation college student from the Imperial Valley in Southern California. After receiving her BS in Environmental Policy Analysis and Planning from UC Davis, she continued working at the Early Childhood Lab studying childhood development. As a Child Development Lead Teacher, she worked with low-income and underserved student-families to provide tailored curriculum for indoor and outdoor classrooms. She is passionate about the impact green spaces have on communities and developing children. Bella is motivated to continue working with low-income and historically marginalized families to increase their access to green spaces, high quality education, and connected communities.

Paulina Casasola (She/Ella) was born and raised in Mexico City and holds a BS in Environmental Studies from SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry. She has worked with people from diverse communities on climate justice initiatives, environmental education, and policy analysis. Her passion for environmental, racial, and language justice was evident in her previous role at Clean Water Action, where she led the organization's energy justice and air quality advocacy projects for 2+ years. Paulina is committed to building a practice of equitable and reparative planning to implement community-driven solutions for climate-related challenges. She is hoping to deepen her understanding of action research, climate policy, and energy equity at UEP.

Gaston Neville (He/Him) was born in Queens, New York City to South American immigrant parents. He later moved to New Haven, Connecticut where he was motivated to pursue urban planning through witnessing environmental injustices in his neighborhood. Gaston holds a BA in Urban and Environmental Studies from the University of Connecticut. After graduating, Gaston conducted research at the Yale Center for Environmental Justice, led neighborhood outreach at Urban Resources Initiative, and connected residents with job opportunities at the New Haven Hiring Initiative. Now, as a graduate student at UEP, he aims to address racial injustices in planning further through the REPP fellowship.

Maria Rodriguez Ortega (She/Her) was born in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. She is a first-generation immigrant and first-generation college student. She holds a BA in Environmental Science, with a minor in Latino studies from UMass Boston. She is passionate about applying an intersectional lens in her work. Since her teens, she has been involved in opportunities that helped shape her passions: environmental justice, community organizing, and environmental policy in cities. In her free time, you can find her swimming in the ocean, playing tennis, and mindfully exploring the outdoors.

Derrick Seegars (He/Him) is originally from New York City and has a bachelor’s degree in Architectural Technology from New York City College of Technology (CUNY). He is a NOAA EPP/MSI Fellow as well as a Gensler Rising Black Designer Scholar. Derrick is passionate about creating sustainable structures that help mitigate climate change and infrastructures that co-exist with the natural habitat by using renewable energy and innovative materials. Derrick hopes to combine his expertise in architecture and knowledge of the environment to be a liaison between policy makers, government officials, and developers to address environmental issues that plague marginalized communities and help mitigate climate change through sustainable measures.

Melissa Cepeda is a first-generation M.A. student from The Bronx, NY. She holds a B.A. in International Relations with a minor in Peace and Justice Studies from Tufts. Upon graduating in 2021, Melissa participated in the yearlong DonorsChoose fellowship, where she worked towards addressing systemic educational inequality and bridging the education gap in America’s public schools. Melissa's upbringing in the South Bronx has motivated her to look closely at urban planning's legacy of racism, specifically around the intersections of race, food justice, and equitable education.

Elisa Guerrero is originally from Denver, Colorado. She earned her bachelor's degree in Community and Environmental Sociology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She has worked for the City of Monona, Wisconsin as the Sustainability Coordinator and Planning Assistant, tracking the City’s transition to clean energy sources and advancing other sustainability initiatives. Additionally, she worked for the Foundation for Dane County Parks on environmental engagement programs and furthering the organization's equity and inclusivity goals. Through UEP and the REPP Fellowship, Elisa hopes to explore the connections between climate justice and public health.

Patrick Houston (he/him) is a passionate organizer and activist originally from Philadelphia, PA. He spent most of the last five years building grassroots political power in low-income Black and Latinx communities in New York, with a focus on climate change and inequality. There he organized in communities most impacted by climate change; fought successfully to defeat a proposed fracked gas pipeline and a power plant; and led the organizing to pass New York’s landmark Local Law 97, which will cut pollution from the city’s largest emissions source, buildings. Patrick is a grateful alum of the Community College of Philadelphia and holds a B.A. from Swarthmore College in political science and environmental policy.

Kobe Hurtado comes to Tufts UEP from Boston College, where he was a McNair Scholar and student leader and mentor with the Thea Bowman AHANA and Intercultural Center.  Kobe holds a B.S. in Business Administration. He is a first-generation student of Ecuadorian descent who enjoys exploring Boston and immersing himself in communities found throughout the city. His experiences growing up in the city of Newark and personal background have shaped his interest in urban & environmental policy and planning.

Erwin Li (he/him) was born in San Diego, CA, and grew up in a family and community of first-generation Chinese immigrants. For years, he’s served as an educator and advocate for local and regional food sovereignty. Now, he hopes to advance models of collaboration, co-ownership, and co-governance that grow shared wealth and power for working-class communities of color. Erwin holds a B.A. in Global Affairs from Yale University. In his free time, he loves to cook, bike, watch movies, and be part of intentional community.