Gertie is rejoining HR&A after serving as an Intern/Summer Fellow in 2023! Gertie brings experience in interdisciplinary analysis and research to support inclusive development and public-private partnerships, particularly in the Broadband and Digital Equity Practice.

Gertie’s passion for her work stems from her commitment to uplift local communities, combining data analytics with community and stakeholder input to deliver thoughtful solutions. Prior to joining HR&A, Gertie worked at Sembcorp Development, a Singaporean land and real estate developer specializing in integrated developments in Asia. Her experience in the firm includes supporting business-wide strategy reviews, pursuing new business ventures, conducting feasibility studies on new projects and performance analysis of existing developments. Through working on several large-scale urban projects with local governments in Vietnam, China, and India, she possesses a strong understanding of navigating various types of public-private partnerships. Some of the projects that she was actively involved in through graduate school and fellowships include a Business Improvement District Strategy for Downtown Staten Island and a Brownfield Opportunity Area Site Selection Strategy for South Brooklyn.

In partnership with play:groundNYC, her graduate research focused on play space equity in New York City, where she assessed existing children play infrastructure in the city and delivered a prioritization strategy for new play spaces.

Gertie holds a Bachelor of Arts with Honors from Yale-NUS College where she majored in Urban Studies. She also has a Master of Science in Urban Planning from Columbia University with a concentration in Urban Analytics, and Community and Economic Development.

Tupelo brings her background in climate adaptation policy and community engagement, alongside her passion for sustainable transportation planning and urban resilience to her work at HR&A.

Prior to joining HR&A, Tupelo worked as an Environment and Sustainability Intern for the City of Miami Beach. There, she helped develop the city’s Sea Level Rise Vulnerability Assessment and Climate Adaptation Plan to understand social vulnerability to sea level rise. She also assisted in the city’s application process for Inflation Reduction Act funding for its various sustainability initiatives. Her undergraduate thesis examined opinions surrounding a managed retreat strategy in Pacifica, CA, using both qualitative content analysis and spatial analysis to investigate how residents responded to the policy and the factors that contributed to their perception of it.

Tupelo holds a B.A in Urban Studies with a specialization in Sustainable Development from Columbia University.

Nikkol works with HR&A’s Finance Team to implement controls and robust financial processes to improve overall company financial health. As a dedicated problem solver, Nikkol leverages her expertise in accounting and finance to streamline processes that build efficiency and help project teams focus on providing excellent client service rather than red tape.

Prior to joining HR&A, Nikkol worked with multiple financial institutions as well as manufacturing and licensing companies. In previous roles, she worked with institutions that needed new systems built from the ground up, including Municipal Credit Union, who recruited Nikkol to assist with providing audit proof financials and regain the integrity of the credit union after being placed in a conservancy. Nikkol supported a general ledger overhaul initiative that returned the oldest credit union in New York to its members two years earlier than expected. She also served as an Accountant at Jazwares Inc, a Berkshire Hathaway company, responsible for Halo, Fortnight, Squishmellows, Hello Kitty and a host of other toys our children love.

Nikkol attended Ramapo College of New Jersey, and she is from New Brunswick, New Jersey.

Prior to joining HR&A full time Juanse was the manager of Colombia’s National Urban Policy. At the Colombian government, he led the formulation of a comprehensive policy intended to strengthen cities’ management capacities with the technical and financial instruments for urban and economic development. In addition, Juan previously evaluated public-private partnerships worth $26 million, coordinated a city-wide update of assessed values in Bogotá – Colombia, and designed new business opportunities and products from public urban data.

Juanse graduated from the University of California in San Diego with a Master’s degree in International Affairs and concentrations in economics and spatial data analysis and has a bachelor’s in urban planning from Universidad Nacional de Colombia. In 2017, Juanse’s collective called Combo 2600 was nominated by Revista Semana for the “Colombia’s Best Leadership” prize. He was also awarded a fellowship in urban management at Universidad de Los Andes’ Government School. Overall, he brings over six years of professional experience in urban policy, urban financing, and economic development.

Sahib helps HR&A track new business opportunities, conduct market research, improve critical proposal resources, and support external events.

Before joining HR&A Advisors, Sahib gained valuable experience in the corporate and administrative sectors working with luxury brands such as Christian Dior and L’Oreal. In these roles, he supported event coordination, consumer engagement, and donor relationships. Sahib’s internship at the United Nations NGO Affiliate, the Association for Trauma Outreach & Prevention further honed his skills in member services, liaison coordination, data management, and client support.

Sahib holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science & Government from Seton Hall University, where he developed a strong foundation in research, analysis and critical thinking.

Jewel is an experienced ethnographic and policy researcher. She aims to create equitable land use strategy that encourages intentional placemaking and increases community capacity among disenfranchised populations. Jewel joins HR&A’s New York office as a Research Analyst.

As a student consultant with Washington University’s environmental law clinic Jewel conducted policy research and drafted legislation to strengthen tenant rights in the city of St. Louis. As a researcher she has collected and analyzed narrative-based data on individual experiences with vacancy, disinvestment, as well as analyzed accessibility of community-based healthcare networks for reproductive care in St. Louis. She is passionate about centering health as a human right within the urban planning field.

Jewel has a B.A. in Anthropology and a Master of Public Health focused in Urban Design both from Washington University in St. Louis. She is a member of the American Anthropological Association.

As an analyst based in the Washington, DC office, Andrew has helped city and regional clients develop transit-oriented development strategies and forecast economic activity and real estate trends.

Prior to joining HR&A, Andrew planned bus priority projects as a transportation planner at the District Department of Transportation (DDOT). He previously worked as a community engagement specialist at DDOT and as a legislative fellow at the U.S. Senate. He writes for Greater Washington, covering topics like inclusionary zoning and development history, and the urban-focused daily newsletter 730DC.

Andrew has a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science with Honors from Colgate University and a Master of Urban Planning from New York University.

Matt is a Senior Analyst in the firm’s D.C. office, where he focuses on real estate finance and affordable housing strategy.

Matt joins HR&A after five years in real estate consulting and private equity. He has advised some of the world’s largest pension funds and developers on complex real estate strategies. His advisory skills include underwriting large-scale developments and acquisitions, performing in-depth market analyses using the latest industry and demographic trend data, and presenting and advocating for investment strategies to investor clients.

Prior to graduate school, Matt worked as a supply chain and logistics professional for over five years, both in corporate and plant-level manufacturing roles. While working in supply chain, he developed and implemented data-driven solutions to improve global processes and trained employees to solve complex inventory management and shipping problems.

Matt has his MBA and Master’s in Real Estate Development from the University of Maryland. He is an undergraduate alum of Penn State University.

Eva helps communities leverage data to understand local needs and design evidence-based solutions to challenges in housing and urban development.

Eva’s expertise lies at the intersection of data science, urban planning and program evaluation. She has worked on a broad array of issues, such as affordable housing, anti-displacement policy, workforce development, emergency rental assistance, and office to housing conversion.

Prior to joining HR&A, Eva was a Senior Data Analyst at Enterprise Community Partners where she designed and evaluated housing and community development strategies across the country. As a graduate student she worked at the NYU Furman Center, studying program and policy interventions to promote renter stability and prevent eviction, and was an HR&A Summer Fellow. Before moving to New York, Eva designed shared mobility programs at the City of Oakland Department of Transportation, with a focus on increasing accessibility. She also served as a Research Manager at UC Berkeley’s Urban Displacement Project where she developed models to understand changing housing markets and predict residential and commercial displacement risk.

Eva holds a Master of Urban Planning from New York University where she was a Bloomberg Public Service Fellow, and Bachelor of Arts in Urban Data Analytics with a minor in Geographic Information Systems from the University of California, Berkeley.