Jill helps to make communities more resilient through climate mitigation and equitable development projects.

Previously, Jill was a Senior Project Manager at the Brooklyn Navy Yard where she managed historic rehabilitation and ground-up developments to support inclusive economic development. As a Forefront Fellow with the Urban Design Forum, Jill researched the risks of extreme heat in New York City with a focus on public health and equity to prepare mitigation proposals for the Mayor’s Office of Resilience.

Jill is originally from Portland, Oregon where she worked on regional policy and planning at Metro before leading community engagement and program development for James Beard Public Market.

She holds a Masters in Urban Planning from the Harvard Graduate School of Design where she was a graduate researcher at the Joint Center for Housing Studies. She received her Bachelor of Arts in International Studies from the University of Oregon.

Ray’s helps to ensure community collaboration in real estate and economic development projects.

For the past four years, he has worked as the Community Outreach Specialist at The Design School at Arizona State University. While there, he worked closely with faculty, students, community advocates and other stakeholders to transform design education to become more collaborative, relevant and radically accessible. Ray sought to amplify the school’s socially-embedded work in a way that centers community needs and remediates historical injustices in the built environment.

Prior to his work in higher education, Ray spent nearly ten years at the intersection of economic development and creative placemaking in Phoenix, Arizona. While Director of Downtown Environment at Downtown Phoenix Inc., he oversaw programs that enhanced the urban environment of the region’s economic and cultural heart. His major focus involved collaborating with community members and local creatives to develop and implement projects that fostered a stronger sense of place, especially in regard to trees and shade, public art and pedestrian connectivity. He began his career in economic development where he worked extensively with city officials and stakeholders on business attraction and retention plans, in addition to research related to site selection and real estate development.

Ray holds a Master of Urban and Environmental Planning and a B.S.D. in Housing and Urban Development from Arizona State University.

Geon Woo leverages skills in data analysis and urban design to promote climate resilient cities, clean energy initiatives, equitable real estate development, and transit equity.

As a senior analyst based in the New York office, Geon Woo has led inclusive climate mitigation strategies in multiple states, helped several communities create equitable transit-oriented developments, designed policies and programs to prevent housing displacement, and conducted data analysis to develop compelling insights for clients. He is passionate about climate justice, place-based economic strategies, and neighborhood preservation to create unique and resilient communities across the globe.

Prior to joining HR&A, Geon Woo interned at the Meatpacking Business Improvement District where he conducted mobility data analysis to understand the impacts of the pandemic. He has also interned at architecture firms in Seoul, New York City, and Madrid.

Geon Woo holds a Master of Science in Urban Planning from Columbia University, where he received Dean’s Scholarship and won the Honor Award for Excellence in Urban Planning. He also holds a Bachelor of Arts in the History and Theory of Architecture from Columbia University.

Alejandra provides research and analytical support to advance sustainable and equitable placed-based solutions through economic development policy, transit-oriented development, community engagement, and governance design.

Alejandra has recently graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a Bachelors in Urban studies. While at Penn, she interned with the Philadelphia City Planning Commission where she worked under John Haak, the Director of Planning Policy and Analysis. At PCPC, she produced comprehensive case studies on declining commercial corridors and train station developments. In addition, she wrote her thesis on the correlation between displacement and transit-oriented development along the Los Angeles Exposition Line through a spatial and demographic analysis.

Marco specializes in knowledge economy, transit-oriented development, and economic development strategy, helping cities across the country become engines of innovation, inclusivity, and prosperity.

As a research analyst, Marco’s work includes economic policy review, demographic research, and stakeholder engagement for TOD, Affordable Housing, and International Economic Development projects.

Before joining HR&A, Marco interned at Passport Inc, where he produced reports on urban parking technology and complete streets. Prior to that, Marco interned at the Embassy of Mexico in the United States and McLarty Associates, where he conducted reports on US-Mexico economic relations.

Marco holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics and Political Science from Davidson College. He also spent a year at the London School of Economics, where he studied Finance and Economic Development.

Rachel advises public, private, and non-profit clients on leveraging their existing assets, funding, and influence to promote mission-aligned real estate and affordable housing development.

Rachel was previously a Project Manager with RKG Associates where she advised public and private sector clients in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast on real estate development feasibility, fiscal and economic impacts, and economic development strategies.

Prior to joining RKG Associates, Rachel was a Senior Associate at RCLCO Real Estate Advisors, where she advised both private and public sector clients on a variety of housing, real estate, and economic development decisions. Her experience ranged from working on site-specific developments to larger neighborhood and community plans. She also worked as an Associate at Promontory Financial Group, an IBM company, assisting financial institutions on risk management and regulatory compliance issues.

Rachel holds a B.A. in Economics and Geographical Sciences, Cum Laude from the University of Maryland – College Park.

Stephan brings 6 years of real estate development and project management experience to clients across the country.

Stephan has worked in affordable housing for much of his career. Previously, he was an Associate Project Manager for Bellwether Housing, Seattle’s largest nonprofit housing developer. At Bellwether, Stephan amassed an understanding of complex financing and construction processes working on 2 of Washington State’s largest mixed-use, mixed-income developments in history. Stephan oversaw the development of 650+ units.

Prior to his work in the Seattle area, Stephan worked in New York at the Community Preservation Corporation (CPC), where he developed strategies to leverage private capital toward environmental sustainability in multifamily developments. At the Housing Partnership, Stephan managed the leasing, home sale, and compliance efforts of 4 Inclusionary Housing projects.

Stephan holds a Master of Urban Planning from NYU Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service and a B.A. in Political Science from SUNY New Paltz.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Taylor Kay drives community impact, innovation, and economic development for cultural capital assets around the globe through real estate strategy. She brings an equitable and inclusive lens to support clients across sectors.

She brings over eight years of experience in project management, liaising, policymaking, and technical advisory. Taylor provides a variety of HR&A services including market analysis, financial feasibility, economic/fiscal impact studies, master planning, owner’s rep advisory, developer solicitation, deal term development and negotiation, organizational/governance strategy, capacity building, and stakeholder engagement.

Prior to HR&A, Taylor worked at Thomas Safran & Associates, a real estate developer and operator of affordable and luxury mixed-use residential communities. As part of the predevelopment team, her work focused on design, entitlement, and finance of projects and involved extensive engagement with public agencies, supportive services providers, design professionals, and specialty consultants.

Previously, Taylor was an Assistant Planner for the City of Inglewood where she served as a project manager, advisor and policy author on a variety of land use and economic development projects. Taylor also interned for the honorable Bernard C. Parks, former councilmember for City of Los Angeles’s Council District 8 (CD8), the Thomas and Dorothy Leavey Center for the Study of Los Angeles, Esperanza Community Housing, and City of Lynwood’s Redevelopment Agency. Taylor earned a dual master’s degree in Urban Planning and Public Administration, with an Economic Development concentration, at University of Southern California (USC) and a B.A. in Urban Studies from Loyola Marymount University (LMU). She most recently completed the USC Ross Minority Program in Real Estate and the Real Estate Associate Program (REAP LA).

Lauren works on place-based projects that bring people joy. Grounded by community insights, she advocates for food justice, parks and open space, and neighborhood revitalization.

Lauren brings experience providing technical assistance to immigrant-owned small businesses during the pandemic, conducting research on housing and extreme weather events with the Yale Program for Climate Change Communication, and contributing to sustainable food and green infrastructure projects at the City of New Haven and GreenWave.

Lauren graduated from Yale University with a B.A. in Environmental Studies & Urban Studies, and a certificate in Energy Studies. During college, she spent a year in Taiwan building urban food forests with community elders.