Garrett supports local governments and private institutions in crafting solutions to their most pressing challenges, particularly in the areas of displacement and equitable urban development.

As an Analyst in the Los Angeles office, Garrett has worked on a variety of strategic planning efforts that have guided public and private organizations to effectively serve their communities. He has also worked on several real estate and master planning projects that aim to promote vibrant neighborhoods and provide economic opportunities.

A life-long Southern Californian, Garrett is passionate about pursuing impactful work across the region – from large-scale opportunities associated with cultural events like the 2028 Olympics and Paralympics in Los Angeles to smaller-scale projects that aim to empower and strengthen underserved communities.

Garrett graduated from Brown University with a B.A. in Urban Studies. His honors thesis focused on large development projects unfolding in the city of Inglewood, CA and looked critically at conversations around gentrification and displacement.

Alexandra serves as HR&A’s Manager of Strategic Initiatives. She brings extensive experience in shaping collaborations that center dignity, generativity, and abundance.

Alexandra previously was the first Special Assistant to the Executive Office at HR&A, acting as the force multiplier for the Executive Team and a catalyst for moving leadership’s vision into strategic action. During that time, she managed the company’s first Firmwide Summit to bring everyone together for the first time to connect around our past, present, and future. Before joining HR&A, Alexandra served as Fellow for New York City’s Mayor’s Office of Climate Resiliency where she worked on the City’s first equity-centered Climate Adaptation Roadmap. She also has experience as a consultant for public projects in the Pacific Northwest. As a consultant, she guided comprehensive community and stakeholder engagement strategies for projects ranging from the expansion of sustainable utility services in a fast growing corridor, to the connection of one of the largest regional transit systems in the country.

Alexandra holds a Master of Science in Urban Placemaking and Management with distinction from Pratt Institute’s Graduate Center for Planning and the Environment, and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Environmental Studies cum laude from Macalester College. Throughout her education, Alexandra focused on dignity-based and emergent strategies to engage in complex puzzles and patterns, and how people can be in healthy relationship with change.

Vidhee brings over 14 years of experience advising public and private sector clients in 25+ countries on developing new policies, programs, and business plans to help improve access to housing for underserved populations.

Vidhee previously had an independent consulting practice where she designed products and business projections for private financial institutions and housing developers in India and Ghana. She worked closely with multilateral agencies to assess the state of play in the green housing sector in India and made recommendations to strengthen finance and delivery value chains.

Prior to that, Vidhee was Principal at Affordable Housing Institute (AHI) where she provided housing finance and policy advisory services to governments, multilateral agencies, and housing entrepreneurs. She also co-led AHI’s Aarohi Fund, a socially motivated impact investor that assists early-stage affordable housing entities by providing capital and technical assistance.

Vidhee holds a Master in Regional Planning from Cornell University and a Bachelor of Architecture from Mumbai University.

Melanie supports HR&A’s growing Broadband & Digital Equity Practice in the public interest broadband ecosystem.

As Practice Manager of Operations for Broadband in Digital Equity based in the New York Office, Melanie oversees the practice’s business administration and growth.

She brings deep experience in managing a diverse portfolio of broadband and digital equity projects. Prior to joining HR&A, Melanie was a broadband consultant at a US firm, working closely with more than 70 local governments to develop and implement broadband plans and policies that meet the needs of their communities. Her work included overseeing the project cycle to produce timely, quality deliverables including strategic plans, feasibility studies, and business plans for clients to bridge the digital divide, enhance economic development, and stimulate innovation.

Melanie has a background in business administration and technical communication and specializes in development of processes and communication tools, business development, and project management. She holds an M.A. from the University of Central Florida and a B.A. from the University of Florida.

Alexandra joins HR&A’s New York City Office as an Executive Assistant where she brings over 6 years of executive assisting experience across private and public sector projects.

In her previous roles, Alexandra’s day-to-day work included assisting the President/CEO as well as the sales team.  She worked closely with an abundance of clients — facilitating all communications for their requests and preparing for market presentations and tradeshows.  Alexandra also managed calendars, coordinated travel arrangements, and provided administrative support wherever it was needed.

Alexandra holds a Bachelors degree in Fashion Merchandising and Retail Marketing from Johnson & Wales University

Julian leads Talent Acquisition, Talent Development, and Resource Management at HR&A.

As a member of the People team based in the New York office, Julian plays a key role in shaping strategy, policies, procedures, and systems to ensure that we attract, develop, and retain a team of talented individuals.

Julian brings over 20 years of experience in education, nonprofit program development, foreign affairs, conference management, and politics to the role. Most recently Julian led HR operations and strategy at S9 Architecture and was an HR Business Partner at Edelman. Prior to her work in Human Resources, Julian spent time as a Foreign Service Officer with the U.S. Department of State, representing the U.S. overseas in Jordan and Colombia. She began her professional life as a high school history teacher in Boston.

Julian holds a Master’s degree in Human Resources Management from New York University along with an M.Ed. from the University of Massachusetts and a B.A. from the University of Arizona.

Tamika Maise works with HR&A’s People team as a Talent and HR Coordinator, helping to support recruitment, onboarding, and HR-focused initiatives.

Tamika was born and grew up in Jamaica, where she studied History and International Relations at the University of the West Indies. She is currently in her final year of study at SUNY Empire State College pursuing an MBA in Human Resources Management. Before joining the HR&A team, she served in administrative and HR capacities in the academic, medical, and non-profit fields. Tamika enjoys researching, volunteering and helping find solutions to workforce challenges.

Tamika is a mother of two toddlers who help to keep her active. She has a positive outlook on life and always finds a reason to laugh and celebrate small victories. She enjoys music and dance, and she dreams of one day visiting Soweto, South Africa to explore the land and culture of a country she fell in love with while studying its rich history.

Laura uses quantitative and qualitative analysis to achieve place-based urban development.

Based in HR&A’s New York office, Laura supports market and demand studies, placemaking strategies, as well as governance analyses for projects such as a large mixed-use redevelopment in Portland, Oregon, and a new cultural institution in upstate New York.

Laura studied urban planning at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) with a focus on City Design and Development and researched diverse issues such as the post-pandemic public realm and the role of place brands in changing neighborhoods. While at MIT, she had experiences as the Summer Associate at Hudson Companies, where she managed the pre-development phase for an affordable housing development in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. Laura was the Carbon-Neutral Buildings Fellow at the City of Boston, where she supported community engagement processes leading up to Building Emissions Reduction and Disclosure Ordinance 2.0. She spent a semester in South Korea working on a creative Public-Private Partnership strategy for abandoned public buildings and helped build a rooftop skatepark. She has also served as a Teaching Assistant for Intro to Urban Design and Development at MIT.

Prior to planning school, Laura had five years of experience as a brand strategist in NYC. She has crafted brand narratives and marketing campaign executions for clients such as Bank of America, Stanford Graduate School of Business, and Organic Valley. She also enjoys writing about cities with a published column and posts in various publications.

Laura holds a Master in City Planning from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a B.A. in International Comparative Studies from Duke University.

Samuel Jacobs provides research and analytical support to real estate and economic development projects including knowledge economies and innovation districts, affordable housing transactions, transit-oriented development, and sports anchored entertainment district.

As an analyst in the North Carolina office, Samuel’s research and analysis informs the identification opportunities for mixed use real estate development and strategic economic development initiatives that create opportunities for a wide range of community members. Project experience includes placed based university led innovation, facilitation of institutional investments in affordable housing, transit oriented development initiatives, strategic planning to leverage professional sports franchises or entertainment assets to facilitate real estate development and economic growth, and municipal affordable housing plans.

Prior to HR&A, he worked as an organizer with the North Carolina Democratic Party and before that as an organizer for the 2020 Democratic National Coordinated Campaign based in Phoenix, Arizona. Born and raised in Phoenix, Arizona, Samuel traveled east to earn a B.A. in Political Science from Boston College, before moving to Durham, North Carolina in 2021.