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.

Tajae supports HR&A’s People team by informing, developing and implementing recruitment strategies for consulting and non-consulting roles.

Prior to joining HR&A, Tajae worked at the City College of New York where she managed the overall hiring, training, and onboarding of Ambassadors for the Admissions Department and assisted the Recruitment team by facilitating communication with external community organizations to strengthen relationships.

Tajae holds a Bachelor’s in Business Administration and Management from the City College of New York. She is also a proud Colin Powell Partners for Change Health Justice Fellow.

Adina works on projects to create more inclusive cities, build digital equity, and advocate for criminal justice reform. She is guided by the principle that where you live should not determine your quality of life.

As a Research Analyst, Adina started her work at HR&A as a core team member of the NYC Speaks project, a civic engagement initiative designed to translate the ideas of New Yorkers into meaningful policies and help inform the priorities of the mayoral administration. Adina has always been drawn to this type of community-based work, where rigorous analysis of data produces actionable solutions to the most critical challenges facing our communities.

Adina graduated in 2020 with a Bachelor’s degree in Public Health from Johns Hopkins University, and is interested in the intersection between urban planning and community health outcomes. Previously, she has worked for the No Boundaries Coalition, a nonprofit and advocacy organization, where she worked to help launch sustainable food markets to improve health outcomes in west Baltimore. In addition, she has experience in community organizing in the Bronx, Public Health research, and in the real estate & mortgage industry in NYC. Adina hopes to reconcile her diverse interests and background through her work at HR&A. As a longtime resident of New York City, Adina is excited to work with New York office colleagues to tackle the complex challenges facing the city.

Sam helps HR&A tell its story — guiding our communications strategy to support intentional growth and advance our mission.

Sam brings over a decade of experience working with professional services firms to develop compelling messaging, strong visual identity, and effective marketing and communications strategies. Prior to joining HR&A, she managed Marketing and Communications Teams for architectural firms Bohlin Cywinski Jackson and WRNS Studio, stewarding the organizations through significant business transitions via strategic planning and thoughtful brand development. In these roles, as well as others with professional service firms like LaunchSquad and Forell/Elsesser Engineers, Sam helped create brand standards, refreshed websites, marketing collateral libraries, and editorial calendars to support recruitment and business development.

Sam’s professional career is bolstered by her personal art practice and volunteer work with arts organizations like the Industrial Arts Workshop in Pittsburgh and the Museum of Craft and Design in San Francisco. Her art practice often incorporates photography and written narrative to explore themes like empathy, identity, and our relationship with the natural world.

Sam holds a Masters in Design from the Glasgow School of Art and a Bachelors in English from UCLA.

With a background in both government and non-profits, Rachel advances equitable placemaking at the project, neighborhood, and city-wide scales.

Rachel helps her clients translate their vision and goals into plans and strategies using strategic stakeholder engagement, market analysis, and narrative building.

Through New York State’s NY Forward, she worked with an inter-disciplinary team to develop investment strategies with capital projects totaling $5 million in value in strategic neighborhoods in New York City. Rachel also advanced the design and implementation of SAGE District Framework, a community-led model for investment in affordability, racial justice, and green infrastructure in Atlanta’s Sweet Auburn neighborhood. She facilitated key stakeholder meetings with City of Dallas staff to create the City’s Economic Development Policy that for the first time prioritizes Southern Dallas and communities of color, including crafting updates to economic development incentives, historic preservation policies, and community development functions.

Prior to joining HR&A, Rachel was a Senior Project Manager for New York City Economic Development Corporation with a focus on grant compliance for large infrastructure projects. During her time at the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC), she advised on grantmaking strategies and managed economic mobility programming. During a moment of major federal and city investment in a transit-oriented development project in Phoenix, Rachel disrupted philanthropies traditional grantmaking process by integrating residents’ anti-displacement concerns.

Rachel started her career as the Director of Constituent Services for former New York City Councilmember Jumaane Williams after completing her B.A. in Political Science at Macaulay Honors College at Brooklyn College. She completed coursework in pursuit of her Master of Urban Planning at New York University including Land Use Law, History and Theory of Urban Planning, Urban Economics, and Financial Management.

In her free time, Rachel enjoys biking, playing volleyball, mentoring high school students, and visiting with loved ones.

Sarah is a leader in HR&A’s Inclusive Cities practice working with partners inside and outside of government to build greater political power for marginalized communities, increase accountability of local governments, and institutionalize mechanisms for more just and equitable cities.

Sarah brings extensive experience working within government to reshape the operations of complex systems and design innovative programs. Previously, Sarah was the Deputy Director of the NYC Mayor’s Office of Community Mental Health, where she helped to set the strategy for $250 million in annual investment in new mental health services designed to close racial, ethnic, and geographic gaps in care. In this role, Sarah was part of the team that designed a new program in which social workers and emergency medical technicians – not police officers – are responding to 911 mental health calls in Northern Manhattan and the Southern Bronx.

Sarah has also served as the Deputy Director of the NYC Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice. In this role, she was an author of the City’s ten-year strategic plan to close the Rikers Island jails and oversaw the team responsible for community-based jail diversion programs. Prior to joining NYC government, Sarah was a campaign and communications strategist on criminal justice reform for the American Civil Liberties Union.

Sarah holds a Juris Doctorate from Georgetown University, a Masters in Public Affairs from Princeton University, and a B.A. from Colorado College.

Tara coordinates the overall operations of HR&A’s financial processes.

Prior to joining HR&A, Tara worked as Head Bookkeeper at Brocade Creations, where she managed the accounts, secured revenue, and managed the business’s cash flow, accurately verifying and processing all monetary transactions. Tara holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Management from Saint Thomas Aquinas College.

Sophia provides analysis for real estate development, economic development strategy, and knowledge economy projects across the country.

Prior to HR&A, Sophia was an intern with Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority, where she provided research support on station upgrade prioritization based on ridership trends. She has also interned with a real estate appraisal firm, where she helped with market research for HUD contract renewals.

Sophia received her Master of City Planning from University of Pennsylvania and her B.S. in Urban Studies from Cornell University.