I am an Assistant Professor in the Department of Urban Design and Planning at the University of Washington in Seattle. Broadly speaking, my research examines the relationships among Indigenous Planning, Historic Preservation, and Environmental Planning. More specifically, I’m interested in notions of restoration and how they inform our collective responses to climate change, land ethics, and Indigenous cultural revitalization and resurgence.

Within the fields of Historic Preservation and Ecology, the term restoration is often employed to mean the recovery of something (such as a structure, landscape, or ecosystem) that has been degraded, damaged, or destroyed. The restoration of these things are very intentional, balancing previous conditions with current and future needs. I approach planning with the idea that all lands in the Western hemisphere are indigenous lands and therefore, hold some form of cultural, historical, and spiritual significance that inform an indigenous community’s land relations. As the field of planning continues to develop approaches so that urban and rural communities can live more sustainably and ecologically in the face of climate impacts, it needs to centralize Indigenous epistemologies and worldviews to foster better relationships with the land while promoting Tribal sovereignty and self-determination as part of that process.

My research investigates how planning can support indigenous self-determination by focusing on the resurgence of cultural practices, languages, and epistemologies through land restoration. Some of my research touches on topics such as Cultural Values, Water Resources Planning and Policy, Intangible Cultural Heritage, and Planning Education.

Originally from San Jose, California, I have navigated higher education as a First-Generation college student, earning an Associates Degree in Liberal Arts from De Anza College, a Bachelor’s Degree in Linguistics from the University of California, Davis, a Masters of Planning from the University of Southern California, and a Doctor of Philosophy in City and Regional Planning from Cornell University. My research interests have been heavily informed as an urban Native (Prairie Band Potawatomi descent) growing up in the Bay Area and I continue to be influenced by the wonderful relationships I’ve been able to create since traveling from home.