Penn IUR Welcomes 2019-20 Fellows in Urban Leadership

This fall, Penn IUR welcomed its second cohort into the Penn IUR Fellows in Urban Leadership program. First announced in April 2018, the program provides an exceptional group of Penn students with the unique opportunity to engage with established urban leaders in Philadelphia and beyond. Through these experiences, students gain insight into the role of visionary leadership in ensuring that urbanization is both inclusive and sustainable.

This forward-looking program echoes the inspiration and mission of the Partnership for New York City, a pioneering initiative to link civic and business leaders in the nation’s most populous metropolitan area. Scaling this model to Penn and Philadelphia, Penn IUR has created a platform for intergenerational mentorship and knowledge transfer, as students will advance the cities of tomorrow by learning from the leaders of today.

The program draws on Philadelphia’s unique position as a diverse, ambitious economic driver in today’s globalized world, bringing leaders in the Nation’s fifth-largest city together to tackle everything from revitalization to affordable housing to education innovation. The program’s approach is fundamentally interdisciplinary and embraces the rhetoric of “new localism,” underscoring how city governments and urban institutions are at the forefront of pushing for more sustainable, prosperous, and inclusive societies. Through first-hand experiences with urban leaders, the Fellows will connect their academic pursuits and professional endeavors to reflect on today’s most pressing issues and the potential of urban spaces in the future. In September, the program launched with a speaking event featuring Michael Nutter, former Mayor of Philadelphia, and continued each month with leaders from a variety of disciplines and sectors.

Over the course of the year, these interactions with innovators will help the Fellows develop an understanding of the critical connections between the public, private, and non-profit spheres and prepare them to make meaningful contributions as future leaders in an increasingly urban world.

2019-2020 Penn IUR Fellows in Urban Leadership

Anunya Bahanda is a senior in the College majoring in Urban Studies. Her main academic interest are data and policy analysis for the development of water infrastructure, affordable housing, public space, and community economic health. She would like to pursue a career that improves the quality of life of people and aids them in living a self-defined ‘good life.’ Anunya is a Perry World House Fellow and coordinating member of Fossil Free Penn. 

Rebecca Bean is a member of the Huntsman Program class of 2021, and is studying Spanish and minoring in Urban Studies. She is the co-founder and co-president of the Gender Balance Consulting group and a member of the Social Impact Advisory Board and Turner Social Impact Society. This year Becca wil lalso be a member of the Authors@Wharton Student Speakers Committee. Last year she worked at the Center for High Impact Philanthropy, completed a semester abroad in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and worked in Estonia at the WiSci Girls STEAM Program. Becca is interested in how public-private partnerships can improve urban life and promote social good.

Zeyu Chen is a junior studying Philosophy, Politics, and Economics (PPE) and Mathematical Economics in the College. His main interests of study include political institutions and education policy. Hailing from Beijing, China, Zeyu also has great interests in Chinese politics and development economics. On campus, Zeyu is involved in organizing the Our City Our Schools coalition to promote public school conditions in Philadelphia, political science research around voting behavior, and club water polo.

Se Young Cheong is a senior in the Huntsman Program studying Real Estate, Finance, and International Studies. Se Young was born in South Korea and grew up in Colorado. He first became interested in Urban Studies after interning at Habitat for Humanity of Metro Denver, collecting data about neighborhood conditions and blight. This past summer, he interned at PGIM Real Estate on their transactions and value-add asset management teams. He hopes to learn more about the interaction between government, non-profits, and business in community and urban development.

Amira Chowdhury is a first generation student in her sophomore year hailing from Los Angeles. She is pursuing a degree in Urban Studies and Political Science, with a minor in Urban Education. She is originally from Dhaka, Bangladesh, and immigrated to the U.S. in 2012. She is a Penn Civic Scholar and is active with the Penn Political Review, Penn Asian American Pacific Islander Politics, Penn Model Congress, and the Wharton Public Policy Initiative. Amira has worked as a Congressional intern for Philadelphia Congressman Dwight Evans and a K-12 Education Policy Intern at the Public Citizens for Children and Youth. She is passionate about education, health, immigration, social welfare, and labor policy.

Ava Esquier is a rising senior from Rochester, New York, majoring in Urban Studies, with interests in History and English. She recently completed her Urban Studies fieldwork at the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office, focusing on criminal justice reform. This past summer, she worked as an assistant supervisor at the Agatston Urban Nutrition Initiative and at the Philadelphia Youth Network summer program at Paul Robeson High School. She also interned at the Center for Employment Opportunity, a nonprofit that provides job development services for formerly incarcerated people. She is also a student athlete on the Penn Sailing Team and a member of the St. Elmo Club. After graduation, she hopes to stay in Philadelphia to start her public policy career in a government office.

Melissa Frankil is a senior studying Environmental Studies and Urban Studies; she is sub-matriculating into the School of Design to study City and Regional Planning. She strives to be of service to communities on projects that help to create sustainable, safe, and thriving environments. She has studied the stormwater retention abilities of street trees as an Eco-Rep at Penn, working with DVRPC to implement bike and pedestrian facilities connected to train stations, and engaging the Southwest Philadelphia communities around John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge.

Hoyt Gong is currently a junior in the Vagelos Dual-Degree Program in Life Sciences and Management, where he studies Healthcare Management and Statistics in the Wharton School and Computational Biology in the School of Arts and Sciences. He has previously worked for a health-focused NGO as a community nurse in Los Angeles, and more recently with the American Red Cross National Youth Council. He is interested in promoting healthcare innovation from a sustainability perspective. He hopes to bridge technologies and quantitative analysis to public health issues while remaining engaged with the local West Philadelphia community.

Titus Jeffries is a senior in The Wharton School studying Real Estate. He is also am a Team Leader for Black Wharton Consulting Club.

Trae (Wallace) Jordan is originally from Birmingham, Alabama, but spent most of his life growing up in Apple Valley, California, a distant suburb of Los Angeles located in the Mojave Desert. He is currently pursuing a B.S. in Economics from the Wharton School. His main interests in the urban environment include the availability of affordable housing, accessible transportation options, equitable real estate development, and deciphering the passions and personalities of city residents.

Richard Ling is a senior studying Systems Engineering and Environmental Science. He is interested in complexities of the urban environment including population growth, natural resource consumption, and greenhouse gas emissions. He hopes to develop an understanding of how these challenges will affect municipalities around the world.

Carolynne Liu is a junior in the College, majoring in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics (PPE) and minoring in Urban Studies and Consumer Psychology. She is interested in the effects of built environments and city planning on human behavior. Last summer she received funding to implement an English curriculum at a monastery in Kathmandu. She is also an executive board member of the West Philadelphia Tutoring Project and a member of the Social Impact Consulting Group. She is interested in exploring the intersection of social justice issues and human behavior, especially as they relate to public policy and urban environments.

Michelle Lu is a senior in the College of Arts and Sciences majoring in Urban Studies and French, with a minor in Urban Real Estate and Development. Her research and academic interests include urban economic development, housing policy and finance, spatial justice theory, and the interaction between ethnic identity and the built environment. She aims to pursue a career at the intersection of all these fields. In the spring of 2019, she completed an independent study research project in Paris, and this summer she conducted research for her senior thesis in Nantou, Taiwan. She is involved in the Benjamin Franklin Scholars program, Asian Pacific American Heritage Week, the Pan-Asian American Community House, and Penn Wellness. 

Harrison Mashaal is an undergraduate student in the College of Arts and Sciences majoring in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics, and minoring in Urban Real Estate and Development. He is particularly interested in impact investing and sustainable development, as well as working with underserved communities to ensure efficient and inclusive real estate development that benefits the local population. 

Matthew Schnitzer is an undergraduate student in the College of Arts and Sciences majoring in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics and minoring in Urban Real Estate and Development. He has spent the past three summers interning at real estate development firms in New York City. He is interested in development’s role in shaping the cultural fabric of cities and in bringing people together.

Patrick Teese is a senior in the College of Arts and Sciences pursuing a major in Urban Studies and a minor in Architecture. He is interested in the design and utilization of structures and public spaces, and hopes to investigate how municipal policy can support goals of environmentally sustainable urban development. This past summer he interned at Penn’s Sustainability Office, and during the previous fall semester, he engaged with federal transportation and energy issues as a policy intern at the Environmental and Energy Study Institute in Washington, D.C. He serves as leader of the Urban Studies Undergraduate Advisory Board, as the co-president of a pre-professional environmental fraternity, Epsilon Eta, and as the hive manager for Penn Beekeeping Club.

Michael Wallach is a rising senior studying Economics and Urban Real Estate and Development. He is currently interning with Starwood Capital in the Acquisitions Group, working on various different real estate investments. He has served as a board member for the Wharton Undergraduate Real Estate Club, and received the William Zucker Award through the Zell/Lurie Center. He will be graduating early from Penn in December, and plans to assist Professor Susan Wachter in both her research and her Urban Real Estate Economics course.