2024-2025

Blackwell School National Historic Site in Marfa, Texas is one of the newest NPS units and interprets the story of Mexican-American segregated schools along the US-Mexico border. As a new unit, the school is attempting to engage with the community, including former pupils and descendants, in West Texas. The project has included assisting the National Park Service planning team with steering the unit's purpose and community links, engaging with English- and Spanish-speaking residents, and assessing the resources of the school.

My role has included devising innovative community engagement strategies, which will include the construction of a miniature version of the school as a tiny house on wheels to serve as a mobile engagement hub.

2024

Alaska is the fastest-warming state in the US and faces a unique mix of ecological challenges and planting opportunities as part of its changing climate. This workshop, hosted by the Rural Alaska Community Action Program, focused on site analysis and permaculture garden design. As it was attended by garden managers representing the whole state, including Nome, Bethel, Ketchikan, Anchorage, and Fairbanks, I utilized the regional and ecological knowledge of attendees to develop a new framework for their site analysis considerations.

My role included teaching a site analysis workshop based on permaculture principles, developing a list of Alaska-specific considerations, researching locally relevant species and practices, and advising on the resilience and sustainability of proposed plans.

2023-2024

One of my additional roles at the National Park Service is as Agreements Technical Representative, which allows me to explore partnership opportunities and create agreements, contracts, and grants for partner institutions. One of my recent successful agreements is between the Department of Interior's Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Units (CESU) program and Colorado State University.

The agreement provides funds for CSU's landscape architecture graduate students to visit active NPS projects in small communities across Colorado and generate conservation and recreation designs for the sites as part of a practicum course. Three projects have been served through this agreement: San Luis Valley GO (trails and recreation access in an underresourced community), Fishers Peak State Park, and Gunnison Bluffs Nature Trails.

This style of funded practicum is something I hope to replicate as a TA at UT-Austin, in collaboration with the geography or planning graduate programs.

2022-2024

This project focused on creating a recreation and conservation plan for Flour Bluff, a neighborhood in southeastern Corpus Christi dealing with issues caused by sea level rise, coastal erosion, and disparate access to recreation.

The process centered community engagement and citizen science by collaborating with local churches and schools to gather public feedback and collect water quality data and wildlife sightings. The connectivity component of the plan resulted in a $12 million dollar TxDOT grant to connect the neighborhood to the Oso Bay Wetlands Preserve by restoring a decommissioned trestle bridge.

My role included creating a public engagement strategy, organizing all public engagement events, generating environmentally sensitive park and trail concepts, and incorporating data and constraints into conservation area plans for coastline and palustrine emergent wetlands.

2023-2024

This project, closely tied to the Culebra Conservation and Recreation Strategies, focused on building community conservation and trail knowledge by utilizing internal and external resources to host a community conservation workshop and workday. Local residents and experts from the municipality and Fish and Wildlife Service, in combination with a mangrove and reforestation opportunities analysis generated by NPS, identified priority areas for restoration and trail building. The Texas Conservation Corps, a partnership and leveraged contract I had developed for this project, provided additional assistance and a trail-building and shoreline restoration clinic.

My role was to develop the workshop and site selection model, scope identified priority areas, generate site plans, and coordinate all contracting with Texas Conservation Corps.

2024-2025

Colonias are defined as “substandard housing developments, often found along the US-Mexico border, where residents lack basic services such as clean drinking water and access to adequate sewage treatment.” This two-year research project focuses on understanding and improving access to outdoor recreation and conservation spaces near designated colonias. Phase I (2024) involves three interns and two staff who are conducting geospatial analysis to identify colonias and accessible open space. Phase II (2025) will onboard a one-year intern who will focus on researching successful community engagement models that can be replicated or adapted for community conservation and recreation planning work (such as the promotoras/community health worker model).

My role is advising interns and staff on methodology, writing research proposals for funding, and supervising two interns.

2022-2024

Between the main island of Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands lies the small island of Culebra, Puerto Rico’s smallest municipality. The island is facing many issues including ecosystem degradation, sea level rise, loss of mangroves, coastline erosion, overtourism, and food and water insecurity.

This project focused on creating community-guided conservation and recreation strategies for the island through a series of workshops and oral histories collection that lasted two years. The process included public design workshops, collaborative mapping and planning, resource mapping, and participatory action to build trust over four visits in a community understandably wary of outsiders.

Final products included a report of community conservation and recreation strategies and recommendations, oral histories report, and implemented trails and coastline restoration segments. In addition, NPS collaborated with the Green Infrastructure Center to generate a tree canopy and mangrove analysis for the island using satellite imagery and LiDAR, which outlines existing areas to conserve and prime areas for reforestation and mangrove seeding.

My role included creating a public engagement process, managing contracts with collaborators, conducting oral history interviews, and creating the report.

2022

Doña Ana Village is a small community along the Camino Real de Tierra Adentro, just north of Las Cruces, New Mexico. Despite being the historic seat of Doña Ana County and one of the oldest New Mexican towns along the Camino Real, Doña Ana village has experienced issues of disinvestment, poverty, and disempowerment. A recent example of this was the county’s 2020 proposal to destroy the Village’s only accessible open space to build an open-pit detention pond.

The NPS facilitated several sessions with stakeholders to reach a consensus green infrastructure solution that addressed both the flash flooding concerns and community open space needs. The resulting plan identifies improvements to the open space to include trails and restoration areas and a modified detention pond for rainwater storage.

2022-2023

This research project focused on identifying conservation and recreation needs in Black and Latinx communities throughout Texas and Oklahoma, two underrepresented communities in the NPS community assistance database. Interns utilized demographic analysis, interviews and ethnographic methods to identify opportunity communities and potential projects. The project resulted in several new projects with Black and Latinx communities in El Paso, Central Texas, and Tulsa.

My role was writing proposals to fund the internships and supervising and advising three interns to conduct geospatial research and interviews.

Latino Outreach Strategy (PDF)

2020-2022

The North Beach Eco Park is an undeveloped thirty-acre site owned by the City of Corpus Christi. The site sits on North Beach Island, a popular tourist destination in the region and contains large palustrine emergent wetlands, grassy areas, and beach access.

As project manager, I designed a public engagement strategy to identify community needs, living coastline solutions for coastal erosion, convened a workshop for expert recommendations, organized a two-day charrette with the American Society for Landscape Architects, and created a master plan for the site which was adopted by the City of Corpus Christi in 2022 and received $100,000 in funding for architectural design.

North Beach Eco Park Plan (PDF)

2021-2022

Hydrology, building materials, green infrastructure solutions. Funded by National Park Service.

Bastrop County is rapidly urbanizing and facing more frequent and more intense climate-related disaster risk. As the County created its new Parks and Open Space Master Plan, they received assistance from the National Park Service for public engagement and green infrastructure design.

My role included designing an innovative public engagement process responsive to pandemic limitations, create green infrastructure and flood resilience recommendations for parks and county-managed properties, and draft and revise conservation and recreation portions of draft plan.

Bastrop County Parks and Open Space Master Plan (PDF)

2021

This research project focused on identifying conservation and recreation needs in Indigenous communities throughout Texas, New Mexico, Colorado and Oklahoma; at the time Indigenous communities were severely underrepresented in the NPS community assistance database. Interns utilized demographic analysis, interviews and ethnographic methods to identify opportunity communities and potential projects. The project resulted the hiring of an Indigenous Communities Project Manager and several new projects with Indigenous communities in Oklahoma, Texas, and New Mexico.

My role was writing proposals to fund the internships and supervising and advising two interns to conduct geospatial research and interviews.

Indigenous Outreach Strategy (PDF)

2019-2021

The Central Williamson Creek Greenway is a two-mile stretch of connected green spaces in South Austin, including many properties bought out by the city following the 2013 Halloween floods. Community leaders have been working on conservation and connectivity projects along the creek and adjacent properties for many years, with a vision to make the Central Williamson Creek Greenway a healthy green space for residents to enjoy. The goal of this vision planning process was to reclaim the underutilized 70-acre parkland and floodplain under the leadership and vision of the community itself.

The project consisted of public engagement, participatory planning, in-person and online participatory mapping, and community design workshops in collaboration with Community Powered Workshop and The Nature Conservancy. The resulting vision plan was adopted by the City of Austin Parks Board in 2022.

My role was developing public engagement materials, co-hosting engagement events, creating Spanish-language materials, and serving on the vision plan advisory committee.

Williamson Creek Engagement Materials (PDF)

2018-2025

This personal, multi-year initiative focuses on engaging youth (ages 5-30) in community conservation and recreation planning efforts. By focusing on youth engagement, I aim to promote intergenerational project stewardship and combat disengagement, loss of ecological knowledge, and social atomization.

Successful projects resulting from this initiative include:

• Texas Conservation Corps invasives removal and trail building for projects in Texas (ages 18-25)
• Texas Conservation Corps community conservation and trail building workshop in Culebra (ages 20-25)
• Green schoolyard design and student engagement on several projects (ages 5-18)
• Conservation internship position every year since 2018 (ages 22-30)
• Recruitment of young and underrepresented interns through programs including Latino Heritage Internship Program, Historic Black Colleges and Universities Internship, American Youthworks, and Mosaics in Science.

2020

This individual mapping project focused on geospatial demographic analysis of underserved communities in the NPS Intermountain Region (MT, WY, CO, UT, AZ, NM, TX, OK) and Louisiana. The interactive maps created allow users to view previous projects and unserved areas’ social, demographic, economic, and health breakdowns.

To generate the maps, I used GIS, Social Explorer visualizer platform, and data from the Census, ACS, and County Health Scores.

Regional Population Analysis (socialexplorer.com)

2018-2021

San Felipe Creek runs ten miles to the Rio Grande, originating at the pristine San Felipe Springs system, one of the largest springs in Texas and the source of all of Del Rio’s drinking water. The creek is a valuable social, historic, and ecological resource for the whole region and faces issues including invasive species, compacted soils, littering, streambank erosion, and poor management.

The project focused on identifying solutions and engaging the community. Products included a framework for collaboration and a stream analysis that included invasive species and water quality considerations.

My role included creating a survey instrument, designing a public engagement process, facilitating organizational development sessions, and generating a collaborative strategy for the working group.

San Felipe Creek Coalition Strategic Foundations (PDF)

2019

Little Walnut Creek Greenbelt is a 206-acre undeveloped park in East Austin. The site consists of steep ravines, dozens of tributaries, and loose alluvial soils, which has resulted in conservation issues due to unsustainable trail creation throughout the site.

The project consisted of resource mapping, one year of public engagement, and generating design considerations that balanced the delicate ecosystem considerations with recreational use of the site. The resulting master plan identified areas for conservation and water quality preservation, with trails to be improved and stabilized; it received a Gold Award from Texas APA and was featured on the American Rivers podcast.

My role was developing the public engagement strategy, creating a survey instrument, analyzing public feedback, and collaborating on the creation of the master plan.

Little Walnut Creek Greenbelt Master Plan (PDF)

2018

This research project focused on understanding current conditions and multi-objective planning needs in Texas communities impacted by Hurricane Harvey (2017), the Memorial Day Floods (2015, 2016), and the Tax Day Flood (2016). Multi-objective planning refers to flood resilience planning that incorporates green infrastructure, recreational uses, and conservation considerations.

I conducted an analysis of communities impacted by flooding, conducted site visits, and interviewed planners, floodplain managers, and emergency coordinators to document potential projects and community needs. The research resulted in a report and three projects in Jasper County and Nueces County.

Flood Resilience and Multi-Objective Planning in Texas: Conditions and Opportunities in Harvey's Wake (PDF)

2015

This online database was the result of research into innovative preservation projects for the National Park Service's National Center for Preservation Technology and Training in the summer of 2015.

My role was researching innovative or disruptive preservation projects, interviewing preservationists, designers, and community members, and creating a publicly accessible database.

2014

During summer of 2014, ten UT planning students conducted participatory action research planning with two communities in peri-urban Mexico state in collaboration with local universities and public agencies. The research focused on sustainability and ecological protection of the Presa Guadalupe basin, an area facing issues with informal settlements, water access, trash, deforestation, and pollution. Daily sessions were hosted at local gathering spots to encourage deep dialogue and identify community issues and desires. The effort culminated in participatory mapping of issues and the creation of new workgroups linking residents, institutions, and government agencies to begin community-operated programs in horticulture, ethnobotany, and refuse collection.

After the in-person work, UT students led a participatory action course for students and instructors at two universities and multiple agencies in Mexico State. The course focused on public participation, participatory action research principles, and culminated in the participants creating their own community engagement plan.

As one of the few Spanish speakers on the trip, my role was serving as the primary facilitator in several meetings and as intermediary between the graduate students in Austin and the undergraduate students and professionals in Mexico. I was also tasked with translation, website design/management, and creating two of the modules.

Web Course Developed for Partners

2014

This inquiry into historic preservation in Mexico explores SECTUR’s Pueblos Mágicos program, which provides funding for historic preservation and conservation in picturesque towns for the purposes of tourism development. The resulting article

My process included visits to designated towns in Puebla, Querétaro, and Guanajuato, and interviews with funds recipients and program administrators.

Marketing Magic: The Tourism Ministry’s Pueblos Mágicos Program andHistorical Preservation in Mexico (utexas.edu)

2014

Through the University of Texas School of Architecture's Research Scholarship, I was able to travel to the UNESCO World Heritage City of Querétaro to conduct research on urban planning and historic preservation. The building materials and housing typologies in the historic urban center of Querétaro, mostly limewashed adobe structures, present particular susceptibilities to damage from repeated floods, which are becoming more common as runoff coefficients are increasing due to uphill development in the valley.

The research resulted in my master’s professional report, which includes considerations and recommendations for reducing risk of loss of built heritage. The process included interviews with planning officials (IMPLAN, QRO Water Research Center, INAH), green infrastructure considerations, and geospatial analysis.

Professional Report - Historic Preservation and Flood Resilience in Querétaro (PDF)

2009

This research was funded by the National Science Foundation Research Experience for Undergraduates. It examines perceptions of globalism among young Bolivians aged 18-27 who are living in their home country and how it impacts their perceptions of the then-recently promulgated Eighteenth Bolivian Constitution, which contains both nationalist and globalist aspects. The methodology included literature reviews, interviews, and surveying, and the resulting paper was published in UNT’s Eagle Feather Journal for undergraduate research.

Young Bolivians’ Perspectives on Globalism and How It Impacts Opinions on the New Nationalistic Bolivian Constitution - UNT Digital Library