The planning team
Jack Johansen grew up in a smaller northwest suburb of the Twin Cities, about a thirty-minute drive from downtown Minneapolis. Before coming to Iowa, he was a student at St. Cloud State University where he earned his bachelors degree in international relations. Currently, Jack is a Graduate Teaching Assistant and in the second year of earning his Master of Science in Urban and Regional Planning while focusing his studies on environmental planning.
After graduation, he plans to make his way into the field of hazard mitigation. Having a passion for cities, and a longstanding fascination with natural hazards, he would like to pursue the path that would allow him to combine both interests and plan cities for mitigating disasters.
Nafisa Binti is from Dhaka, Bangladesh, a country in south-Asia. She completed her bachelors degree in urban and regional planning from Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology.
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Currently, she is a second-year graduate student pursuing a Master of Science in Urban and Regional Planning at the University of Iowa. She says: "My aspiration is simple, trying not to do anything for which I cannot justify myself to me at the end of the day”. Nafisa is interested in transportation planning, especially transit. In her career, she aims to create alternative means of transportation, so that those who are forced to get around only by one method may have multiple options.
Parya Seif is an experienced research assistant with a demonstrated history of working in the architecture & urban planning. She earned her Master of Architecture from the University of Kashan, Iran, and is currently pursuing her second master’s degree in urban and regional planning at the University of Iowa with a focus on Land Use and environmental planning.
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Parya’s desire to serve as a planner roots from her belief in social equity and environmental preservation which can contribute towards a brighter future for society. Improving the quality of life for people is her primary motivation for pursuing urban planning as her profession, and she believes she can get the most out of her experience and education to bring those beliefs into practice.
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Shila de Morais is a second-year graduate student from Mozambique pursuing a Master of Science in Urban and Regional Planning. She is studying at the University of Iowa on a Fulbright Scholarship. With a bachelor's degree in architecture and some work experience, she decided to focus on Housing and Community Development.
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In her country, underprivileged groups face uprisings and ongoing issues mostly due to a lack of equitable socio-economic policies. After graduation, she plans to return to her home country and apply the knowledge she's gained to help build a more equitable society.
Flavia Hauss is a civil engineer from Brazil with several years of experience in managing the operations and construction of project sites. Currently, she is a second-year graduate research assistant with the University of Iowa Campus Planning Development, she is focusing on transportation, land use, and environmental planning.
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After graduating, Flavia plans to use her experience to help build a community where everyone has the opportunity to thrive and build transportation systems that are safe, efficient, and sustainable. She believes in the implementation of local environmental plans that meaningfully engage community members and decision-makers, in order to mitigate environmental impacts and meet local regulations.