A Houston native dedicated to community development and neighborhood revitalization, Sasha Joi brings nearly 20 years of experience in urban planning, community engagement, public speaking, affordable housing, and federal grant administration. She graduated cum laude from Langston University with a Bachelor’s degree in Broadcast Journalism and earned a Master’s degree in Regional and City Planning from the University of Oklahoma.
Before her role as an Urban Planner with Asakura Robinson, Sasha Joi enjoyed assisting low- and moderate-income neighborhoods with long-range planning and community development projects. She has a gift for engaging with hard-to-reach populations and ensuring their voices are included in the urban planning process. Her professional work includes administering over $50M in federal funding to assist cities across Texas with disaster recovery, single-family and multifamily home development, and supportive services.
Additionally, Sasha Joi has created award-winning public awareness campaigns to educate Houstonians about affordable home development, fair housing rights, and data collection surveys. As a national public speaker, Sasha Joi has engaged elected officials advocating on behalf of neighborhoods experiencing harmful environmental impacts due to incompatible land uses, and the need for more home development in all neighborhoods for all incomes.
In her spare time, Sasha Joi educates teens and adults about housing discrimination and fair housing rights through her comic book series, Fair Housing Defenders.
Where do you get your design inspiration from?
I am absolutely inspired by historic architecture, especially Victorian, Tudor, and Art Deco.
If you could work on a project anywhere in the world where would it be?
I would plan rural communities where Historically Black Universities are located.
What project are you most proud of?
Besides the Truxillo Pocket Park in Third Ward, I am most proud of my comic book series, Fair Housing Defenders, where I educate teens and adults about housing discrimination and the Fair Housing Act of 1968.