Tess joined the field of urban planning in hopes of creating a better future for current and future generations, through our built environment. She is currently pursuing a Master of Community and Regional Planning and a Master of Urban Design at the University of Texas at Austin. Before this, she received an undergraduate education in Sociology and Urban Studies from Trinity University, where her interest in community development, participatory planning, and creative place-making first emerged.
Tess hopes to bring an interdisciplinary approach to the field and advocate for socially informed approaches to design and planning. Before graduate school, Tess worked within the public sector of planning, in Houston and San Antonio. She also worked as an intern with Asakura Robinson last summer and is excited to return! One of her most influential experiences from last summer was helping to support the release of a plan for the City of College Station. In her free time, Tess enjoys cooking, yoga, traveling, enjoying local art/music, or searching for new vinyls to add to her collection.